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Digissential

Data Destruction (Certified Wipe)

Serving Stellenbosch & surrounds • Transparent pricing • POPIA-aligned

data-destruction-certified-wipe — Digissential

What’s included

  • Standards-based wipe (NIST-style or crypto-erase)
  • Per-device certificate with serial and date
  • SSD Secure Erase / sanitize where supported
  • E-waste guidance for safe recycling

Details

TL;DR: We wipe your drive the right way and give you a Certificate of Data Destruction.
Local: Handy for SU students handing down laptops, homes in Welgevonden/Die Boord, and Technopark teams rotating machines.

Problems we solve

  • Old PCs going to a new owner and you don’t want your files found
  • Faulty disks you need to bin without risking data leaks
  • Company policy calls for proof of wipe with serials and dates
  • You want to repurpose a drive and start clean

What’s included

  • Identify drive type (HDD vs SSD/NVMe) and pick the right method
  • Secure wipe (crypto-erase, Secure Erase/sanitize, or multi-pass for HDD)
  • Verification that the wipe completed
  • Signed certificate (PDF) per device with model, serial, method, date, and operator
  • Simple e-waste guidance for safe, legal disposal

How we do it (at a glance)

  1. Check the drive: health, interface, encryption status
  2. Pick method: controller Secure Erase for SSDs, standards-based overwrite for HDDs, or crypto-erase if the drive was encrypted
  3. Run wipe: with logs where the tool supports it
  4. Verify: confirm completion and spot test
  5. Certify: generate and email the PDF certificate; we can print if you want
  6. Recycle path: we can route hardware to an approved recycler on request

Plain words, no jargon. You get clear proof.

Time & cost in Stellenbosch

  • Labour: R250 per healthy drive (standard wipe)
  • Extras: Multi-pass HDD wipe or problem drives may cost more — we’ll confirm first
  • Turnaround: Often same day; very large HDDs can take longer

Do-nots (protect your privacy)

  • Don’t “quick format” and think it’s gone — it isn’t
  • Don’t sell or donate a PC with the old drive still inside
  • Don’t drill random holes and call it a day — data can still be read
  • Don’t toss batteries or drives in general trash — use e-waste routes

When to stop DIY & call us

  • Drive clicks or shows SMART errors (DIY wipes can fail)
  • The wipe tool throws controller errors on an SSD
  • You need certificates for audit or POPIA docs
  • The device holds work or customer data and you want no risk

Real stories around town

  • SU post-grad: Donating an old laptop. We crypto-erased the SSD and issued a cert. Happy handover, no stress.
  • Die Boord family: Old desktop with photos and tax files. We wiped the HDD, gave the cert, and routed the tower to e-waste.
  • Technopark SME: Quarterly refresh. We wiped a batch of drives with serial logs and filed the PDFs for audit.

Simple care tips

  • If you might need the data later, image the drive first — see /services/data-backup-full-system-image/
  • Keep certs in a folder by date and device name
  • When in doubt, ask us if a drive should be wiped or physically destroyed

Storage & recycling

We can wipe in the PC or via a dock. If the drive is failing, we’ll talk through options, including physical destruction. For e-waste, we use legal channels so parts don’t end up in the wrong place.

POPIA-aware handling • CPA-aligned warranties • Lawful e-waste routing on request (with data-wipe certificate)