How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10

This wikiHow will teach you how to use the Windows 10 tools to remove all data from your hard drive. Plug your computer into a power supply. If you're using a laptop, you'll want to make sure you don't run out of battery power during this...

Method 1 of 2:

Resetting your PC

  1. Picture 1 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Plug your computer into a power supply. If you're using a laptop, you'll want to make sure you don't run out of battery power during this process.
  2. Picture 2 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Right-click the
    Picture 3 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    button. It's usually at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Use this method to delete all of your data off of the PC and install a fresh version of Windows.
  3. Picture 4 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Settings. It's toward the bottom of the menu.
  4. Picture 5 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Security & updates. It's the icon with two curved arrows.
  5. Picture 6 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Recovery. It's in the left column.
  6. Picture 7 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Get started under 'Reset this PC.' It's the first button in the main panel.
  7. Picture 8 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Restore factory settings. This will erase the contents of the hard drive and then reinstall the factory version of Windows.
  8. Picture 9 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Remove files and clean the drive. This formats the drive so that it will be more difficult for someone to recover your deleted data.
  9. Picture 10 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Reset. Your hard drive will now begin to format and then Windows will be reinstalled. This process may take several hours.
Method 2 of 2:

Formatting a Hard Drive

  1. Picture 11 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Right-click the
    Picture 12 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    button. It's usually at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Use this method to wipe the data off of a different hard drive than the primary one, such as an external drive.
  2. Picture 13 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click File Explorer. It's toward the bottom of the menu. This opens your computer's file browser.
  3. Picture 14 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click This PC. It's in the left column. A list of folders and hard drives connected to the PC will appear.
  4. Picture 15 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Right-click the drive you want to format.
  5. Picture 16 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Format.
  6. Picture 17 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Choose whether to quick format. You can save time by checking the box next to 'Quick Format,' but this option makes it easier for someone to restore your deleted data with the right software.[1]
  7. Picture 18 of How to Wipe a Hard Dive in Windows 10
    Click Start. The data on the hard drive will now be deleted.
Update 04 March 2020
clickdriveharddata

You should read it

Maybe you are interested

Category

System

Mac OS X

Hardware

Game

Tech info

Technology

Science

Life

Application

Electric

Program

Mobile