DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

formatting

12 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/formatting.137633/

T
thecat Original post #1
Mar 6, 2011 at 9:00 AM
Hello everybody,
A friend of mine bought off a laptop via craigslist and later realized that it might be stolen. So, he updated the bios and formatted the hard drive with DBAN twice through Hiren's boot cd. So, still he is wondering if he can be tracked through wifi or ethernet connection. Is that possible?
Thanks
Garbage
Garbage #2
Mar 6, 2011 at 9:40 AM
Better contact the original seller and report!
thetechfreak
Mar 6, 2011 at 11:36 AM
No if in the format he has deleted each and every file.

Have proper AV and firewall installed.
Garbage
Garbage #4
Mar 6, 2011 at 12:57 PM
No if in the format he has deleted each and every file.

Have proper AV and firewall installed.
I would rather discourage continue using a stolen laptop! :|
thetechfreak
Mar 6, 2011 at 1:56 PM
Delete all your partitions, do a slow format of Hdd
pulkitpopli2004
Mar 6, 2011 at 2:16 PM
dnt wori once all partitions have been deleted,, laptop cannot be tracked unless any tracking s/w installed on it.
it can be tracked by MAC address and dat too in Local LAN network..
n this is a very rare case..
thetechfreak
Mar 6, 2011 at 2:43 PM
do that and you are pretty much safe to use it
T
thecat #8
Mar 6, 2011 at 8:29 PM
Yes, he used Hiren's boot disk to format it using Darik's and Nuke Boot tool twice. It is DoD format method and took him a whole day which overwrite every partition and sectors with zeros making any data irrecoverable. And he also flashed the BIOS to latest version. So, after all is he in the safe side to use the laptop(Netbook)?
Rockstar11
Mar 6, 2011 at 9:15 PM
Hiren's boot disk?
hmm...
choudang
choudang #10
Mar 10, 2011 at 7:19 PM
it does not matter how many times you have formatted, even changed your mac add/hdd or flashing the bios .. it is still traceable ... cuz you can not change the serial no of that laptop.
A
Mar 11, 2011 at 8:27 AM
Don't encourage theft and how to avoid tracing!
Its against laws and is quite similar to piracy which this forum wholeheartedly discourages.
@thecat:I request you to do what Garbage said.
vamsi_krishna
Mar 11, 2011 at 9:16 AM
Contact the person who sold you the Laptop. And If it is stolen, you have no right of procession even though you paid for it.

Locking the thread.