Formating A Hard Drive

I have a computer I want to get rid of. Would a reinstall of windows format the HDD well enough
to keep naughty people away from my "stuff?"
If I really need to format more better, please suggest how. I really do not want to bother with
removing the HDD.

Computer is:
All in one.
Win 7 Pro. 64-bit
256 GB Crucial SSD

 

No a standard format prior to reinstall wont actually wipe the drive clean for anyone who wants to see what was on there.
See this guide:
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-wipe-a-hard-drive-2624527

This article has special reference to Windows 7 and using a drive deletion tool:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2155...eted-before-recycling-old-pcs-and-drives.html

 

Internal solid-state drives: Solid-state drives use a feature called TRIM. When you delete a file from a solid-state drive, the operating system informs the drive that the file was deleted. The drive then erases the file’s data from its memory cells. This is done to speed things up—it’s faster to write to empty cells—but it has the benefit of ensuring files you delete from internal SSDs can’t be recovered. An Excerpt from an artical.
If I understand the article, I have "no worries" . The one and only drive in the computer is an SSD. A format at reinstall will do the trick.
Thank you for answering.

 

Accidental double post please make it go away

 

That's great. If it doesn't have any other drive on it, like a Data HD, then that's fine.

 

No other drive.

 

Interesting reading:
https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/12503/can-wiped-ssd-data-be-recovered

 

If you want to scorch a drive and reinstall Windows, a thorough running of Darik's Boot and Nuke usually does the job. Fair warning, it can take time depending on the size of the hard drive cache, and it's spindle speed. Older and slower drives will take longer, sometimes overnight or longer.

But, you specified HDD in your first paragraph, and SSD in your system specs.

Not sure how a run of boot and nuke would affect the drive's lifespan. Most likely in a negative fashion. Your best bet is most likely to shred the files before formatting and reinstalling the OS.