/sigh.... how do you ACTUALLY delete files for good??

[thrwy_guy]

So i'm in the process of "sanitizing" my laptop and I'm at my wit's end trying to delete my sensitive/personal files.... scan after scan of Recuva STILL pulls up the file NAMES (in particular) and even some other supposedly deleted files (still says "Recoverable" on some) >:-(

I first ran a 7x overwrite with my Webroot antivirus built-in data shredder, then did some x1 wiping with CCleaner, then tried Eraser x1 overwrite, and still seems NOTHING will "fully" delete the space, in particular the file names. Some of my file names have sensitive information "right there" in the actual file name itself, and a potential identity thief/crook could in theory "put 2 and 2 together" and gather some rather compromising personal information about me just from the file name itself.

Is there ANY practical way to actually delete everything "including" the MFT file names/directories??

Please help me w/ this you storage guys! I really want to sell off my laptop, but i dont want to put any money into it (such as simply buying a new HDD and buying a new copy of Windows). Is there any way to do this with existing/free tools?

Thanks a bunch! I just been racking my brains at how these supposedly "advanced" file shredders such as CCleaner and Eraser can't seem to "defeat" a simple routine scan of Recuva. Blows my mind how even these "professional" programs can't seem to ACTUALLY delete files as they claim >:-O

 

[Barty1884]

To sell the laptop/drive? Why not write zeros to the drive fully, and then format/reinstall the OS?

http://gizmodo.com/5494427/leave-no-trace-how-to-completely-erase-your-hard-drives-ssds-and-thumb-drives

You'll need to run from an external drive/device/disk - which may involve investing some cash into it, but if you happen to have a thumb drive, DVD or even an external HDD (that is empty, or you're comfortable with losing anything stored on it) laying around, you can use that.

 

[thrwy_guy]

To sell the laptop/drive? Why not write zeros to the drive fully, and then format/reinstall the OS?

http://gizmodo.com/5494427/leave-no-trace-how-to-completely-erase-your-hard-drives-ssds-and-thumb-drives

You'll need to run from an external drive/device/disk - which may involve investing some cash into it, but if you happen to have a thumb drive, DVD or even an external HDD (that is empty, or you're comfortable with losing anything stored on it) laying around, you can use that.

The thing is, I had in mind to leave the Microsoft Office software on the laptop and use that as a "selling point". The laptop is kind of old, and I'd like to get a few hundred out of it, so my idea was to wipe everything EXCEPT for the copy of Microsoft Office to hopefully sell it quicker. My plan is to market it to a younger person or family member as a "college workhorse" type machine.

The MAIN thing is i want to delete my personal/sensitive information entirely and not leave a trace of my previous activity on the laptop. My personal info not falling into the wrong hands is my main concern.

 

[Barty1884]

Can you not recover the license key for office, and reinstall after you wipe/format the drive?

 

[thrwy_guy]

"Can you not recover the license key for office, and reinstall after you wipe/format the drive?"

I'm not so sure about that. This office software came as a "student version" when I was in college 7 years ago, I do have the key code but I'm unsure if it allows a re-install (also scared to try un-installing it in case the key code does not allow re-install).

Also, this was originally a Windows 8 laptop at time of purchase, but last year I upgraded to the "free upgrade" to Windows 10 (also not sure if this non-retail version of Windows can be re-installed).

 

[rgd1101]

ccleaner have free space drive wiper

 

[Barty1884]

You can reinstall Windows 10 after the upgrade, so don't worry too much about that.

I don't have enough experience with MS Office to know about any re-activation 'pitfalls', but if you have a valid license key, I would imaging you can reinstall without issue.