Free disc eraser tools

Applies to : Wipe data in partitions, erase the whole disk, and even clean up computer data. EaseUS BitWiper is more than a simple hard drive or data wipe software. Besides the data wipe feature, it enables you to shred files and protect your personal data with its advanced features. All Windows users can apply this tool to reset hard drive into a brand new state. Once the wiping starts, your data is irrecoverable. Step 2. Click "Add Files" to select the files you need to shred, or you can drag files, documents, images, music files, etc.

Step 4. The program will immediately shred all the selected files. When it finishes, click "Done". If you are looking for data wipe software with a certificate, Blancco Drive Eraser could be one of them. Once done, the software will create a tamper-proof certificate providing that the erase process completes successfully. Applies to: Wipe files and data on the computer, hard drive, and internet browsers.

It supports wiping data on a hard drive and free up space from a specific location on your computer. However, the free edition currently only works to protect the privacy and clean the disk at a standard level. Scroll to the Advanced category and click Wipe Free Space. Step 3. Click OK at the warning window, and run Ccleaner to clean the drive. Applies to: Delete information stored on hard drives in desktop, laptops, and Server machines. DBAN is free to use for erasing hard drive data.

Although it claims that it cannot completely sanitize the entire drive data. But it's indeed a comprehensive data erasing solution for many companies with its free features. Verify DBAN if has successfully erased your hard drive. If it finishes the wipe process, you'll see a successful message. Applies to: Wipe volume data for free, erase all disk data and prevent recovery of those data. Aug 01, Download Eraser 6. Fast downloads of the latest free software! Decent program that does the job with minimal fuss.

It did randomly quit the other day in the middle of a job, which I luckily checked on it and noticed, though I'm not sure if that was Eraser's or Windows' fault. As some others have mentioned complained about , it does take a long time, but that's just the nature of what it's doing, and all programs are going to be slow; if they're not, they're not doing a good job.

I tried several others, and they ranged from horrible to ok. Of them, one or two would probably be suitable replacements for this one if it were to stop working, but I would say Eraser is probably the best interface and it's free, portable, and can do files, free space, and entire drives.

The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of parallelization, i. I see no good reason why that shouldn't be possible, and searching the forums it seemed the dev intended to add it in v6, but that was years ago and it's now on v6. I signed up on the forum to inquire about it, but then couldn't post, so that was a massive waste of time. To the devs, in case you read this: don't use a forum for support then not let people post in it shouldn't need to be said, but there it is.

Use the program by right-clicking a hard drive and choosing Securely Delete. You'll be prompted to confirm the removal of all the files. DeleteOnClick only supports one data wipe method, so it's not nearly as advanced as most of these other programs. Because DeleteOnClick runs from inside Windows, it can't be used to erase the primary drive that Windows is installed on. DeleteOnClick can be installed on Windows 11 through Windows CopyWipe for DOS has an Entropy Source option you can define before erasing a drive, which lets you choose how random data should be created.

For example, you can enter random keys on the keyboard to generate entropy for the operation or choose to use the current time and speed of the computer. There are hardly any options with CopyWipe, and although the interface is in text form and not too user-friendly, it's actually pretty simple to use and makes you confirm that you want to wipe a drive before starting. CopyWipe for Windows is entirely portable, which means it doesn't need to be installed before you can use it.

It runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. SDelete, short for Secure Delete, is a command-line based data destruction tool and can be run from the Command Prompt in Windows. SDelete is part of the Sysinternals Suite of free system utilities available from Microsoft. SDelete does not utilize Secure Erase even though its name might lead you to think otherwise.

Like some of these other programs, SDelete runs from within Windows, so you can not use the program to erase the C drive. Use another data destruction software program that you can boot to or see How to Format C for some other ideas.

There are several drawbacks to using SDelete and the information on their download page has a fair discussion of those issues. If you need a full-drive data destruction program then SDelete isn't a good choice, but it could be very useful in specific situations.

Wise Care is a system optimizer program that includes several tools, one of which is for data destruction. Just load a hard drive using the Add Folders button and click Shred to immediately start the process. Data Sanitization Methods: Random Data. Wise Care can also completely remove deleted files by overwriting them with more secure sanitization methods than the data destruction tool. There's also a portable version available from within the installable version. There isn't a confirmation prompt after clicking the Shred button, so ensure you're ready to remove the files before clicking to do so.

ProtectStar Data Shredder is a free data destruction program that can erase a whole hard drive at once, and even works from the right-click context menu in Windows Explorer. Just choose Erase files and folders from the main screen and then click Add Folders to browse for the hard drive to wipe. ProtectStar Data Shredder is no longer being updated by its developers, but this download link still contains the program. Using hdparm as a data destruction software program is risky and unnecessary with a great Secure Erase based data destruction tool like MHDD, listed above.

The only reason we've included the hdparm method of issuing a Secure Erase command is because we want to have a comprehensive list of options available. We don't recommend that you use hdparm unless you're very familiar with command line tools.

Misuse of this tool could cause your hard drive to become unusable. This hdparm version runs from within Windows, so you can't use it to erase the drive Windows is installed on. If that's what you want to do, you'll have to use a bootable data destruction software program instead.

HDShredder is a data destruction program that's available in two forms, both of which work with one data wipe method. You can use HDShredder from a disc or flash drive and boot from it for erasing the drive that has Windows installed on it, like the C drive. Alternatively, you can install it to Windows like a regular program and use it for securely erasing data from a different drive, like a flash drive or a different hard drive.

Several additional features appear to work in this free edition until you try to use them, after which you'll be told you need to upgrade to a paid version to use it. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads.

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By Tim Fisher. Tim Fisher. Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. Reviewed by Jerrick Leger. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses.

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