PC to Charity - How to clean it first?

10freckles

Hi there - I'm really new to this and hopeless with computers (not a good combination!)

I'm giving my old PC to a charity but obviously want to clean it of any sensitive data before I do that. I've read a few threads and using what I could understand I downloaded something called CCleaner.

I ran this on my PC and it said it had deleted 2,500 MB of stuff....but when I went onto my banks website it still suggested mt username for me - so I must have done something wrong!:(

Could someone help me in words of one syllable - what can I do to clean it properly?

Thanks very much in advance

TakeThis

Make and model?

10freckles

Its a Fujitsu Siemens, with 4 CPu 2.6GHz, 1.5 ram. Running Windows Xp.....
Is that okay?

John_Gray

If you are really new to computers you won't know all the sneaky places that Microsoft uses to save user data files. And CCleaner won't wipe out your user files (it does a very good job of getting rid of temporary files).

What would be best for you would be to wipe it completely clean using something like DBAN, then reinstall Windows from the original CD(s), making use of the Product Key on the COA certificate on the case. Then spend a couple of days installing the latest service pack (SP3) and subsequent Windows updates...

Or just stop after wiping the hard disk completely, and get the charity to go from there!

TakeThis

10freckles wrote: »

Its a Fujitsu Siemens, with 4 CPu 2.6GHz, 1.5 ram. Running Windows Xp.....
Is that okay?

That's just the make...we need the full model number, so that we can instruct you how to run a destructive Factory Restore if necessary.

10freckles

So I still have the CD's that came with the computer, so installing windows should be easy for them to do? They have an IT part to the charity so it should be ok for them to do that if I tell them what I'm doing first?

I looked at DBAn - but diddn't understand what to do - it said I needed to boot from a USB or something?

10freckles

55277 - OEM -0011903-00117 ---is that the model number?

closed

boot from the reinstall cd, may need to press F12 or go into bios and change boot order to cd first to do this) reinstall windows from disc, (delete/format the partition at the beginning of the reinstall)

then install ccleaner,

tick all boxes, especially the wipe free space one, and run it

10freckles

Would that wipe all the saved passwords and files then? It sounds easyish to do - I assume you just pop in the disk and follow the instructions? (Sorry to be a bit dense)

closed

yes it will

10freckles

bios ????? what is bios???? I'm not sure I know what this is - It sounds like wash powder!!! I can do F12 though so thank you for your previous post - I will have a go tonight.

Appreciate the help... :-)