I'm preparing to sell a computer. It came with Windows 7 (no install disks).

1. Hard Drive Iso Image
2. Win7 Iso Download Destroying Hard Drive For Mac
3. Physically Destroying Hard Drive

I want to wipe all my data in the most secure way possible, (not just remove links, but overwrite the drive). My goal is to ensure that I have removed any personal data and malware.

There is a new machine that need to install a Windows OS. However, you are given an ISO file (that contains the Windows OS) and an external hard disk only. How do I go about to install it? Please note that you are not provide any blank CD or DVD to burn the ISO file.

I would like to use a tool like DBAN (http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15817/wipe-delete-and-securely-destroy-your-hard-drives-data-the-easy-way/), but it says this will remove the recovery partition here (http://www.howtogeek.com/171980/how-to-prepare-a-computer-tablet-or-phone-before-selling-it/).

1. Download IM-Magic Partition Resizer Free, the free partition magic software to help expand, move, shrink, and merge partitions without destroying the data. It only requires a few clicks from you to command the program move the fences to rearrange the disk partition territory and keep your files untouched.
2. Nov 20, 2018 - Need to wipe a hard disk drive while using Windows 7 or Windows 8? Designed specifically for the task of destroying data in bulk, DBAN will run in. Available in ISO format, DBAN must be downloaded to your computer.

In that page, it also says 'If your laptop or desktop computer has a traditional magnetic hard drive, it’s possible for people to recover the data from the hard drive even after you reformat it and reinstall the operating system. This is because reinstalling the operating system won’t erase every sector of the disk.'

So, is it possible to both eliminate the possibilities of someone recovering my data and/or malware resurrecting itself, and still be able to install Windows without hassle afterwards? What would be the easiest way to accomplish this?

PS:I believe I have malware that is preventing me from booting to Windows. I can boot from a Ubuntu USB.

2 Answers

I would go about it this way:

1. Note down the Windows 7 product key from the sticker on your PC or use this tool to recover it from your current installation.
2. Download all the drivers you need for your system (most importantly LAN/WLAN drivers and chipset drivers) from the appropriate manufacturers website, and store them on a USB stick/external hard drive or burn them onto a CD.
3. Download a Windows 7 ISO from this site and burn it on a DVD or make a bootable USB stick, for example using this tool.
4. Run DBAN to completely erase any data on your disk.
5. Re-install Windows using the DVD or USB you created in step 2.
6. Install the drivers from the CD or USB you created in step 1.
7. Run Windows Update to make sure your system has the available patches/hotfixes.
8. Install whatever software you want on the PC.

You could skip step 7 and 8 if you want to cut down on time spent. Especially if you're selling the PC anyway.

In your shoes I'd do a restore from the recovery partition on the disk disk, use that to create recovery disks then proceed further - this ensures it was worth keeping the recovery partition in the first place, and gives you breathing room if things go wrong. You can always give the disks to the next owner. That opens up the option for dban or safely running shred on just the OS partition if you must. Chances are even a restore would probably irrecoverably overwrite the old partition.

You can wipe the just the partition with shred from a linux liveusb. Check if testdisk can recover the original partition. Test with forensics software too if you can get your hands on it.

Do your install once your sure and don't worry about it. Modern drives are pretty horrid at retaining data once you have zeroed them out.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged windows-7windowsmalwarereinstalldban or ask your own question.

As you likely know, unlike its successor, none of the Windows 7 editions allow you to install Windows 7 on a USB flash/hard drive and then boot Windows 7 from the USB. For the uninitiated, installing Windows from a USB is completely different from installing Windows on a USB. In the first scenario, we use the USB as a bootable media to install Windows, and in the second one, we install Windows on to a USB drive and boot Windows from it.

If you want to install Windows on a USB flash drive or USB hard drive, this is the easiest way to install Windows 7 on USB and boot from it. You don’t need to download complex scripts or execute commands in order to install Windows 7 on to USB.

In this guide, we’re going to show the easiest way to install Windows 7 on a USB flash drive or USB hard drive and boot Windows 7 from it.

Things you need:

# Windows 7 ISO image file (32-bit or 64-bit)

# WinToUSB (check Step 2 for download links)

# 16GB+ USB flash drive or hard drive (8GB drive should do fine but can’t confirm)

Installing Windows 7 on to USB flash drive or hard drive

Step 1: Kick start the procedure by connecting your USB flash drive or hard drive to your Windows 7/8 PC. Please backup all data before continuing further, as the drive will be erased.

Step 2: Next step is to download WinToUSB software by visiting this official page. WinToUSB supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7/8. Run the downloaded setup file and then follow the straight-forward on-screen instructions to complete the installation. You can install WinToUSB either on Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Hard Drive Iso Image

Step 3: Launch WinToUSB software. On the home screen, click the button next to ISO file box to browse to Windows 7 ISO image file and click OK button to open it. And then select the edition of Windows 7 that you would like to install on the USB.

Click the Next button to proceed to the next step.

Upon selecting the USB drive, you’ll see a warning dialog with “Selected device needs to be formatted. Are you sure you want to continue?” message. Click Yes button to continue.

Step 5: Finally, you’ll be asked to select the system partition as well as the boot partition on the USB drive. If you haven’t partitioned your USB drive, you can simply select the same partition (full drive) as system partition as well as the boot partition (refer the picture). And if you have two or more partitions, please select a partition to use as boot partition and then another partition with at least 16 GB of space as system partition.

Win7 Iso Download Destroying Hard Drive For Mac

Click the Next button to begin installing Windows 7 on to the USB drive. This process might take hours depending on your USB drive’s speed and overall system performance. That’s it!

Physically Destroying Hard Drive

In order to boot from this bootable Windows 7 USB, you need to enable boot from USB feature in the BIOS/UEFI.