How to Erase and Re-Format a Drive in Windows 10 Files can easily be retrieved from the Recycle Bin and often times meta data is left over on parts of the drive that expose sensitive information. When deleted, the operating system simply hides the data and moves it to another location such as the Recycle Bin. Many people believe that simply deleting information from the drive is sufficient, but that could not be further from the truth. This prevents any sensitive information from getting into the hands of malicious actors who would use the information in a harmful way. It is very important to completely erase all data from your computer and hard drive before either recycling it or passing it along to another party. Hard drives contain personal information such as family photos, professional documents, and sometimes even more sensitive information like social security numbers, bank statements, and credit card numbers. If you make sure to completely clean the drive at the end of its useful life, you can make sure your private information remains out of the hands who would use it for harmful purposes.

Disk drives contain lots of private information that a user cannot necessarily see at first glance. The most important thing to do is to completely wipe any hard drives that are installed in the computer. When you reach the end of a PC's useful life, there are several things you should do before disposing of it.

Best way to wipe a hard drive