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Post by bigbarney on Apr 15, 2018 9:22:47 GMT -5
I have an old Dell Notebook with XP installed which I would maybe like to pass on to a local charity.
Any recommended apps for wiping the hard drive of anything personal?
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Post by jholland1964 on Apr 15, 2018 9:41:33 GMT -5
I have an old Dell Notebook with XP installed which I would maybe like to pass on to a local charity. Any recommended apps for wiping the hard drive of anything personal? I have found nothing better than DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke)
It is FREE, very easy to use. I have used it many times and have always been very satisfied with the job that it does. How to use DBAN |
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Post by bigbarney on Apr 15, 2018 22:13:29 GMT -5
Thanks Judy
This is a notebook with no Cd drive so no way of using the ISO disc required. I have no way either of reinstalling the OS.
Any way of just wiping files and folders?
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Post by jholland1964 on Apr 15, 2018 22:30:44 GMT -5
You can put DBAN on a Flash drive. www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-use-dbanQuestion, if you are unable to reinstall the operating system onto this notebook then how can it be used once the drive is wiped clean? |
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Post by budgall on Apr 15, 2018 22:41:50 GMT -5
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Post by bigbarney on Apr 16, 2018 3:10:13 GMT -5
You can put DBAN on a Flash drive. www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-use-dbanQuestion, if you are unable to reinstall the operating system onto this notebook then how can it be used once the drive is wiped clean? That is exactly my point and why I do not want to wipe the drive clean. I did say in my OP that wanted to remove all personal files etc. |
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Post by bigbarney on Apr 16, 2018 3:11:01 GMT -5
You can put DBAN on a Flash drive. www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-use-dbanQuestion, if you are unable to reinstall the operating system onto this notebook then how can it be used once the drive is wiped clean? That is exactly my point and why I do not want to wipe the drive clean. I did say in my OP that I wanted to remove 'anything personal ' |
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Post by jholland1964 on Apr 16, 2018 7:24:49 GMT -5
Sorry to mis-read. The only way I know, short of wiping the entire drive, is to do it manually.
Go to the Control Panel, Click "Add or Remove User Accounts." Create New Account. Enter a name for the account, and then click "Administrator." It is important to click "Administrator" instead of "Standard user" if you will no longer be using the computer so that the next user of the computer will have full control over the system.
Click "Create Account."
Log out of your account, and in to the account you just created.
Return to the Control Panel and then click "Add or Remove User Accounts."
Click your original user account, and then click "Delete the account."
Click "Delete files," and then click "Delete Account."
This "should" remove all personal files but you still need to do a manual search of the computer to be sure that nothing has been missed.
You will need to stress to the new user that this computer should never be used online since XP has not been supported for 4 years it has not received any security updates and therefore is not safe to use online.
EDIT:
budgall's suggestions also look very interesting. I've not used that option in CCleaner but as we know the program itself has a good reputation so you might want to give that a try also or instead of my suggestion.
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