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Wiped and Reformatted external hard drive says it is completely full and windows cannot access it

I had a 1TB external HDD that developed an unresponsive folder. I used the errors checking tool on the properties tool tab, and that repaired the folder. I then moved the data off to a replacement ...
Amar's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
1 answer
105 views

What would trigger a Windows 10 PC to do a full factory reload automatically?

I got called out on a support call today where the computer had completely reloaded Windows 10 from scratch. All existing customer data, configuration, apps, etc were gone. There wasn't even anything ...
Ryan Griggs's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
3k views

How to wipe all data on HDD (Windows 10 system partition)?

I am a bit surprised that I didn't found a canoncial (= recommended by Microsoft) way of doing this by searching Google but here we are: I am tasked to delete all data safely from a Windows 10 ...
cluelessdeleter's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
167 views

How to reset my profile in Windows 10 before returning PC to organization

I have a Windows 10 laptop with a regular domain account with no admin rights what-so-ever. Running MS Windows 10 Pro Education Version 1709. I'd like to wipe the profile prior to returning the ...
Eric B.'s user avatar
  • 1,031
3 votes
3 answers
3k views

How to wipe a disk completely that has been encrypted by ransomware

Recently my HDD was encrypted by a ransomware attack (I have no idea which encryption method has been used) and as a result I cannot access the contents of my HDD (see how Disk 1 seems in the first ...
yildizabdullah's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
428 views

Can´t format, write nor delete files on a corrupted microSD card

I have a SandDisk Ultra PLUS 16 GB microSD card (This exact model) and I'm trying to format it without any luck so far. It's the microSD card that I've using in my Android phone for 3 years without ...
Juani Elias's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
49 views

In case of OS and MBR malware, what will be the difference between a factory reset, a format and a disk wipe? [duplicate]

In case of malware infection in latest windows OS, like win 10, which is the best course of action for complete disinfection - a factory reset using troubleshoot and recovery, a format of entire drive ...
Dobby's user avatar
  • 53
1 vote
0 answers
80 views

Are some files that show up in the Windows Recycle Bin of a fully formatted secondary drive linked to another drive or physically present?

I have a primary (boot) SSD and a secondary HDD (via a SATA-to-USB adapter) connected to my computer. My goal is to sell the secondary HDD without exposing any previous data that was stored on it. I ...
Wuschelbeutel Kartoffelhuhn's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
320 views

Cypher command din't wipe my deleted data

I used Recuva and got a list of deleted data that can be recovered, then applied the Windows command Cypher to wipe the partitions D and C, 3 passes were made. cipher /w:D:\ cipher /w:C:\ Finally I ...
AFA Med's user avatar
  • 121
4 votes
1 answer
8k views

Do I still have to wipe a drive which was encrypted with BitLocker, then formatted?

I want to sell a HDD. It was BitLocker-encrypted and I formatted it, removing the encryption. Could there still be recoverable data on the drive? E.g. if I never used all space on the drive while it ...
Felix Dombek's user avatar
  • 2,085
0 votes
1 answer
119 views

Where is data written to on a hard drive after a wipe?

I just used the "windows media creation tool" on a 1TB HD, and my drive was mistakenly wiped in the process. I did not read the warnings when using "windows media creation tool," so tried to use a ...
Dan Z's user avatar
  • 137