Want to sell my computer, but have been advise to have all information swiped off, is it something I can do???

Answer 1

well it depends how technical you want to get...
if you want to take the easy way follow the advice above and use the factory restore.
even though you are technically reformatting, you data is still recoverable using computer forensics. If you have sensitive information on your PC then i would recommend one of two things.

first you could use a file shredder to format with. something like east-etc file shredder which can be found here: http://www.canadiancontent.net/tech/download/East-Tec_File_Shredder.html

or you could do it the simple way and just replace your hard drive. if you open your computer case, unscrew the mount points on your hard drive, remove the ide and power cables, and replace it with a new one, your data will be safe and secure in your hands.

Note on the two suggestions above: both of these methods require a operating system install after they are preformed. This will require a windows or Linux cd. It is important to check your bios (usually hitting the F1 or Delete key when computer first starts) to make sure that your cd drive boots before your hard drive. if everything is ready to go all you will have to do is insert the cd and follow the on screen instructions to install the OS.

hope this helps.

Answer 2

Formatting the harddrive is not enough because someone with software can recover your information easily if you want to sell your computer first I recommend you get this free tool called dban at:

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

it comes in a floppy disk format or you can burn it to a cdrom then you just boot from it and run it.

The best thing to do is choose the option that offers the
securest wipe and set it to erase your computer let it do 25
or 38 passes and leave it on for a day (it takes hours)

Once your computer is securely wiped then you can reformat
factory install with a copy of xp and sell it no problem.

Answer 3

you could try using a file deletion program. THe best way is to take the hard drive out of the old computer and put it in the new one, and then use the deletion program to securely wipe it.

If you havent got any personal documents or secrets (bank account info and all that), then dont worry too much about it.

Answer 4

That's nothing worry. If you really do not need the information you have, just clean (reformat) the hard disk. in case you need that info, copy it onto a CD and reformat it. The saved information can later be transferred to your new computer.

Answer 5

Pop in a Knoppix or Slax LIVE LINUX distro.

Get into a ROOT SHELL

type Shred -n 3 -z -v /dev/hda

Wave goodbye to your data on that HD.

that 3 in that code can be any number----denotes how many time your writing garbage to the disk.
Onthe final pass it will auto write 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 :-)

Answer 6

if you have a system restore disk,you should run this through the system,this will re-install windows and will wipe all data of your hard drive
if you have a normal windows xp disk you can do the same,just remember in installation to format the drive using ntfs or fat32(ntfs recommended)
this way,the next user who uses the computer will have a clean cpmputer to work with

Answer 7

Get Directory Snoop, Free trial

Answer 8

format the hard drive this would wipe everything on the pc. but make sure u put ur windows system back on. eg xp or win 2000

Answer 9

If you need a recent version of Slax. Here is a free download: http://j.mp/1k40Adp
Give it a try.
Have a nice day

Answer 10

Format it but make sure u have copies of softeare on cds so that u can reinstal them