Preparing PC for sale

cookiesncream

Hi, I've not been on this board before but I'm hoping that all you loveys can help me

I have a PC and Laptop and have decided to sell my PC as I don't really need it anymore and it's wasted. I was wondering two things:

1) I've heard that anything that you delete can be recoverable, will totally rebooting it protect me or is there something else I need to do?

2) Which is the best way to sell it to get the most money out of it? I was thinking of putting it on eBay but I haven't got a clue what I'm talking about so don't know if that'll be the best way to get the most money out of it.

If anyone has any other imprtant pointers I'd be really grateful :T

Thanks :j

mexicanwaver

There are ways of recovering deleted data from hard drives, but the process is lengthy and expensive. Your average Joe probably couldn't care less about going to the trouble. So you could probably get away with deleting all your files manually. You could also try cleanig the registry - there are various tools available to download (often for free) which will help you with that.

It's also important to delete any "cookies" (files that store login information for cetain websites - so they automatically log you on next time you visit the website etc). Also remember to remove your account details from Outlook Express (or whatever email software you may be using).

A more thorough option is probably to format the hard-drive and reinstall the operating system - presumably windows. Then reinstall all your software/drivers etc. But that can be a pretty daunting process if you're not too experienced with PCs.

Is your PC a common big brand name (eg. Dell)? If so, it may have come with a Windows "recovery" CD that will reset the computer to its initial state, with all the necessary drivers installed etc. It should give you instructions about how to do that.

Hope these suggestions help.....maybe someone else can give you more indepth information about how to actually carry out these things?

irnbru_2

mexicanwaver wrote:

Hope these suggestions help.....maybe someone else can give you more indepth information about how to actually carry out these things?

dban then do a re-install.

irnbru_2

cookiesncream wrote:

Which is the best way to sell it to get the most money out of it?

Your best bet is to sell it locally. If there is no (transferable) warranty expect it to have depreciated very quickly.

If it's a brand-name PC then check the completed sales on EBay.

If you go down the EBay route there used to be a cheap way of posting via DHL/Staples. Not sure if it's still running.

leesmithg

We are not lovey's b.t.w. thats associated with actors.



What are it's specs?

As you can buy a decent PC for £350 with at least a 1 year warranty brand spanking new.

It might be better to strip it and sell the components, piece by piece on eBay.

Darksun

Yeah, I recommend a tool like dban to securely erase everything on the harddrive. People have been known to buy cheap computers and harddrives on eBay to recover the data on them.

niceguyrichy

SafeIT File Shredder 2006 is meant to be a reliable prog, and it's free on Computer Shopper DVD edition this month (september 06 issue).

and like previously stated, important to completely wipe all cookies, browser history etc.