How to Permanently Delete Data from HP Desktop or Laptop?

There could be several reasons as to why you need to permanently delete data from your HP desktop or laptop. After a prolonged usage of your system, it eventually turns to slow down as it goes through several software installations/uninstallations and moving data and files around that cause wear & tear of the internal hard drive. Also, during your device lifecycle, the system might get infected with pesky virus or malware that otherwise can’t be removed.

Most importantly, when you sell, donate, or trash (recycle) your device you need to ensure data sanitization since it contains your personal and confidential information such as system traces, application traces, and your internet activities that involve frequent chat messages, online transactions, social media logins, saved passwords & forms, etc. that you can’t risk to leak and get into the hands of an unauthorized person.

Therefore, a simple formatting of your system or deleting sensitive files is not an option at all since the data from a formatted drive can be recovered easily with a basic data recovery tool. Thus, you need to wipe your HP desktop or laptop in such a way that the data which is currently stored on your system and deleted from it earlier is gone forever beyond the scope of recovery.

Deleting Data from HP Desktop or Laptop Permanently

To ensure that data is permanently gone and can’t be recovered with the help of a recovery tool or services, use the Stellar file eraser tool, which is renowned for its data recovery solutions and services around the World. So they know exactly how data recovery works and what measures can be taken to prevent data recovery to safeguard the user’s privacy.

There are other tools and software available online for the same but most of them are unreliable and don’t offer the required options to safeguard your private data. On the other hand, Stellar File Eraser accomplishes data safety and privacy with the help of 3 international data erasure algorithms such as NATO, etc. With inbuilt verification methods, you can simultaneously verify data erasure too.

You can follow these steps to sanitize data from your HP Desktop or Laptop and restore the factory settings on your system without leaving a single trace of your personal and sensitive data:

• Install and run Stellar file eraser on another Windows PC
• Remove the hard drive from your HP laptop or desktop and connect it to the Windows PC using a SATA to USB converter cable or an HDD enclosure
• Go to ‘Setting’ and choose the desired data ‘Erasure Algorithm’ and ‘Verification’ method from the respective dropdowns
• Click ‘Home’ and then click ‘Erase Deleted Data’ in the left-pane
• Select the HP desktop or laptop drive from the listed volumes and disks on the right panel
• Click ‘Erase Now’ button and wait until the program wipes your HP laptop or desktop hard drive with the selected data erasure algorithm
• After erasure, it asks you to reboot the system. Click ‘NO’. Close the program and disconnect your hard drive from the system

Now you have successfully sanitized (& cleaned) your hard drive and can confidently sell, donate, or recycle it without worrying about your data leakage or theft. You may re-use it for other purposes too. If your objective is to overcome the system slow down, just re-install your choice of operating system and use it like before with noticeably improved performance as the drive is now cleaned from corrupt files and pesky malware or virus.

Conclusion

Data Sanitization is a good practice which is gradually picking up pace around the world. More people are getting aware of their data safety and such best practices to avoid data theft & leak from their discarded, sold, or donated electronic storage devices. This article also aims at data security and thus, we tried to address the issue with an appropriate solution i.e. Stellar File Eraser, which is a data erasure tool that helps you sanitize any desktop or laptop hard drive.

It’s safe, it’s reliable, and most importantly, it works. Most online eraser tools don’t work as intended which often leads to data leakage. Therefore, when data is critical, always go with a reliable and trusted data erasure tool like Stellar File Eraser.

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About The Author

Aruna Attri

Aruna Attri is a Senior Data Recovery Expert at Stellar®. She is a technology blogger and Windows expert. She has experience in Windows data recovery domain. She loves to troubleshoot Windows issue and write technical tips and tutorials.