Is it necessary wipe the hard drive if recovery was performed from recovery partition

[taherte2]

I've decided that it is time to discard my old Windows 7 desktop PC, a Pavilion p6670t. It has been collecting dust for a couple of years now and I am trying to de-clutter. I used the recovery partition and F11 to reset the PC to the factory image. Do I need to do anything more to ensure none of my data is left on the hard drive?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

The only way to guarantee your data cannot be recovered would be to remove the hard drive and smash it with a hammer.

The second-best way prevent data recovery would be to use a free utility like Darren's Boot and Nuke to wipe the drive.

What you did is generally fine unless some unscrupulous person who is an expert in data recovery gets a hold of your PC.

I have donated several PC's to charity or recycled to PC repair shops by doing what you did or formatting the drive and clean installing Windows.

I have never had a problem with anyone getting any of my personal information that I know of.

So, if you have no plans to donate the PC and just plan on discarding it and you are very concerned about any data that was ever on the hard drive, remove the drive.