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EthanBrown's avatar
EthanBrown
Iron Contributor
May 08, 2025
Solved

How to completely wipe a laptop with Windows 11/10?

Hi, I'm planning to sell/recycle my old Windows laptop and want to make sure all my personal data is completely erased. I heard that just formatting the drive isn’t enough to prevent data recovery. ...
  • Mieowo's avatar
    Mieowo
    Aug 18, 2025

    I've been in a similar situation before, selling an old Dell XPS 13 with an SSD system drive and a large HDD. I was also concerned that simply formatting the drive wouldn't be safe, as recovery software could still retrieve the files. In the end, I used a tool like Dr.Wiper to perform a full drive wipe, which overwrites both the SSD and HDD multiple times, completely erasing any remaining data.

    I followed this tutorial: Worked for me

    https://www.gicmodo.com/how-to-permanently-wipe-a-drive

     

     

KaiSullivan's avatar
KaiSullivan
Iron Contributor
May 08, 2025

When you choose "Remove everything" and "Clean the drive" to completely wipe a laptop with Windows 11/10, Windows does a better job of overwriting data, but on SSDs, it might not erase every last bit. SSDs use different storage tech, and some data might still be recoverable with advanced tools unless you perform a proper secure erase using manufacturer's tools. So, if you're super paranoid about sensitive info, this might not be enough.

If you don't select "Clean the drive" when you want to completely wipe a laptop with Windows 11/10. Windows just deletes the files and makes them invisible, but they could still be recovered with data recovery software. So, if you want to be sure, always pick the "Clean the drive" option. But even then, with SSDs, it's not as thorough as a hardware secure erase. Sometimes, your laptop might have OEM recovery partitions or tools that can reinstall Windows. Resetting can leave those intact unless you manually wipe or format the drives afterward. Some newer laptops have firmware-based encryption or features that might complicate wiping. Resetting might not fully disable or erase such features.

"Reset this PC" is super convenient and good for wiping most user data, especially if you're planning to keep the laptop and just want a fresh start. But if you're selling or recycling and want to make absolutely sure no one can peek at your data, especially on SSDs, I’d recommend using dedicated secure erase tools or physically removing the drives.

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