You might think clicking “Delete” on your files is enough. It’s not. Deleting a file is like tearing the table of contents out of a book—the pages (your data) are still there until someone writes over them.

Note: You cannot do this while Windows is running. You will need a bootable CD or USB.

Planning to sell, donate, or recycle your old Windows 7 PC? Don’t just delete files. Here is the safe, step-by-step guide to completely erasing your hard drive. Let’s be honest. Windows 7 was the golden era. It was stable, it was familiar, and it just worked .