How do I erase all personal info from a computer that I am getting ready to sell?
Answers:
Hi there,
Backup the files that you want to keep (if you do) and use the XP (assuming) cd and format the drive, or if you have the restore cd's, use those as they should set your computer back to like it was when you first bought it.
You can also, buy another Hard drive, install it and then install the Operating System onto that one. If you think that someone will be able to get your info.
Hope this helps you.
Format the hard drive and reinstall the OS.
The only safe way/sure fire way is to reformat your hard drive. that will wipe everything...everything.
the only way that you can guarantee that the info is safe is to pull the hard-drive out and keep it. Sell the computer without it. There are people that are so good with computers that even when you format the hard-drive they can still find the info that you had on it.
Download CCleaner and run it. Let it delete everything it wants to. Also, go to whatever internet browser you use and go to:
Tools > Options
then go to the privacy tab and tell it to delete everything it can. History stored data, etc.
After that you should be good to go. You might want to throw in a defrag for good measure.
Or you could go the super paranoid route and do a full reformat.
Get a drive scrubber program. Norton has one.
If you just format the drive or remove the partition, you are not truly getting rid of data. The reason is that drives use file allocation tables. These tables store where data is written on a drive. Formatting or removing a partition is fine for killing this table, but the raw data is still on the disk. Data is stored in blocks. Blocks are kind of like doors on a filing cabinet. If you delete data, you are removing the allocated table entry, or in the file cabinet analogy, you are removing the label on the door. The actual data remains until you re-use that block (or drawer).
Programs like Norton's will actually write a value to every sector (sectors are parts of a block, kind of like hanging folders in a file cabinet) on the drive (usually a 1 then a 0) and then remove the file allocation tables. This is the only real way to remove data completely from your drive.
That said... a format or partition deletion will thwart most people from seeing your left over data. (it would not stop someone like me... but why would I want to explore an old hard drive?)
Go to http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/eraser/... and download this program. It is better that formatting a drive.
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