author avatar
16 May 2023  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
How to wipe a hard drive safely? We will share some practical ways with you and also guide you through data backup before wiping the hard drive.



CONTENTSCONTENTS

table iconPart 1: When do you have to completely wipe a hard drive
table iconPart 2: Back up Important Files with Renee Becca before Wiping a Hard Drive
table iconPart 3: How to Wipe a Hard Drive in Windows 10
how to wipe a hard drive

Part 1: When do you have to completely wipe a hard drive?

Data cannot be recovered after wiping a hard drive, so it’s recommended to think twice before completely wiping a hard drive. Generally, a hard drive needs to be wipped when the following situations arise:
① An old hard disk is damaged and needs to be replaced with a new one. If you are concerned that the damaged data on the old hard disk may be recovered, resulting in personal information leak, it is recommended to physically dismantle it.
② The performance of the old hard disk is poor, and I want to replace it with an SSD with better performance.
③ After a new computer is purchased, the old computer needs to be sold, recycled or discarded.
④ Too much useless data is saved in the hard disk, and you want to completely remove the hard disk data to obtain better performance.
In any circumstances, when you need to permanently wipe the hard drive, it is recommended that you back up important files of the hard disk to prevent data loss. Next, let’s learn how to back up files with the professional data backup software, Renee Becca.

Part 2: Back up Important Files with Renee Becca before Wiping a Hard Drive

1. What Is Renee Becca?

Renee Becca is the tool specializing in system and hard disk back up. It is used to back up and restore the computer data, including programs, system configuration, emails, photos, videos, documents and bookmarks. With the incremental/differential backup technology, it can back up system, partitions, disks and files, but also it can redeploy system and clone disks.
Hot Topic - ADsRenee Becca – Professional, Reliable Tools for Data Backup and Recovery

Quick Back up files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Overall Support system backup, disk/partition backup, file backup and disk clone.

Intelligent Automatically analyze the data differences between the source files and the backup files and save disk space by backing up incremental/differential data.

Convenient Support VSS, allowing to freely view web pages during the backup of the operating system.

Highly compatible Support various files and storage devices.

Quick Back up at up to 3,000MB/min

Overall System/partition/disk backup

Incremental/differential technology Save disk space

Free TrialFree TrialNow 2000 people have downloaded!

2. How to Back up Data with Renee Becca?

Step 1: Download and run Renee Becca. Then, select [Backup]—[File Backup]. If you need to back up data of the whole disk or partition, you could choose the option [Disk/Partition Backup].
Renee Becca File Backup
Step 2: Next, select the file to be backed up in [Source File (Device)], and select the hard disk partition to store the backup data in [Destination]. Then click [Backup] to start the backup.
Tips: If you need regular backups, you can enable [Task Scheduler] to set daily/weekly/monthly regular backups and the time to automatically start backups. Then, in [Backup Plan] – [Plan Type], select a suitable backup plan mode depending on your needs. Renee Becca offers 5 backup solutions, like Version chain mode, Single version mode, Full mode, Incremental backup mode and Differential mode.
back up file
Step 3: You can see the progress of all backup tasks on the taskbar. After the backup is completed, you can click the [Restore] button to restore the files to the target hard disk.
Renee Becca Filebackup
Step 4: Then select the location where the files are restored, and click the [Restore] button.
files recovery location

Part 3: How to Wipe a Hard Drive in Windows 10?

1. Reset This PC

You can also reset your PC if the hard drive needs to be wiped in Windows 10. Steps are as follows:
Step 1: Click the [Start] button, then click [Settings] > [Update & Security].
windows updates and security
Step 2: Click the [Recovery] option on the left, and click [Start] under “Reset this PC”.
Reset This PC
Step 3: In the pop-up window, select [Delete all content]. Please note that this option will delete all personal files, apps and settings.
keep files or remove everything
Step 4: On the “Other Settings” interface, you can see that the current setting is “Restore apps and settings that came with this computer”, or you can click [Change Settings] to make some changes, and then click [Next]. After confirming all settings, click the [Reset] button to delete files saved at hard disk and reinstall Windows 10.
Additional Settings

2. Use Renee Becca

You could use the tool “Disk/Partition Eraser” in Renee Becca to wipe the hard drive. Disk/Partition Eraser will write 0 or random numbers to the hard drive after it is erased. The original data cannot be recovered because they will be damaged or completely deleted after being overwritten.
Step 1: Download, install and run Renee Becca. Click the [Tools] tab at the top, and select the [Erase Disk/Partition] function. This feature will permanently destroy files including personal information on a partition or the disk.
how to wipe a hard drive
Step 2: Select [Erase Disk] option. Then, choose the disk that should be permanently erased and click on the [Clean] button.
disk eraser
Step 3: You will see a pop-up warning message like “All the files in the selected disk will be erased. You will not be able to get them back. Are you sure?” Just click the option “OK” if you are ready to wipe the disk.
wipe a hard drive