Getting rid of personal data on pc?

cattie

As I'm downsizing soon I'll need to get rid of my pc and wondered if there is a way to get rid of any personal data on it?

I don't have windows disk for computer as manufacturer (HP) didn't supply, but understand it's on a partition somewhere. Once pc is wiped of personal data, is it possible to reinstall windows for any new owner? Not sure if computer will go to somebody I know or to somebody unknown in need of one.

poppellerant

You'll need to be careful if you use the likes of DBAN and ensure that your installation/restore partition is left untouched by any eraser software.

robmar0se

If you download and run clean disk security, you can choose which partitions to clean, and how many times you want to overwrite the data (as well as cleaning out all the other stuff, cache, history, etc)

http://download.cnet.com/Clean-Disk-Security/3000-2094_4-10052111.html

TakeThis

You can do a Destructive Restore using the HP Recovery Manager and then use CCleaner to wipe the free space for extra peace of mind.

That way the PC will be immediately usable.

Easiest option for you.

googler

The easiest and most secure method to safeguard the personal data on the HDD is to take it out of the old PC and keep it....

Davesnave

googler wrote: »

The easiest and most secure method to safeguard the personal data on the HDD is to take it out of the old PC and keep it....

........Or smash it with a club hammer.

Lots of computers on eBay with no HDD. They don't make as much money, but then few people pay serious dosh for old computers anyway.

LincolnshireYokel

Davesnave wrote: »

........Or smash it with a club hammer.

Lots of computers on eBay with no HDD. They don't make as much money, but then few people pay serious dosh for old computers anyway.

Many of the computers sold on ebay are bought by fraudsters, and swept for erased data first, then sold on for scrap. This is because people live under the delusion that hard drives can be wiped. Once you written to a hard drive, the only way to g'tee no recovery of data against a determined attack is destruction. PC's are the only things that lose value quicker than a car. It takes 10 years for a car to become worthless, its only take 3 years for a computer.

robmar0se

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

Many of the computers sold on ebay are bought by fraudsters, and swept for erased data first, then sold on for scrap. This is because people live under the delusion that hard drives can be wiped. Once you written to a hard drive, the only way to g'tee no recovery of data against a determined attack is destruction.

Interested on where you got this info, and what specific equipment/software you would need to "sweep for erased data". Are you also saying that a disk wiped following Gutmann or NIS standards can be recovered?

Dussed

Best way I've heard is to put a few holes in it with a drill.

closed

This has been asked 100's of times on here, and always attracts the same extreme responses.

Follow post 4, you'll have a fully working factory restored pc after 30 minutes work, and no-one (including imaginary fraudsters with superhuman skills and endless time on their hands) will get your data back.

Machines often come with a method of creating the windows disc, you'll still need to tick the ccleaner wipe free space option on all drives, if you use this method of reinstallation instead.

Toxteth_OGrady

closed wrote: »

This has been asked 100's of times on here, and always attracts the same extreme responses.

Follow post 4, you'll have a fully working factory restored pc after 30 minutes work, and no-one (including imaginary fraudsters with superhuman skills and endless time on their hands) will get your data back.

+1

:grouphug: