Disposing of a computer

albert_s

closed wrote: »

If you dban it, the charity probably won't be interested (no o/s). Setting it to factory settings, and using ccleaner wipe free space has the same effect, but leaves a working os on it.

Ive gotten both my PCs from such places without OS,
not everyone wants M$ rubbish anyway.

the one thing would be good if you remove HDD though(or in any case),
is that if you are donating it to a charity shop put a little label on it with some sort of system inside,
ie, P3 , 1.4GHz, 256 RAM , then someone knows if its worth a punt at a tenner or whatever the charity asks, or if maybe they even want to use it for some other project.
a HDD is always a bonus though for them.

GillsMan7

closed wrote: »

If you dban it, the charity probably won't be interested (no o/s). Setting it to factory settings, and using ccleaner wipe free space has the same effect, but leaves a working os on it.

It doesn't have the same effect in that it is relatively easy to retrieve old documents and files using your proposed method.

ddoris

If more paranoid than normal here , use a larger hammer .

closed

GillsMan7 wrote: »

It doesn't have the same effect in that it is relatively easy to retrieve old documents and files using your proposed method.

how is it relatively easy when the data area has been overwritten?

GillsMan7

closed wrote: »

how is it relatively easy when the data area has been overwritten?

Does ccleaner wipe overwrite the data then? I actually didn't know that, it's been a while since I used it. Does it work in the same manner as DBAN? I was working on the assumption that while logically some data might be overwritten, not all of it will and the majority of it will recovered.

closed

It does if you tick the wipe free space option, as I suggested

hubert_cumberdale

take drive out

put a little pile of thermite on top and light it

stand back and watch the drive dissapear

GillsMan7

closed wrote: »

It does if you tick the wipe free space option, as I suggested

Just looked at it, and it doesn't reach the level of DBAN (so I was right that it's not the same), but it's more than good enough for most security conscious users I agree. :beer:

paddyrg

Howw about a combination of the above - give dban a spin first, then install a nice simple Linux build like Ubuntu or better still Mint (Ubuntu with all the proprietary extensions already bundled - flash, proprietary drivers, etc - so it's ready to go straight out the box) which will fit on an old hard drive and make a generally useful system for another couple of years. You would find a re-housing charity interested, for people just getting their lives back together, one may find a fully working computer with Open Office and a browser do most of what they need for getting a CV together and back on track.

[Deleted User]

Don't go overboard with DBAN, just a single pass is sufficient to render the contents of the drive unrecoverable unless you have access to some rather expensive and difficult hardware to use and expertise in computer forensics..