Disk Utility User Guide
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- Create a backup. Make sure that you have a current backup of your important files.
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In Disk Utility on Mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your Mac. Erasing a storage device deletes everything on it.
If you have any files you want to save, copy them to another storage device.
Open the Disk Utility app on your Mac using one of the following methods, depending on the type of disk or volume you want to erase:
If you want to erase your startup disk or startup volume: Start up from macOS Recovery, then choose Disk Utility from the macOS Utilities window.
If you want to erase any other type of disk or volume: Double-click Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities folder.
Choose View > Show All Devices.
In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button .
Click the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map.
Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose a choose a file system format.
Enter a name.
(Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK.
Secure erase options are available only for some types of storage devices. If the Security Options button is not available, Disk Utility cannot perform a secure erase on the storage device.
Writing over the data three times meets the U.S. Department of Energy standard for securely erasing magnetic media. Writing over the data seven times meets the U.S. Department of Defense 5220-22-M standard.
Click Erase, then click Done.
Note: With a solid-state drive (SSD), secure erase options are not available in Disk Utility. For more security, consider turning on FileVault encryption when you start using your SSD drive.
Summary: In this blog, you will read about the importance of deleting files in a safe & secure manner from your hard drives and learn that only a certified file erasure software can delete your files permanently. You will be introduced to BitRaser File Eraser, one of the best file erasure software available to wipe files from a hard drive beyond recovery. Take a free-trial of BitRaser File Eraser for 30 days to see how it works!
As you work & surf the web on our Mac or Windows PC, you store a lot of data. Your data is stored in the hard drives of your PC or Mac. This data can be of various types such as audio files, videos, documents, images, archives (Zip, RAR) etc. You usually classify this data into folders and sub-folders in the drive to access them easily.
And more than often, you need to delete data stored in the hard drive(s). You can do this for a number of reasons, such as:
1) Data privacy concerns: You need to regularly delete data from your hard drives in order to protect yourself from any kind of data breach or online fraud leading to financial and personal damage. Personal and financial data stored in your PC or Mac drive is sensitive and must be protected from malicious sources at all costs. Even web browsers tend to save your online data such as social media credentials, banking details, etc. for targeted ads and for tracking our activities online. In order to safeguard your data and online privacy, you must erase sensitive data from your drives regularly.
2) Storage space limit: Drives have a limited storage space. You need to delete data in your PC or Mac drive to make space for new files.
3) Infected hard drive: This happens when a virus or malware attacks your PC or Mac hard drive and infects the files stored in it. Such virus attacks sometimes result in severe file corruption and unless you delete these files, you are un-able to use the system properly.
4) Discarding PC or Mac: If you are replacing your old system with a new one, it is advisable to completely erase the data present in all drives of the system. If not done, any hacker or data thief can retrieve residual data from these old hard drives and put your privacy at risk.
Read more in this interesting blog post about the life-cycle of hard drives and how easy it is to recover data from a hard drive by using a data recovery software.
How to delete hard drive files?
There are two ways to delete files present in your hard drive. The first way is to use your PC or Mac settings. This simple procedure sends the files you wish to delete to Trash in Mac (Image 1) and Recycle Bin in PC (Image 2). You can then clean you Recycle Bin or Trash and the data appears to be gone from the system.
The procedure above appears simple and we get the idea that the job is done. However, the files aren’t permanently deleted. Any publicly available data recovery software (even the free ones) can easily recover these files and defeat the purpose of deleting those files in the first place.
Why you should delete your confidential hard drive files permanently?
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We live in an age of cyber fraud and identity theft, so it is extremely important to safeguard our data. The unwanted but sensitive data you chose to delete must be deleted permanently. Your PC or Mac settings do give you the option to delete your data but they do not erase the files and folders permanently from your system.
For e.g. if you are selling, donating or dumping an old or unused computer, and you delete your drives using the system settings, you should be aware that anyone can get unauthorized access to your confidential data still present on these drives. It is a fact that entire drives can be retrieved using a powerful data recovery software. The drive may contain your personal photos, passwords, social media credentials, banking details, etc. Any misuse of this information can cause you great personal and financial harm. It is therefore, very important to permanently delete your drives as any mishap like that can expose you to multiple online & physical threats.
Why you should only trust a professional File Eraser tool to delete your files?
Only a File Erasure software can delete your files in a drive permanently. A file erasure software uses advanced methods to overwrite the data you wish to delete and render that data irrecoverable. One such prominent file erasing tool is BitRaser File Eraser, which permanently deletes unwanted files, folders, application traces, cookies, etc. from your PC or Mac hard drive beyond recovery.
How to use BitRaser File Eraser to delete your files from Mac hard drive
1. Download and launch BitRaser File Eraserfor Mac.
2. Select Files & Folders option from the main interface. Click Next.
The left pane of the window displays all the volumes on the computer and the right pane lists the files / folders of the selected volume.
3. Select the desired files to be deleted.
4. From Preferences, select the appropriate erasing option for secure deletion and click Erase button.
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6. The Confirm Erasure dialog box appears. Click Confirm Erasure to erase files/folders permanently from your Mac hard drive.
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A message will display after the successful completion of erasure process.
Note: After the successful erasure, you must restart your system.
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How to use BitRaser File Eraser to delete your files from Windows hard drive
1. Download and launch BitRaser File Eraserfor Windows.
2. Click Erase Now tab from the left pane. All the connected or mapped drives consisting of available files and folders are displayed in a tree hierarchy as illustrated below:
3. Select the Volume, in case you want to erase the full volume. Else, click on the nodes [+] to expand and navigate further to select the required files or folders.
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4. Check/Uncheck the files or folders in the tree to select/deselect them for erasure.
5. Click Erase Now button to start the erasure process.
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Conclusion
You should permanently delete the files and folders present in your hard drives to safeguard your online privacy. Only a data erasure tool like BitRaser File Eraser can erase the files permanently and give you complete peace of mind against any unsolicited use of your personal data. BitRaser File Eraser is a DIY tool from Stellar, purpose-built to protect your privacy by securely erasing unwanted but confidential files from your Windows PC or Mac. Download the software for Mac & Windows from the links below and enjoy all features for free for 30 days.