How to erase all files and memory on computer?

Question

I want to sell my laptop, how to erase all memory from what I did and files?

Answer 1

Most files that you probably want to delete are your internet files (Every single thing u did on the internet). Open Internet Explorer..Go to Tools..Then Internet Files..Then Delete..Click Everything. But, as far as everything else, I was told that you can't erase others, because they are "deep down in your computer" & you can't erase them by yourself. Go to someone whose job is working with computers & tell them ur selling ur laptop & need to delete everything & he'll do it. Also, if u have a CD that came w/ ur laptop. It will restore your computer to how you first bought it. I would do that 1st! GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

Not as simple as it sounds... you can't just reformat and trust that all your personal data is gone... it can sometimes be recovered by someone who knows what they are doing.

You need to implement bits and pieces of what several other poeple have said in response to your question, such as a program like Killdisk that does what's called a "low level refromat" of your hard drive. Just doing a simple refromat of the drive may simply erase the directory that tells the computer where to find all the files (it will APPEAR that they are gone, but all that is really gone is the pointers telling the computer where to find them). The files may still be there!!!

So in this case, err on the side of caution...

Answer 3

Sell Computer Memory

Answer 4

Make sure you have a set of restore CD's. If they did not come with the computer, you might have to burn them yourself. Check for Help on recovery on the laptop.

Once you have the recovery CD's, download Darik's Boot & Nuke "DBAN" at
http://dban.sourceforge.net/
Burn it onto a CD and boot the CD. It will erase the disk to where the NSA cannot get anything off the disk, if you have the time.

Now you have a laptop wth an empty disk, only slightly more useful than a doorstop.
That's why you need the restore CD's, they will put the laptop back to the condition it was when you bought it.

Answer 5

Look for a program called Killdisk. You can download a free version. Burn it to a CD as an image (Nero can do this, amongst other programs), boot from the CD (you can achieve this in BIOS), and run the program. It'll write 0s to the entire disk, therefore wiping it almost completely clean. The only people who would be able to recover it would need a lot of know-how to do it. You should be safe with that.

Regards,

Brandon

Answer 6

Try DBAN.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Very powerful program, it's even used as a standard in the US Department of Defense.

A word of warning though, be sure you have already backed up all of your critical files before using this, because this will totally annihilate all traces of data on you hard drive, with ZERO CHANCE OF RECOVERY.

Answer 7

do a restore it sends the computer back to factory settings. it will dpend on the laptop as to where it will be located but it will be somewhere off our start menu, it may also be called pc recovery

Answer 8

Format and reinstall Windows on drive C:
Format all other partitions.

Answer 9

use the CDs you got with your laptop and reformat it, it'll take off everything and make it like when you first got it out of the box

Answer 10

You can format the computer and restore it to factory default.