windows 7 - Are there options for disk wiping software that do not require booting into the software first?

I have an external hard disk and a HDD that was formally internal but is now connected via a SATA-to-USB adapter.

I'd like to wipe both drives, but I feel uncomfortable booting into DBAN and other similar software because I don't want to accidentally wipe any of my internal drives.

I'm considering deleting all root folders in both drives by opening Windows Explorer, going into I:\ and J:\, highlighting all the folders, and then Alt-Del. After that I would execute ccleaners 'Wipe Free Space'. However, I don't know how effective that is (is it really erasing everything including system directories and recycle bins?).

Answer

It sounds like you want a 'secure erase' or a zero pass to be done, is that correct?

From format /?:

/P:count        Zero every sector on the volume.  After that, the volume
                will be overwritten "count" times using a different
                random number each time.  If "count" is zero, no additional
                overwrites are made after zeroing every sector.  This switch
                is ignored when /Q is specified.

format J: /P:0 and format I: /P:0 should do the trick for you. Make sure you open the command prompt as administrator.

If you're not looking for a secure erase, and just want to make sure everything on the drive is erased for your personal use later, use the commands format J: /Q and format I: /Q, this will do a quick format and be (obviously) much faster than running a zero pass on the drive.

Alternatively, you can do a quick format from a GUI by right-clicking the drive and selecting the Format option.

Deleting files by hand will be messy a slow. I would avoid it. I'm also not particularly a fan of anything related to CCleaner. Windows has its own simple, built in methods to erase a disk.