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No matter if you are choosing to wipe your hard drive to start anew, plan to sell your hard drive, need to get rid of useless data/ information, or any other reason you can think of, wiping your hard drive is sometimes necessary. However, while many people are unaware of what wiping your hard drive actually entails. That said, the following is an overview of what happens when you erase your hard drive.
Lost Settings
While many of us come to rely on our computer settings, wiping your hard drive typically gets rid of all settings you have saved on your computer. This includes all “properties” and “preferences” that you have set on websites, programs, printers, and more. Therefore, if you are worried about forgetting those settings you may need to take the time to copy that information before erasing your hard drive. If not, you will have to take the time to remember or reset things such as passwords and other important data.
Loss of Operating System
Additionally, you should also be prepared to lose your entire operating system. This may prevent the computer from fully booting until you either insert a bootable disk or install a new operating system altogether. This includes any apps or software programs that may have previously been installed on your computer. Therefore, before you delete your hard drive, you need to either back up these programs or have methods of re-installing them later.
Loss of Information
Lastly, in addition toyour settings and operating system, you must also be prepared to lose important information. This includes documents, images, and other important files that are likely irreplaceable. Therefore, it is imperative to back-up all your important files or transfer them to another device before wiping your hard drive. Either way, this is a step you should never skip as there will likely be no way to retrieve this information later down the line.
Overall, there are plenty of benefits of securely wiping your hard drive. In addition to starting fresh and selling your computer, you may simply want to reset your hard drive because it is too full. Either way, taking the time to ensure your hard drive is properly wiped can make a world of difference. The failure to do so can make it possible for others to retrieve your personal information or can even render the hard drive useless overall. Therefore, if you are planning to erase your hard drive, be sure to use only reliable tools and materials throughout the process.
