The following directions for wiping a computer will work with any system running Windows 10, as well as most Macs.
The entry typically says “solid state” or “flash storage” for a solid-state drive (SSD), whereas for a mechanical hard drive it says “hard disk drive.” On a Mac, click the Apple logo and then About this Mac, and select the Storage tab. Before wiping a hard drive, you can choose to back up the important files with the professional backup software. On Windows, this information is harder to find than it should be, but the easiest way is to open the Defragment and Optimize Drives tool (type “defragment” into the search menu in the taskbar). Next, figure out which type of storage your computer has. For Macs, Apple recommends logging out of any iCloud services, including iTunes and iMessages.
How you do this depends on which operating system you have and what type of storage drive your device has.īefore you wipe a computer, make sure that you have a backup of any files you need and deactivate any software that requires doing so. To keep a clean workspace and make sure you’re not spreading germs, you’ll probably want to clean your keyboard from time to. One is using the EaseUS wiping tool to easily erase the partitions or disks in case you want to keep the system, the other is wiping hard drive and OS together in the WinPE environment with a bootable disk. Your laptop’s keyboard is 20,000 times dirtier than your toilet seat.
#How to wipe a laptop clean before recycling how to
On most devices, wiping your data securely is pretty straightforward, and doing so can prevent your data from being recovered by someone you would rather not have it. This tutorial shows you how to wipe a hard drive in Windows XP without CD before selling or replacing it in two ways. Your computer, phone, or tablet holds all kinds of personal information about you, and before you sell, return, recycle, or donate it, you should make sure to delete all of that information correctly.