I am selling my computer and was wandering with all the problems of fraud, would a complete system recovery to restore factory settings wipe out EVERYTHING off the computer. so that no-one can ever find bank details etc? or must i do something else
2007-01-08 06:35:17 · 7 answers · asked by danny_9950 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
As the last 2 users said. One said you can either physically trash the hard drive and purchase a new one for cheap then tack it on the to top of the price. The other said you can get programs to "wipe" your computer of information. Wiping involves doing a binary number system to your drive in 0 and 1's. If you want complete satisfaction in knowing your information is gone though, destroy your drive completely and purchase a new one. The average user will not have the abilities to actually go and undo a recovery on your computer though, so I would not stress out to much if you choose this path.
2007-01-14 13:23:27 · answer #1 · answered by Heather C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That will not be enough if the person you sell it to really want to dig around.
If you are selling your computer, thoroughly clean your hard drive. Deleting files and reformatting is not enough. Reformatting does not overwrite every sector, and private information can remain retrievable. Use a secure delete or disk wiping utility to overwrite every sector on all hard drives. Be sure to use a utility that supports the U.S. DoD standard of seven passes or wipes. While this method is good enough for most people, be aware that the only absolute way of destroying all traces of everything your hard drives is to have these disks degaussed (demagnetized) and physically destroyed.
Suggested: BCWipe, Evidence Eliminator, or SDelete.
2007-01-08 06:42:34 · answer #2 · answered by rlh242424 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
complete system recovery to restore factory settings will put it all back to manufacturers settings like so that sould be ok but there is software that can recovery old data from a hard drive even if you clean out da hard drive if your not going to sell it to da cops you have nothing to worry about. hapy new year danny
2007-01-08 06:39:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Purely my personal opinion - but over the years I have indicated my SS number, credit card, etc. etc.
When I sell or dump my PC, I intend to physically destroy the hard drive. The buyer can get a new one for very little cost or you could install a clean one and include it in the sale price. It is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
2007-01-08 06:40:58 · answer #4 · answered by TheHumbleOne 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
System recovery will put it back to default factory mode. It will be like new.
2007-01-08 06:38:31 · answer #5 · answered by Dantheman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no it's not good enough.... rlh242424 is right.
you need a tool that can wipe your hard drive 'clean' at least seven times.
2007-01-08 06:57:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes i believe so
2007-01-08 06:44:31 · answer #7 · answered by sk8rpunkbp69 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋