Getting Computer Ready to Give Away

[bicker]

I know the safest thing to do is remove the hard drive and destroy it, or to reformat the hard drive, but I'm not willing to do either. So barring those things, what should I do to ensure that whoever I give my computer to cannot recover my personal data?

I've already deleted my user accounts (creating a new one to serve as administrator).

 

[ConcKahuna]

Reformatting is normally pretty easy and only takes an hour or two. If you have the origional disks (or have an HP that has the built-in backup drive) I would go with that route.

A lot of systems will let you do a "system restore" that resets everything to the factory defaults as well.

 

[pr surfer]

The only sure way of ensuring your privacy is to destroy your hard drive. With an acetylene torch and a hammer. Seriously.

However, a reformat and OS reinstall will suffice for most people. But bear in mind, that there are specialized tools on the internet that will find files erased during a reformat.

If you're truly worried about the privacy of your data, a safe way would be using Norton Wipe Info, OnTrack DataEraser, or Jetico BCWipe. Erase your files, then let one of these programs run overnight. They will erase and write over the empty portions of your hard drive. Over and over and over.

 

[golfgal]

We got an old computer from someone that reformatted her hardrive, if you know where to look you can still see her old files. Maybe get a hard drive scrubbing program to clean it up??

 

[mmexpress]

you need to do a low level format, you can find istructions all over the net.

 

[bicker]

I can't find the installation discs and drivers disc for this laptop, so reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system isn't an option. The i386 directory is still intact... is there no way to use that?

 

[Charade]

Probably not. Usually the i386 directory is copied to the hard drive so the the original CD files are available in case a new feature or driver is needed after the fact.

What is the primary purpose the new owner is going to use the computer for? Internet? Email? Word processing? If basic stuff like that, you can download and install free Linux and OpenOffice.

 

[bicker]

Most likely he'll be doing iTunes, Microsoft Office, and video games, from his currently computer.

 

[Charade]

Most likely he'll be doing iTunes, Microsoft Office, and video games, from his currently computer.

The only other thing I can think of is to get a program that "scrubs" all personal data from the drive.

 

[bicker]

Okay, I just purchased BCWipe. Of course, it wasn't until AFTER I placed my order that they made it clear that I'd have to wait a few days to get my license.

 

[Charade]

Okay, I just purchased BCWipe. Of course, it wasn't until AFTER I placed my order that they made it clear that I'd have to wait a few days to get my license.

That's odd. Usually those things are emailed right away.

 

[bicker]

Really!