I have a laptop that I need to install a new OS on (Windows 7). I've already installed 2 versions of Windows on the hard drive so I figure it would be best to completely erase everything and start fresh. Would the HDD erase tool be the best for this job? Are there any other issues or advice that I should know about? Any information is appreciated, thanks.

DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) is fast and effective. It shows up a short report whether the deleting process was successful or not.

"Quick Erase" should be perfect for normal users.

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I agree with Haubi. Unless you have private content you dont want anyone to ever get again, just use a quick format with the install of windows. Even then, when you format then install windows it will overwrite any content thats already on the drive and with defrags eventually all the content will be overwritten.

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I use HD Shredder. it can be run in windows to erase a second drive, or use it to create a boot disk (or use the image with UBCD) to erase the primary drive too. has a nice graphical interface. the free version only does 1 pass, and only erases an entire disk. the paid version can do multiple passes and erase partitions.

http://www.hdshredder.com

I never use quick format, because I don't like the idea of having to overwrite and deal with defrag. why do that when you can just as easily start from a clean disk? but that's just my preference.

Or, install windows and Ccleaner (freeware), and check the box for wipe clean space. Most likely will be faster considering you are only wiping the free space and not the whole disk AND you can choose how many overwrites of data you want for it under the settings options for even more rest assurance.

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Visit the UBCD Wiki: http://wiki.ultimatebootcd.com
Please check your UBCD ISO MD5 Hash Sum; May prevent issues later on by not having an exact copy.

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