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View Full Version : Free Program for reformatting hard drive

Wenty
10-21-2009, 04:11 PM
Is there any free ones that work good for reformatting hard drives.

Thanks. :)
k1pp3r
10-21-2009, 04:27 PM
active kill disk
Wenty
10-21-2009, 04:46 PM
active kill disk

Cool... that's what I down loaded before posting this post. :p

Just wanted to know if there was a better one then this.
OldMX
10-21-2009, 04:58 PM
I used autoclave, then dban, now i use ubuntu or whatever live distro is handy, then in console:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda (a= first sata or scsi drive, b=second and so on)
bigdogchris
10-21-2009, 09:31 PM
Actives Boot disc is the shit.
Nubbleet
10-22-2009, 12:12 AM
Dban. Then GParted to format it.
caniba
10-22-2009, 03:32 AM
Why not use Windows disk management?
jeremyshaw
10-22-2009, 03:41 AM
Cause you need a windows liscense != free.
YeOldeStonecat
10-22-2009, 06:37 AM
Heidis Eraser
http://eraser.heidi.ie/
Guitarrasdeamor
10-22-2009, 08:07 AM
Gparted.
AVT
10-22-2009, 06:00 PM
I used autoclave, then dban, now i use ubuntu or whatever live distro is handy, then in console:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda

BE CAREFUL WITH THIS.

Make sure /dev/sda is indeed the disk you're looking to format, otherwise you could format a different HDD other than what you intended to.
doomshd
10-22-2009, 08:57 PM
I would say GParted also.
atto
10-22-2009, 11:33 PM
DBAN (http://www.dban.org/)!
digital_exhaust
10-23-2009, 01:24 AM
GParted has served me well for a long time, and imagine it will continue to do so...
idex
10-26-2009, 12:28 PM
Gparted.
Quikstrumental
10-26-2009, 12:56 PM
Another vote for DBAN.
Matthew1034
10-26-2009, 05:40 PM
+1 for Active
+1 for GParted
+1 for Duke's

:p
REDYOUCH
10-27-2009, 01:49 PM
I assume that you mean "format" as in making your best effort to remove all traces of personal information. In that case, ActiveKilldisk works great, and also, I have been testing IOLO Drive Scrubber, which also seems to work quite well.

If you mean formating and partitioning, GParted Live CD would be my suggestion.
K-MAN
10-27-2009, 03:42 PM
Do you have a windows disc? Windows XP or Vista, because I'd just format it by booting from disc.

If you can put the hard drive in an external case, hook it up to the usb drive and format it that way.