How do you delete all data off a a laptop hard drive

Firstly, do not turn on the computer if possible. The more you run the laptop the chances your computer will write over the area the deleted files were at on the hard drive. When we delete stuff on our computers, technically the information is still there. The operation system just knows it could now write to the area. So as long as you don't turn on the pc the data should remain safe. Now what you can do is remove the hard drive from the laptop and plug it into another pc as a secondary drive (slave). Then install data recovery software on the second pc and scan for deleted files on the laptop hard drive. I use data recovery software from minitool and boot from CD. But if you don't wanna fork out the $60 you could try free software. I did a quick search on Google for free recovery software and found easeus. I've never used this so i can't recommend it but maybe you could read some reviews and decide for yourself. Good luck

Using Shift+Delete to remove files/folders bypasses the recycle bin which is your normal means of recovering accidentally deleted files. You can go to download.com and search for file recovery programs. Some are available that will search your hard drive and can maybe recover what you lost. It is important to do so as quickly as possible because once files are permanently deleted on the hard drive, the sectors that they occupied are no longer protected and can be overwritten by any program or file.

If you have emptied the trash your only hope is to use Recovery software such as Wondershare, or Data Rescue. These are third party programs designed for data recovery in your situation.

Be careful.... you can reformat the hard drive BUT you will loose EVERYTHING on the hard drive including the Operating System. That will require you to reinstall Windows and all the drivers.
There is software that will "wipe" your hard drive so GOOGLE "deleting hard drive files".
GOOD LUCK

Try to recover your data with Recuva it's free http://www.piriform.com/recuva

Or if you need data recovery help this a good choice for low cost and fast data recovery. All data recovery work is performed by an experienced tech remotely over the Internet from a boot cd that you download and the best part is they just ask for donations: http://FreeDataRecovery.us

Hello,

Here is what you need to know about hard drives.......

Some times you don't know if your hard drive is working or not. Your external hard disk might drop on the ground, or your desktop/laptop hard drive might not be booting. Which ever the case maybe, here is how to find out the condition of your hard disk:

Put your ear close to your hard disk, if you hear your hard disk make a crackling noise, be prepared to buy another hard disk because such hard disk is damaged and cannot be fixed. Also note that it is difficult to recover files from such hard drive.

But if you don't hear a crackling sound, use your hand(s) to feel the drive, if it vibrates, it means the hard disk is in good condition.

What damages external hard drive most times is if you don't eject (safely remove) it from your computer, when it drops on the ground or hits any hard object etc

If your external hard disk stops working, firstly, check if the hard disk inside the case is in good condition by checking for crackling sounds and vibration. Once you observe that the hard disk is in good condition, this means the hard drive case is defective/the cause of the problem. Get another drive case and your drive will work again without loosing any file/data on it.

For desktop/laptop hard drive maintenance, make sure you always shut down your computer properly, don't remove the CPU's power cord while the computer is turned on. To be on a safer side, always use UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for your desktop computer.

Also, when using your laptop, makes sure its fixed at a position. Avoid any shake as the hard disk might shift from its normal position in the process.

I hope this is helpful..........

Good luck.

1. You need to check how much free disk space is available on your laptop.
2. You need to check what duplicated files you have on both the laptop and the external hard drive and which is the latest version.
3. You need to decide to move the latest versions of the data files from the external hard drive to the laptop. This automatically delete these from the external hard drive. The older versions on the external hard drive can be deleted.
4. Now you need to check how much data is stored on your external hard drive.
5. If the amount of data stored on the external hard drive exceeds the available disk space on the laptop, then you cannot copy these files to the laptop.
6. If you have sufficient disk space on the laptop you can copy the data from the external hard drive to the laptop. I suggest you make a folder to copy this data to it.
You can now delete all the data from the external hard drive or you can format the external hard drive to make a clean external hard drive.