Remove ALL data from laptop

[Diyisfun]

I would like to sell my old laptop.
It has windows XP & MS Office Professional.
How can I remove all my personal data, but leave the operating system & the MS office.
I do not have any discs.
I think I will get a few more £££ if I can sell it with XP & Office.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Start by removing (transferring it to a memory stick if you need those personal details on another computer) all files and folders containing personal data (word documents, excel spreadsheets etc)

Then check every other program you use to see where it stores the data - again remove these files/folders.

Might take you a while though

 

[HH1]

Simply deleting the files won't erase them.
They are still on the drive, and can be read.
The old data has to be overwritten, there is software available but at this moment can't recall its name. An internet search should turn something up.

 

[joinerjohn]

Don't forget to delete your email account details as well (specially if you have it save your password)

 

[WoodYouLike]

Simply deleting the files won't erase them.
They are still on the drive, and can be read.
The old data has to be overwritten, there is software available but at this moment can't recall its name. An internet search should turn something up.

Not sure I follow. Of course after the move/transfer/delete etc you'll have to empty the trash bin.
Where would you find all these deleted files then (supposing the trash bin has been emptied?)

 

[Coaster]

Like the others there's software about but can't remember names. Shred rings a bell but not sure if i can target a folder or the entire hard drive. I've done it manually, i deleted the folders holding shift key down to bypass the trash bin, deleted trash and all else then created a main folder. then a second folder inside that i then copied the system files into the second folder. I then repeatedly made copies of the second folder inside the main one, until the hard drive was full drive overwriting the deleted files. Then delete the main folder i created with all the sub folder copies inside it to free the space up again. I admit it's a crude and time consuming job and there could be files you deleted years ago that are still there.. I'm sure others will suggest anothe method. I'd delete any router info too or change security settings on the router after you sell it.

 

[Igorian]

Not sure I follow. Of course after the move/transfer/delete etc you'll have to empty the trash bin.
Where would you find all these deleted files then (supposing the trash bin has been emptied?)

The files aren't physically removed, they are just flagged as deleted. The data still remains intact and can be retrieved by an undelete app, a disk editor or one of the many data recovery offerings you'll find on google.

It may potentially be overwritten by other data, but you could never be sure if some useful fragment remains.

 

[HH1]

As previous post by Igorian,
Files are not deleted from the computer, only the "flag" or "pointer" that directs the operating system to the specific location on the hard drive that holds the information. ie the information that you want deleted.
The "flag" is deleted, but the information remains on the hard drive until that specific location is overwritten with other data. Which could be a while.
Try googling "Deleted file recovery" and that may turn up software to retrieve deleted files.
As Coaster says, copying folders etc would work but would be time consuming.
Try googling "hard drive deleting" or similar to find software that will automatically delete/overwrite files/folders.
A source for software called "Secure Wipe" is download.cnet.com
I have not tried this software so can't vouch for its abilities.
A further search of download.cnet.com may turn up software that is useful for both tasks.

 

[Diyisfun]

Thanks for the info, I have removed all the data that I require.
I have had new laptop for a couple of months & now feel that I have all the info I require from the old slow laptop.
Would a defrag remove the deleted data permantly?

 

[Coaster]

Not really. defrag isn't intended for that. It just re- organises the physical position of files and joins up those portions of a file that have been split and stored in seperate areas of the harddrive. It may do some overwriting but it would be purely incidental.

 

[tcinbg]

http://download.cnet.com/File-Shredder/3000-2144_4-10662831.html

 

[mattylad]

Perhaps obtaining the install keys, wiping the whole drive and reinstalling would be the safest option.

There are tools to wipe the entire drive securely.

 

[Monsterminty]

CCleaner has a free space wiper facility. You can choose 1-35 passes, which should erase everything. Cannot vouch for it but looks like the easiest way to do this. Best way would be a full format using DBAN and re-install.

 

[Diyisfun]

As I said I dont have the install disks & I will get more £££ if it has MS etc.
--------

tcinbg
Just looked at the link you pasted, will give it a go, thanks.
http://download.cnet.com/File-Shredder/3000-2144_4-10662831.html

 

[digdilem]

Balance paranioa with level of effort and cost.

Only secure way is physically destroying the drive. That is why most corporate computers are sold ex-drives.

Simplest way is deleting the data and emptying the recycle bin - but references such as recently used file list can still trip you up and reveal filenames - that also applies to file shredding software. They put great effort into the detail of overwriting the data, but if your start menu still tells a user you had a file called "Dodgy Doris Does it with Danny" it's still revealing.

Formatting and reinstalling OS etc does a reasonable job and generally puts your data beyond the reach of the casual hacker.