Will File Shredding delete operating system?

CCleaner for Windows
1

Hello,

My question is, if I use any file shredder (CCleaner, File Shredder, Eraser, DBAN), is there an option to also remove the operating system (any of)

from my harddrive, making my drive completely space free?

Thanks,

Smithy.

2

using the CCleaner one on your system partition will only wipe the free space. I can't speak for the others.

3

In *most* cases no; software cannot completely erase the operating system because eventually it will remove runtime files needed for the eraser itself to run.

4

In *most* cases no; software cannot completely erase the operating system because eventually it will remove runtime files needed for the eraser itself to run.

I thought that DBAN ran independent of the OS, in DOS-like mode? Do you really need an OS GUI to run DBAN from a floppy before Windows even loads?

5

From a floppy?

6

DBAN is a self-contained boot disk that will definitely remove the OS (and everything else). Be careful though because it will also nuke any other drives that you might have attached.

7

HEHEHEHE Floppy Drives exist?

8

My old desktop has a floppy drive... and a 250MB Zip drive, too. :D

9

Floppy drives are cool :)

Winnapp2 ini..??

10

@Nerg, my system must be a hybrid then, lol! Mine = P4 dual core 3,200 MHZ with 4 GB RAM & SATA 80 GB 7,200 RPM drive.

It has a DVD burner, Sata & Pata connections, AGP 16X, floppy drive...

Although I turned off floppy both in BIOS & in Device Manager to speed up doing things.

11

naw I'm just being fooly cooly. many of my computers still use floppy and I run virtual floppy on my laptop.

And yes He wears a floppy drive now, floppy drives are cool

12

Floppy drives are cool :)

Winnapp2 ini..??

+1 ... cool. They buzz and click, instead of whirring like DVD drives ... Machines are supposed to buzz and click ...

Winnapp ... ??

13

A'ight until the Original poster lets us know that this is solved lets pull it back to the subject of system removal.

Yes, to bring things back around, DBAN is it's own Operating system that you can boot to and destroy the OS, but there are no so called "self-eating blackhole" programs which while running on a live OS it can remove said live OS