How to wipe a hard drive before you recycle it
Recycling an old computer is the right call — just not with your data still on it. Here's how to wipe it properly on Windows or a Mac, and where the built-in tools fall short.
Before you start
- Back up what you want to keep. Once the wipe runs, there's no undo.
- Sign out of everything. Turn off Find My (Mac) or remove the device from your Microsoft account, and deauthorize apps tied to the machine. Otherwise the next owner can be locked out — or locked in to your accounts.
- Plug it in. A real wipe can take hours on a large hard drive.
Windows 10 and 11
- Open Settings › System › Recovery (Windows 11) or Settings › Update & Security › Recovery (Windows 10) and choose Reset this PC.
- Pick Remove everything.
- Under additional settings, turn on Clean data (sometimes labeled “Remove files and clean the drive”). This is the important part — without it, Windows only deletes files, and they can be recovered.
- Let it run. On a hard drive this can take several hours.
Mac
- Apple silicon or a T2 chip (most Macs from 2018 on): go to System Settings › General › Transfer or Reset › Erase All Content and Settings. These Macs encrypt storage by default, so erasing destroys the key — a cryptographic erase that's fast and effective.
- Older Macs with a spinning hard drive: start up in Recovery, open Disk Utility, choose the drive, click Erase, and use Security Options to pick at least one overwrite pass.
An SSD is a special case. Overwriting doesn't reliably reach every cell, which is why the built-in reset tools rely on encryption instead. Here's why SSDs are different.
Where the built-in tools fall short
- No verification. Nothing reads the drive back to prove the data is gone.
- No record. You don't get a certificate or log you could show an auditor, client or insurer.
- Dead or failing drives can't be wiped at all — they need to be physically destroyed.
For a personal laptop you're recycling, the built-in reset is usually fine. For business devices, anything with client, patient or financial data, or a drive that won't boot, use a service that verifies every drive and gives you proof.
Then recycle it the right way
In California, computers and other electronics are classed as universal waste — they can't go in the household trash. Take the wiped device to an authorized e-waste collector or recycler, a city e-waste event, or a retailer take-back program. Or hand the whole thing to us: we wipe or shred the drive, certify it, and route the hardware to reuse or recycling.