I just built a new PC and now I'm looking to sell my old one. It has two NVMe PCIe drives: one for storage and the other for the operating system. I'm wondering if doing a full format on both drives and reinstalling the OS is enough to wipe all the data. What's your approach to securely wiping a computer before selling it?
3 Answers
A full format and reinstalling the OS doesn't fully erase everything. You can still recover files with certain tools, especially if someone really wanted to. I'd recommend using the Secure Erase feature in your BIOS, especially since you’re working with SSDs. It’ll wipe everything for good! Just make sure to do that before you sell it.
If you're really concerned, the only foolproof method to prevent data recovery is to physically destroy the drives. Forensic recovery can still retrieve data after a format, but it's usually pricey. If possible, consider getting new NVMe drives for your old PC and keeping the old ones safe.
Yeah, I totally agree. I’ve read that formatting is like just hiding files rather than deleting them. Secure Erase is definitely the way to go with SSDs. If you were using HDDs, I'd suggest using a data wiping software that overwrites data multiple times for extra security.
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload