Wish I had more detail on this computer - but I don't. It belongs to my daughter-in-law who's a doctor. Tried a factory reset - but message says it can't be reset. DIL called me and has to send her Surface Pro 4 back to Microsoft for an exchange - but must wipe all data on it first. If you need more info, I will call my DIL and she can give it to me. Apparently, the problem is in hardware. Thank you!!!
Create a bootable Windows 10 iso:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10
Download Windows 10 ISO File
Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10
1) Boot to the iso
2) repair
3) troubleshoot
4) command prompt
5) type these commands to identify the Windows drive letter in Windows RE
diskpart
lis dis
lis vol
sel dis 0
det dis
lis par
clean all
(choose the applicable disk.....typically disk 0)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...commands/clean
This can be ran overnight.
The next day you can install Windows 10 to overwrite a portion of the drive.
Reset Windows 10
For Microsoft Surface troubleshooting these are some Microsoft links:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4036297
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4036280
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4023537
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4023527
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...rface-pro-help
Does this wipe the drive so that nothing can ever be retrieved from it? You mentioned overwriting the drive with a new installation of Windows 10. Also, there is a hardware issue with this computer - thus it has to be sent back to Microsoft for an exchange. Thank you.......
Forensics can find files despite the clean.
The more the overwrites the harder it is to recover data.
The best method to protect data is to destroy the drive.
Since this cannot be done during a RMA the next best options are reset remove files or clean all
https://www.us-cert.gov/sites/defaul...icesSafely.pdf
Everything You Need to Know About DoD 5220.22-M Wiping Standard
Data erasure - Wikipedia
Thank you! I thought there were programs (like BleachBit - which I have never used) that would overwrite a drive so many times that it would be impossible to retrieve data. Does the command prompt 'clean' do this? Since the computer has to be sent back to Microsoft for exchange, the internal drive must be included - thus precluding destroying it.
OK - thanks again. Now, how do I get a command prompt at boot (since I want to erase the operating system drive)?
You can use the bootable windows 10 iso or follow the tutorial.
I might need some help here. Also, what tutorial are you referring to?
See post #6.
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