‎Replace failed hard disk | DELL Technologies

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Agnes266

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Agnes266

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February 6th, 2012 16:00

Replace failed hard disk

Hi,

I am new. I heard Dell will send out repaired used hard disk if your hard disk fail. Does Dell clean up the data before that?

Will I get a hard disk with data from its previous owner in such case?

:emotion-1:

J
jackshack
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Posted February 6th, 2012 17:00
I believe it is customary to perform a complete low level format of the platters before sending a hard disk drive out, even a refurbished one. In such a case, the only way you will ever see data from a previous owner is if you have tools that are normally only available at certain very spooky agencies.
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Agnes266
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Posted February 6th, 2012 17:00
Is it possible that I find data if I do a deep scan?
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shesagordie
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Posted February 6th, 2012 17:00
Agnes266

No, you will not receive a hard drive that has data on it, all of Dell's replacement hard drives are labeled 'Refurbished', even when they are new drives.

Bev.
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rdunnill
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Posted February 6th, 2012 17:00
I'm not sure if they wipe the disk or not. If they reformat the disk and don't wipe it, you'd have to use a data recovery tool like Encase to view the previous owner's data.
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rdunnill
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Posted February 6th, 2012 21:00
Having just completed a college course in hard drive forensic data recovery, I can say that use of tools like Acronis will make it impossible for anyone apart from the aforementioned spooky agencies to recover data.

Even law enforcement relies on tools like Encase, which can only read what's in the sectors -- the examiners rely on users' ignorance of how files are deleted and formats are performed.