Memory wipe / Legends A memory wipe , also known as a memory flush , was a procedure that totally erased one ' s memory . In most of the galaxy , memory wipes were used on droids . All databanks , except for basic factory - installed programming , were " wiped " clean . A memory wipe was performed with a memory flush unit . Sentient individuals could also undergo a memory wipe . Purpose . Through their everday experiences , droids would gradually begin to develop personality and independence , even overriding their programming . Most droid owners did not want this , so they prevented it by performing regular memory wipes . Droids tended to dread the procedure . Some evidence , however , suggested that " not " performing memory wipes could have beneficial effects . One such benefit was that the droid became better at inferring the wishes of its master , increasing its efficiency and accuracy . Also , droids with accumulated memories were often more effective because of their increased practical knowledge and real - world familiarity . Technicians working on Luke Skywalker ' s X - wing found that because Skywalker refused to wipe R2 - D2 ' s memory , the droid was needed to decipher diagnostics from the X - wing ; at the same time , communication between Artoo and the ship had greatly improved over time . History . The periodic application of memory wipes became commonplace sometime after 200 BBY , when a cybersociologist of the Baobab Merchant Fleet accidentally created a personality algorithm that ran rampant as a virus through the droid population . During the days of the Old Republic a criminal organization called the Syndicat created a memory - wiping device for living beings . The Syndicat used this device to wipe the memories of the natives of Phindar who defied them , as a punishment . Obi - Wan Kenobi nearly had his memory erased , however , after surrounding his memories with the Force , he became the only being to ever withstand the memory wipe . It was destroyed by the natives in the battle that brought the end of the Syndicat in 44 BBY . Bail Organa ordered Raymus Antilles to wipe C - 3PO ' s memory to ensure the true lineage of Leia Organa remained unknown . However , an image of a nine - year - old boy — the droid ' s maker , Anakin Skywalker — somehow survived the wipe . Years later , after the mention of Obi - Wan Kenobi ' s name , Owen Lars told Luke Skywalker to wipe the memory of two recently acquired droids — Threepio and Artoo — as part of a routine procedure . The wipe , however , was never performed . Wedge Antilles had the memories of his astromech droid , Mynock , wiped after finding that in battle situations the droid ' s screaming was too much of a distraction . The technicians wiped Mynock ' s memory , and made a number of other improvements which resulted in the droid being re - designated R5 - G8 . Wedge then renamed the droid Gate . In one instance , Kodir of Kuhlvult , a Kuati noblewoman , secretly arranged to have a memory wipe performed on her sister , Kateel of Kuhlvult , who did not support Kodir ' s ambitions to seize control of Kuat Drive Yards . However , the intermediary responsible for arranging the procedure fleeced Kodir by pocketing her credits and attempting to perform the memory wipe independently rather than hiring a specialist . That decision resulted in Kateel slowly but surely regaining her memory .