[ad_1]
A particular parameter within the Home windows 11 Format command will overwrite all information on a tough drive with random numbers, eliminating entry to delicate info.
Whether or not it’s utilized in a enterprise setting or as a private machine, your pc is more likely to have delicate, non-public information saved on its onerous drive. When the helpful lifetime of your Home windows 11 pc is over and you might be able to recycle or maybe give it away, it’s vital to ensure all delicate information is eliminated fully. Home windows 11 has a instrument that may do that, however like so lots of Microsoft’s options, it’s hidden someplace the place you wouldn’t assume to look.
SEE: Guidelines: Securing Home windows 10 programs (TechRepublic Premium)
With the discharge of Home windows Vista, Microsoft launched new options for the previous DOS holdover generally known as the Format command. Certainly one of these parameters (/P) won’t solely format a tough drive for Home windows working system use, however it’ll additionally overwrite all information already on the drive with random numbers. This course of successfully erases and replaces all present information with meaningless random information.
Take away and overwrite all information on a tough drive totally free
Earlier than we are able to use the format command on this method, we first should boot our machine with a Home windows 11 Restoration Drive. To create a restoration USB drive, should you don’t have one already, kind “create a restoration drive” into the desktop search instrument and click on the suitable search outcome.
For this objective, you don’t want to incorporate system information however having a whole restoration drive for Home windows 11 readily available is at all times beneficial. You will have no less than 32GB of storage to incorporate all of the system information. For those who decide to depart out system information, all you want is 1GB. Make your choice (Determine A), after which press the Subsequent button.
Determine A
Select the suitable USB drive (Determine B), after which click on the Subsequent button. It would take a couple of minutes to create the restoration drive. Click on End when it has accomplished the method.
Determine B
Now, insert your Home windows 11 Restoration Drive into the PC you want to wipe with the format command and boot it utilizing the USB drive quite than the put in working system. Probably the most environment friendly technique to accomplish that is to press and maintain down the Shift key whereas you choose Restart from the shutdown menu of the Begin Button (Determine C).
Determine C
While you attain the troubleshooting startup mode, choose the Troubleshoot | Superior Choices | Command immediate from the menu. Within the Command immediate display (Determine D), kind this command:
Format C: /P:4
Determine D
This command will format the C drive and overwrite the info with random numbers 4 occasions. You possibly can change the drive specification and the variety of passes to fit your explicit preferences. On this instance, no working system information will probably be put in.
Observe: This process doesn’t meet the strictest requirements for overwriting delicate information on a tough drive, but it surely works properly beneath most circumstances. It’s extremely unlikely that no matter information as soon as existed in your PC will ever be retrieved. Regardless, this command needs to be used with warning.
[ad_2]