How to wipe a hard drive on Windows 10 using command prompt

A dedicated disk wiping app is more recommended for wiping a drive because it offers advanced data destruction algorithms, thorough overwrite methods, and user-friendly controls that go far beyond what built-in tools like diskpart provide.

While diskpart clean all does zero out the disk, it lacks support for multiple overwrite passes, verification of deletion, and compliance with data erasure standards like DoD 5220.22-M, NIST 800-88, or Gutmann.

Dedicated apps also typically include features such as wiping only free space, scheduled wipes, detailed logs, and fail-safes to prevent accidental system wipes. These tools are essential for secure data disposal, especially when reselling, donating, or retiring a hard drive.

So it is much safer to completely wipe a hard drive on windows 10 without command prompt. A dedicated disk wiping app is more recommended.

Wiping a hard drive on Windows 10 using Command Prompt can be done with the built-in diskpart tool. This method completely erases all data on the selected drive, so make sure you’ve backed up important data first. Here's how to wipe a hard drive on Windows 10.

1. Press Windows + X and select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).

2. Start diskpart app and list all drives.

diskpart list disk

Identify the number of the drive you want to wipe (e.g., Disk 1).

3. Select the target disk and clean the disk with basic wip.

select disk X clean

Replace X with the disk number of the drive to be wiped. This will wipe a hard drive on Windows 10 PC.

If you want a more secure wipe (zero out data), use:

clean all

This performs a full zero-fill pass on the entire disk (can take hours depending on size).

Warning: This process is irreversible. Do not select your system drive (usually C:) while Windows is running.

Wiping a hard drive using the command prompt in Windows 10 can definitely be effective, but there are a few disadvantages and risks you might want to think about. I’ve been down this road before, and while it can seem straightforward, there are some hiccups that you should be aware of. There’s the risk of wiping the wrong drive. It’s super easy to make a mistake, especially if you're dealing with multiple drives. You might feel confident when selecting a disk, but one tiny slip, and you could end up erasing your primary drive or a backup. Trust me, that’s not a fun situation to find yourself in. I learned that the hard way by not double-checking the drive number, and it felt like a major facepalm!

Also, since the method you’re using doesn't include any sophisticated data sanitization techniques, it’s important to know that if you wipe a drive and someone really wanted to recover that data, they might be able to with some advanced tools. This isn’t a problem if you just want to clear everything out quickly for a new user, but if you’re dealing with sensitive data, you might want to look into using dedicated software that overwrites the data more than once to ensure it’s unrecoverable.

Wiping a hard drive via command prompt in Windows 10 is a pretty straightforward process,make sure you know exactly which drive you want to wipe. Just to be safe, it’s a great idea to disconnect any external drives that aren’t part of the plan. You don’t want to accidentally wipe your backup drive instead of your old storage drive.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator:

• Click on the Start button.
• Type in cmd.
• Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. This will give you the permissions needed to wipe the drive.

2. Launch DiskPart:

• In the command prompt, type diskpart and hit Enter. This opens the Disk Partition tool that lets you manage your drives.
• List Multiple Drives: Type list disk and hit Enter. This will show all connected drives. Each drive will have a number listed next to it (like Disk 0, Disk 1, etc.). You’ll want to remember or write down which one is the drive you want to wipe.

3. Select the Correct Disk:

Type select disk X, replacing X with the number of the drive you want to wipe. (Double-check this!) You'll see a message confirming that the disk is selected.

4. Wipe the Drive: 

Now, you can type clean and hit Enter. This command will erase everything on that selected drive, making it empty but still formatted as a partition. If you want to wipe it completely, including the partitioning information, you can use clean all, but remember, this takes longer because it writes zeros across the entire disk. 

5. Confirm the Process: 

After you run the clean command, make sure you see a message saying "DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk". This means you're good to go! 

6. Exit DiskPart: Type exit to leave DiskPart once you’re done.

7. Format (if needed):

If you plan to use the drive again, you might want to format it. Type in format fs=ntfs quick (or format fs=exfat quick if you want it to be compatible with both Windows and Mac) and hit Enter.

Using command prompt to wipe a hard drive on Windows 10 can definitely be the right move, especially if you want a quick and effective way to clean things up. I’ve done this myself a few times. You get more granular control over the process. For instance, with DiskPart, you can easily select which drive to wipe, rather than fumbling through settings.

Seriously, once you wipe the hard drive on Windows 10 computer, everything is gone for good, and Microsoft isn’t giving you any freebies to recover it. Before you get started, take a few minutes to move any files you might need over to another drive or a cloud service.