Secure Drive Erase Service
Wiped Clean. Certified.
Done Right.
Selling, donating, or retiring an old drive? I securely erase any storage device including HDDs, SSDs, NVMe, and thumb drives using federal NIST 800-88 standards. Every drive comes back with a signed Certificate of Sanitization.
See Pricing & TiersWhy This Matters
"I Already Deleted Everything." Not Really.
When you delete a file or even format a drive, the data is still there. It's just marked as "space available." Anyone with $30 in recovery software and a free afternoon can pull tax returns, photos, saved passwords, banking details, and medical records right back off. A secure erase actually overwrites the bytes so nothing is left.
Selling or Donating
The next owner, known or unknown, will not be able to recover anything that was on the drive. You hand it off with confidence.
Compliance & Sensitive Data
For HIPAA, attorney-client, financial, or any sensitive records, the certificate documents that you followed federal sanitization guidelines.
Recycling Old Drives
Even drives heading for the dumpster pass through hands and trucks. Wiping them first removes any risk that someone fishes data out later.
Two Tiers
Pick the Right Level for Your Drive.
Both tiers meet or exceed federal NIST 800-88 standards for media sanitization. The difference is how many times the drive gets overwritten. Consumer is plenty for resale and donation. Professional is for when you need the deepest possible level of erasure.
Standard secure erase for resale, donation, and recycling.
- Single-pass zero overwrite across the entire drive
- Meets NIST 800-88 Clear federal standard
- Signed Certificate of Sanitization (PDF) included
- All drive types: HDD, SSD, NVMe, and thumb drives
- Drive removal from non-Apple computers included
- Typical turnaround: 1-2 days per drive
Sufficient for any personal or business data being released for reuse. This is what NIST recommends as the standard for modern drives, and what most people will want.
Deep erasure for hospitals, attorneys, police, and highly sensitive data.
- 7-pass US DOE overwrite with alternating data patterns
- Exceeds NIST 800-88 by a wide margin (legacy DOD/DOE standard)
- Signed Certificate of Sanitization (PDF) included
- All drive types: HDD, SSD, NVMe, and thumb drives
- Drive removal from non-Apple computers included
- Typical turnaround: 2-5 days per drive
- Drives over 2TB: custom quote
For HIPAA, attorney-client files, government work, or anyone who simply wants the strongest reassurance available. Takes substantially longer, but produces an audit-ready paper trail.
EVERY ERASE COMES WITH ONE
A Real Certificate of Sanitization.
When the erase is done, you get a signed, professional one-page PDF documenting exactly what was wiped, what method was used, and when. Save it for your records, hand it to a compliance officer, or just keep it for peace of mind.
- Drive make, model, serial number, and capacity
- Sanitization method and federal standard met
- Date performed and signed by me as technician
- Custom "Jake Fixes Tech Certified Secure Erase" seal
- Unique certificate number for your records
How It Works
Four Simple Steps.
Drop Off the Drive
Bring me the drive itself, or the computer it's in (non-Apple). If it's still in a machine, I'll pull it out at no extra charge. Apple hardware is excluded. I don't do hardware on Apple products.
Pay Up Front
The flat fee for your chosen tier is paid in full at drop-off. Once I've started the erase, the work cannot be undone, so the fee is non-refundable from that point forward.
I Wipe It Securely
Using macOS Terminal with the federal NIST 800-88 method (or DOE 7-pass for Professional). I check on it periodically. The rest is just letting the drive work through the overwrite.
Pick Up + Certificate
I hand back the wiped drive (or computer) along with your signed Certificate of Sanitization PDF. You're done. The drive is ready to sell, donate, recycle, or trash.
Realistic Timeline
How Long Does This Take?
Secure erasure isn't quick. The drive has to write over every single byte. Larger drives and older drives both take longer. Here's roughly what to expect.
Older drives can run slower than newer ones. SSDs are typically faster than spinning HDDs. I'll give you a clear turnaround estimate when you drop off based on the specific drive.
Good to Know
The Honest Details.
The drive will have no operating system after erasure
A secure erase wipes everything, including the operating system. If the drive came out of a computer and you plan to put it back in and use that computer, you'll need an OS install afterward to make it bootable again. I offer that separately as an OS install service. Otherwise I can hand back the wiped drive on its own, or reassemble the computer with the wiped drive inside (it just won't boot until an OS is installed).
Payment is upfront and non-refundable once started
The fee is paid in full at drop-off. Once I've kicked off the secure erase, the drive cannot be brought back to its previous state, so refunds aren't possible from that point forward.
Per-drive pricing
The $50 / $100 fee is per drive, not per computer. A laptop with one drive is one fee. A desktop with two drives is two fees.
Apple hardware exception
I don't perform hardware work on Apple devices, so if your drive is in a Mac, you'll need to remove it yourself first. For Windows, Linux, and most other machines, I'll pull the drive at no extra charge.
SSDs and NVMe drives
Solid-state drives use a slightly different secure-erase approach than traditional spinning drives, but the certificate documents the method actually used. The outcome is the same: data unrecoverable.
Drives over 2 TB at Professional tier
The 7-pass professional method scales linearly with drive size. A 4TB drive takes roughly 4x as long as a 1TB. Above 2TB, I quote it custom based on the actual drive so you and I both know what we're agreeing to.
This is software erasure, not physical destruction
The drive remains physically intact and usable afterward. It's just blank. If you specifically need a drive physically destroyed (drilled, shredded, degaussed), I'd point you to a certified destruction service instead.
Ready to Wipe a Drive?
Reach out with what you've got (make, model, and capacity if you know it) and I'll confirm pricing, timeline, and a drop-off window.