Best Way To Wipe Clean Old Laptops?

I have two old laptops which I wish to dispose of.
It is time to say goodbye to Windows XP and I need to wipe the hard disc totally so that it can be disposed of.

I also have a Windows 95 upgraded to Windows 98 machine.
This is more difficult as I am unable to connect it to the web, so I will need to work from the menu.
Again, it needs to be wiped clear.

Would appreciate help with totally erasing hard drives on both machines.
Thanks.

 

Thanks plodr.
I was hoping that there might be a free internet programme to overwrite
the XP machine, and a menu programme for the old machine.
Someone suggested formatting?

 

Formatting the drive would not prevent others from retrieving the data off of the formatted drive, using any number of freely available file recovery programs.

 

Plodr's recommended DBAN is a free program, based on your personal uses.

If the Win98 machine has a CD player (I assume the XP does), I make the bootable DBAN CD - make 2, in fact - and let both run. It's a menu-based program, displaying the commands to run.

It will take a while - overnight? - to complete, based on speed of machine and capacity of hard-drive.

 

Greetings, Novice22.

From http://computerlearnhow.com/how-to-destroy-a-hard-drive-8-fun-ways/ :

:-D

 

Good to know that.
Thanks.

 

OK.
Many thanks.

 

A five pound mini sledge, will make quick work of the drive platters. After you strike them twice, it sounds like sand inside the case.

 

Thanks.
For the laugh.
And for the excellent suggestion.

 

Nothing to laugh about. Done that way all of the time. Google uses a Hydraulic unit with a spike, to destroy their drives. Go to 1:12 to see how they destroy the drives from their servers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=avP5d16wEp0

 

I didn't mean that in any offensive way.
Just with all the high tech around we tend to lose sight of basic tools - which still have their uses.
Thanks again.