How do I take all my personal stuff out of PC ??

[Guest]

I want to take everything off my PC and restore it back to how it would have been in the shop so I can sell it .
Is there anything I need to know I think I have found the original disc ???
Thanks

[KiteRunner]

Oh, I don't think it's as easy as it sounds, Val, because even if you delete all your files, there are programs that the buyer could use to restore them. Some people say the only way you can safely do it is to destroy the hard disk, but there are various programs you can get which are supposed to wipe everything out.

[Guest]

I'm not too bothered as there is nothing in there to incriminate me LOL
I have put most of my stuff onto a portable hard drive now just wasnt sure if they would be able to find hidden stuff I might have missed ???

[PeteW1959]

It depends on the original discs you have. Most of them are actually an image of the hard drive when everything was freshly installed; restoring these will effectively delete everything and put it back to original.

If you want to be a bit more secure about it there are several free hard drive wiping utilities which will prevent your data being read by all but the most determined of hackers. this one is quite good:-

Erase Your Hard Drive - Free software downloads and reviews - CNET Download.com

You download it and create a CD with it which you then boot the computer with and follow the instructions. When it is done just boot with your restore disc.

But as Kiterunner says, the only totally safe way is to destroy the hard drive, and by that I mean melt it down in a furnace! Whenever I get rid of old PCs I buy a cheap secondhand hard drive off of E-bay and put that in and keep the original. Then it is someone elses data that may be compromised! But I do now have a cupboard full of old hard drives.

[yvonne wood]

If you buy a little book about identity fraud it tells you how to delete stuff from your computer but I think it also recommends that you get an expert to do it for you. Unfortunately I have parted with the book but it only cost about £3.99 from one of those cheap book shops, possibly 'The Works' Janet

[Guest]

thanks Pete and Yvonne I suppose I thought it would be a simple job ?? looks like I was wrong may re-think this and keep it as a spare for when the kids come .

[Britec]

Hi Val,

It all depends what you have had on the pc for example, if you have been doing banking and keeping account records, and other sensitive data like bank details, passwords, emails, photos, porn;) etc etc, all this can be recovered months or even years later, you can use destructive sofware like dban Darik's Boot And Nuke | Hard Drive Disk Wipe or Kill Disk Active@ Kill Disk Hard Drive Eraser. Low Level Format. and many others, these will wipe all data from hard drive, scrubbing by doing lots of 01010101 and many other ways to wipe drive, but this takes long time if you have a big drive. Lets say to do a DoD 3 pass wipe, which puts a lot of stress on the hard drive because its working hard to clean the drive, which does wear and tear on the drive.

If you are a lite user and don't do any of that stuff then don't worry just do a 1 pass wipe with Dban, but even 1 pass will take some time, its upto you really on how paranoid you are.

I would just get a empty caddy and put that drive in there and get a new small drive to put in for the old machine but then thats me, I have loads of photos and account details and stuff which i dont want other people to see, so replacing it for me is peace of mind.

[Guest]

that makes sense Brian is it easy to get the hard drive out ????and what would I buy to replace it

[Britec]

Well if its a IDE drive your looking at about £28 for a 80GB or if its Sata your looking at about £26 for 80GB or £30 for 160GB which is a better deal for the money.

To me I think £30 is a small price to pay for peace of mind? please remember if you take your old computer down the local dump to take your hard drive out because they send them old computers to places like Nigeria, India and this is where alot of cyber crime comes from because criminals recover all the data from old drives.

Now before anyone flames me for saying Nigeria and India cyber crime is global, I just said these 2 countrys because our local dump send all our old computer's there.

To remove drive is as easy as unplug ribbon or sata cable, unplug power lead and then undo 4 screws or it will be in a caddy which unclips not really hard.

Hope this helps you out

[Britec]

Also what you can do to make a hard drive blank is use a super strong magnet or earth magnets these left stuck to a drive for a short while will wipe it clean and make data unrecoverable and the downside it will more then likely stop the drive ever working again

Just a idea:D

[Guest]

thanks Brian I think I will do as you suggest and take it out and store it somewhere ,just hope my husband doesnt throw it out he does things like that .
Thanks for all your help

[MarionH]

OH decided to destroy the hard drive in one of our old machines - with the help of a vice, garden cloppers and a large hammer he eventually managed it!! Think of the space we have saved in the house!!!!lol

[Guest]

blimey thats drastic Marion ?

[MarionH]

He reckons no-one will ever get any info off that drive again!!! :D Gives them something to play with I suppose!!!;)

[Guest]

good idea might keep him busy for an hour or two mmmmmmmm thanks