Are you in need of wiping data from an internal or external hard drive? You may take the Gutmann method. Learn how to Gutmann wipe a hard drive easily from this page.
The Gutmann method is an algorithm for securely erasing the contents of computer hard disk drives. This algorithm was designed by Peter Gutmann and Colin Plum, and its main function is to repeatedly write 35 segments in the segment to be erased. This is the safest method for remote hard disk data, but it also takes a long time.
After understanding what a Gutmann wipe is, how can we use it to wipe the hard drive? I highly recommend you to use the powerful disk partition management software——AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It allows you to use Gutmann method to wipe the hard drive. In addition, it also provides 3 other erasing methods: fill sectors with zeros, fill sectors with random data， DOD 5220.22-M.
This Gutmann wipe utility is designed for Windows operating system, it supports Windows 10/8/7, Windows XP, Windows Vista. And its intuitive interface makes all operations very easy. If you want to erase the hard drive on an old PC that cannot be booted, sell the hard drive or discard the hard drive, then AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro will be your best choice.
Just connect the hard drive you want to wipe with your computer; you can download the demo version and see the detailed steps of Gutmann wipe a hard drive.
Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and right-click the hard drive you want to wipe by Gutmann. Then click “Wipe Hard Drive”.
Step 2. Choose “Gutmann” to wipe hard drive.
Notes：
☞Fill sectors with Zeros: Overwrite all sectors with zeros. It is common to wipe a personal hard drive. It is safe and fast. ☞Fill sectors with random data: It overwrites hard drive with random data. It is more secure than the first one. ☞ DoD 5220.22-M: DoD standard is firstly published in Department of Defense of the U.S. It is much securer than "zero-filling" and "random data filling" and faster than the Guttman. Thus, it is often adopted by companies and organizations.
Step 3. Click "Apply" in the toolbar to execute the operation.
PS.: Because the way of writing data on SSD is completely different from that on HDD, if you want to wipe a SSD, I recommend you to use SSD Secure Erase.
After performing Gutmann wipe, you also need to partition and high-level format hard drive. Only after these processes, the system can recognize and use the hard disk. Fortunately, AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro can also help you complete the above operations.
●In the main interface, select the target hard disk and choose “Create Partition”. ●In the pop-up window, you can decide the size, drive letter, file system, partition label as well as partition type (primary or logical) of the new partition. ●Finally, click “Apply” on the upper left to start the creation of the new partition.
Now, your hard disk can be used normally.
If you want to change file system, you can reformat partition.
Q：Is Gutmann secure?
A：The Gutmann method is in fact the most secure, and IIRC was developed based on principals of electo-magnetics in his academic paper 'Secure Deletion from Magnetic and Solid State Media', so it’s a theoretically secure solution.
Q：How long does the Gutmann method take?
A：Based on simple arithmetic, a 1TB drive should take around 10 hours to erase over USB 2.0. If you happened to do a Gutmann erase, then that would take 350 hours, about 2 weeks.
Q: What is the most secure method of data erasure?
A: Gutmann method. Named after its developer, the Gutmann algorithm is a method of disk wiping that overwrites data using a total of 35 passes. This makes it one of the most secure data erasure methods, but also the most time-consuming.