Steps for removing programs and XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter James
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J

James

I am about to sell my laptop and want to remove XP and all
the programs from it before I turn it over to the buyer.
Other than using the "uninstall" feature to remove them,
is there anything else I need to know to ensure that all
my personal information is removed and that I have also
ensured the integrity of XP?
 
Simply erasing or formatting the drive does not remove the
contents. Many companies have recovery programs that can
restore partitions and data. You will need to use a program
that uses a "Security" erase schema to completely remove
data. Most require a repetitive write of various data patterns
to effectively erase old data. Even with that, there is always
some magnetic retentivity that could be recovered. (It is
expensive, but the NSA and CIA probably do it everyday.)

Even most companies that sell or donate old PC's do not use
a security erase on the drives. I've seen medical office PC's
donated that still had patient records on them. Do a "Google"
for security erase programs. You will want one that is certified
for DOD standards.
 
James said:
I am about to sell my laptop and want to remove XP and all
the programs from it before I turn it over to the buyer.
Other than using the "uninstall" feature to remove them,
is there anything else I need to know to ensure that all
my personal information is removed and that I have also
ensured the integrity of XP?
Click to expand...

If you want to uninstall everything, simply un-partition the drive,
re-partition and format.

Go here: http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm and download the win98SE OEM
disk. Create the bootdisk, boot to it, use fdisk to remove the non-dos
partition and to create a new partition using the entire disk space.
Reboot, and format. There are data recovery tools out there that would
still be able to restore your data, but it's doubtful someone would try
that.

If you want to remove everything and leave XP, boot to the XP disk and
delete your existing partition and install a fresh copy.

You'll want to back up your critical data before doing either of these as
*everything* will be erased.

--
Posted 'as is'. If there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, they
were a direct result of my fingers and brain not being synchronized or my
lack of caffeine.

Mike
 
I am about to sell my laptop and want to remove XP and all
the programs from it before I turn it over to the buyer.
Other than using the "uninstall" feature to remove them,
is there anything else I need to know to ensure that all
my personal information is removed and that I have also
ensured the integrity of XP?
Click to expand...


It depends on how paranoid you are. For most people, simply
formatting the drive is sufficient. But that does leave the
possibility open that a determined person could unformat and find
your data.

He has to really want find your data though. For most of us who
are not international spies, that's good enough. But if you want
better protection, there are several shareware/freeware programs
that overwrite all the data on the drive one or more times. That
makes it extremely difficult (but not necessarily impossible) to
retrieve anything there. The US government destroys really
sensitive data by melting the drive in a furnace.
 
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