[SOLVED] Super NOOB - How do I wipe my old hard drive?

[ktrainhurricane]

Hi, sorry in advance if this is in the wrong place, or if this gets asked often. I'm completely computer illiterate.

I recently got a new solid state drive for my laptop. I loaded Windows 10 onto it, carried over all my programs and documents via an external hard drive, and the computer is working well with the new SSD.

I now want to discard the old hard drive, but I want to make sure its "wiped clean" before doing so...how do I do this? I read the method of going into Date & Recovery and choosing to "Reset this PC" and selecting all the options to erase everything, but I'm worried that if I do this, when I plug my new SSD back in things won't work correctly...or at all.

Again, I'm the first to admit I know literally nothing about computers, so I apologize in advance if this is a dumb question. I just want to make sure I don't royally screw myself. Thanks!

 

[helpstar]

just ask away, no one will think it´s a dumb question.

resetting the PC won´t delete your data securely
boot with your SSD, in explorer you should find your old HDD. You can use a wipe tool like "disk wipe" or "secure eraser". The wiping will take some time.

Or if you really wanna recycle your HDD you can disassemble the HDD and hammer the disks inside the HDD (wear safety gloves/glasses, the disks can be very sharp and parts can shatter in all directions)

 

[Gerald6049]

Hi, sorry in advance if this is in the wrong place, or if this gets asked often. I'm completely computer illiterate.

I recently got a new solid state drive for my laptop. I loaded Windows 10 onto it, carried over all my programs and documents via an external hard drive, and the computer is working well with the new SSD.

I now want to discard the old hard drive, but I want to make sure its "wiped clean" before doing so...how do I do this? I read the method of going into Date & Recovery and choosing to "Reset this PC" and selecting all the options to erase everything, but I'm worried that if I do this, when I plug my new SSD back in things won't work correctly...or at all.

Again, I'm the first to admit I know literally nothing about computers, so I apologize in advance if this is a dumb question. I just want to make sure I don't royally screw myself. Thanks!

You can format your old HDD by windows disk management.
Here is the tutorial https://www.windowscentral.com/how-format-new-hard-drive-windows-10

 

[geofelt]

If you are going to discard your hard drive, just take a hammer and bash it.

 

[ktrainhurricane]

Or if you really wanna recycle your HDD you can disassemble the HDD and hammer the disks inside the HDD (wear safety gloves/glasses, the disks can be very sharp and parts can shatter in all directions)

If you are going to discard your hard drive, just take a hammer and bash it.

This sounds like fun, and seems like such an obvious option, ha! I’ll give it a shot. Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[USAFRet]

This sounds like fun, and seems like such an obvious option, ha! I’ll give it a shot. Thank you for the suggestions!

For dead or destroyed drives, I generally recover the magnets inside, then destroy it.
Great fridge magnets.