AOMEI Partition Assistant
What Can You Do if Windows 21H2 Wiping Tool Leaves Data on Disk
Windows 21H2 wiping tool leaves data on the devices which makes them worry about information disclosure. You can try professional wiping tool to wipe data thoroughly.
By Lucas / Updated on May 12, 2023
Microsoft confirmed Windows 21H2 wiping tool leaves data
On 20th.Feb, Microsoft MVP (Rudy Ooms) found that the built-in Windows data cleaning features in Version 21H2 of Windows 10 and Windows 11 leave user data on the disk.
According to the message, if you wish to sell or recycle a PC system, you should go to the "Reset PC > Remove Everything" to wipe your personal data. That should be a good technique to clean your disk, but he discovered that the personal data will still be left on the previous system. This problem occurs while attempting to wipe a PC running Windows 10 version 21H2 or Windows 11 version 21H2.
He initially found issues with Microsoft's disk wipe capability when doing a remote clean using Microsoft Intune system management. However, over the weekend, he tried multiple Windows versions as well as both local and remote wiping to construct the following summary table.
Both the Wipe and Fresh Start options do not function as intended in Windows 10 and 11 version 21H2. He installed and tested these four operating systems using local and remote wipe procedures, then compared the results, revealing that Wipe and Fresh Start operate well on 21H1.
In addition, he also mentioned Bitlocker. Bitlocker should be erased when a device is cleaned; however, he noticed that the Windows. old folder included previously protected data that was now unencrypted.
Private information disclosure is what all people are trying to avoid now because there are numerous ways to leak your personal data out accidentally. The Internet has almost become the largest information leakage field, and it’s very dangerous for both person and company to leak sensitive data out. Therefore, modern people are quite sharp about personal data protection.
An alternative solution to thoroughly wipe data
Windows 21H2 built-in wiping tool is very convenient when you need to clean a disk or reset your device. But when it has some bugs, and you need to reset or refresh a PC quickly to protect your data, a wipe application may be beneficial to ensure that any sensitive data cannot be retrieved with undelete-type programs.
AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is your best option. As a professional disk and partition organizer, it can clean your disk in the most suitable way.
The “SSD Secure Erase” function is specifically developed for SSD users, which can overwrite meaningless data and delete all data to make sure all data and setting information are removed. If the target disk is an HDD, this software has a “Wipe Hard Drive” feature which offers 4 methods ad your selections to help you.
With these two ways, no matter SSD or HDD you use, your data can be thoroughly removed.
Let’s see more details.
SSD secure erase
◤Please don’t choose the wrong features, because SSD cannot be wiped in the same way as HDD, it will hurt the lifespan.
◤This function requires Windows 7 system environment, you need to connect the target SSD to a Windows 7 computer.
Step 1. Connect your SSD to a Windows 7 computer via SATA port. And install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional.
Step 2. In the top menu of AOMEI Partition Assistant, click "Wipe"> "SSD Secure Erase" and click "Next".
Step 3. Select the SSD that needs to be erased and click "Next".
Step 4. Double-check the SSD identification information in case of erasing the wrong SSD because the data is unrecoverable after the Erase.
▶ Secure Erase SSD requires hot-swapping the drive to unlock it from the frozen state. To continue, please perform a hot-swap.
1. Open your computer case. If it is a laptop, open the computer's rear cover or drive shell.
2. Locate the SSD that needs to be securely erased.
3. Unplug the power cable from the SSD.
4. Disconnect the SATA data cable from the SSD.
5. Then reconnect the SATA cable to the SATA port on the SSD.
6. Finally, plug the power cable back into the SSD's power connector to complete the hot-swap.
Step 5. Click "Next" to start the SSD Secure Erase.
After the erase, your SSD will show as unallocated space. If the target disk stored data is quite sensitive, you can erase it twice.
Wipe hard drive
You can use the following method to fully erase a hard disk and assure no one can recover data from it.
Step 1. You can select a hard drive that you want to wipe; right-click on it and choose the "Wipe Hard Drive" option.
Step 2. Here choose the wiping method for your hard drive, and click “OK”.
• Fill sectors with random data: It overwrites a hard disk with random data, making it more secure than the first.
• DoD 5220.22-M: The DoD standard is more secure than "zero-filling" and "random data filling," and it is also much quicker than the Guttman. As a result, it is frequently used by businesses and organizations.
• Gutmann: The safest method for disk wiping, which overwrites a hard drive with 35 passes but takes the most time.
Step 3. Click "Apply" in the toolbar to execute the operation. And you’ll see a pop message, please choose “Restart into PreOS mode” (since after you apply, your OS will be removed) and click “OK”.
Final words
Although now we found that the Windows 21H2 wiping tool leaves data on the target disk, it doesn’t mean you can thoroughly clean your disk. AOMEI Partition Assistant offers you nice solutions for both SSD and HDD. Besides, it also can move installed programs, convert to GPT/MBR, clone disk… You can find many helpful features to optimize your devices efficiently.
