Admin Tips
- Windows Server 2008/2003/2000/XP/NT Administrator Knowledge Base
  - Windows XP
    - Admin Tips
      - Security
        Wipe Your Drive

Section(s): Security
Published on Oct 12, 2005.
Last Modified on Oct 12, 2005.
Last Modified by Mitch Tulloch.
Rated 2 out of 5 based on 8 votes.

Hard drives should be wiped clean before disposing of them.

Hard drives should be wiped clean before disposing of them. While there are lots of third-party tools available for doing this, Windows XP actually includes a tool as good as any of them: the cipher /w command. And if that's not enough, slice your hard drives in half with a band saw to make sure!

About Mitch Tulloch

Mitch Tulloch was lead author for the Windows Vista Resource Kit from Microsoft Press, which is the book for IT pros who want to deploy, maintain and support Windows Vista in mid- and large-sized network environments. Mitch was also the author of Introducing Windows Server 2008 and technical project lead for the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Resource Kit, both books also from Microsoft Press. For more information on these and other books by Mitch, see www.mtit.com .