lordpuffer
join:2004-09-19
West Hollywood, CA
 ·Vonage
 ·AT&T Yahoo
 ·RoadRunner Cable
edit:
May 2nd, @07:34AM
| [XP Home] Selling Computer....Best Way To Get Rid Of Data
Hi....I am selling my desktop and before I do, I want to get rid of all of the sensitive, private data that may be in it such as credit card numbers, passwords, etc. I do not want to wipe my hard drive clean. I want the person who buys it to have a fully loaded, working system. Without spending any money for software, what is the best way to make sure that all of this data is gone when I sell it? Thanks. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI | Wipe it clean and then reinstall Windows for them.
Use Dban (free) to wipe it or use the utility from your hard drive manufacturer (also free).
»dban.sourceforge.net/ |
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izy
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Naples, FL | reply to lordpuffer
You can use windows cipher utility to overwrite the deleted information.
»support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/315672 |
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louist
And So It Goes
Premium
join:2001-12-01
Oakland Gardens, NY
 ·Verizon FIOS
·RoadRunner Cable
edit:
May 2nd, @08:10AM
| reply to lordpuffer
Problem is that you may have data stored in various places that you want to eliminate.
One idea: First create a NEW user account. Give it "Administrator" permissions.
Now BEFORE you delete anything, migrate any personal data you want to keep to a data store off the machine (anywhere off that machine you want to store it).
Log on using the NEW user account. Go to Control Panel/User Accounts and delete old user accounts.
Go to C:\documents and settings\(name of your old user account(S)) Delete that entire folder(s) if it is still there.
Go to anywhere else you may have purposely stored data and delete it.
You can also then try searching for typical file extensions and delete all files you may have created that are still there ( examples: .pst;.doc; .xls; .pab; .temp; .tmp).
Make sure you remember to delete your history, cookies and Temporary Internet folders.
A suggestion. When all this is done., Try downloading "CCLEANER" ( free) and running both a cleanup and a registry check. Let it clean up anything it finds.
That should get rid of the majority of personal data you have on that machine. PS: also consider looking at any programs you have , check their file storage locations and check for any personal files stored in those locations.
Remember this will ONLY get rid of MOST of the personal files. If you had anything very confidential on that machine, be extra careful (unless you are giving it to a trusted friend or family member and are not that concerned if someone stumbles on to a file you left over)
--
regards,
Lou |
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Kilroy
Premium,MVM
join:2002-11-21
Sterling Heights, MI
| reply to lordpuffer
Darik's Boot and Nuke and a reload is the only way to be sure.
You don't mention what the machine is. If it is a manufactured machine you should have restore disks. Boot and Nuke and then use the restore disks to reinstall the machine to its out of the box configuration.
If you built the machine you should have the Windows install disk and CD key.
The main thing is you need to decide what is more important, the security of your personal data or giving a working machine to someone else.
You can also try using Eraser to wipe the hard disk areas where you have deleted files, to make those files unrecoverable.
If you're going that route and are sure you have your data create a new user account with Admin priveledges. Sign in with the new accout. Delete all other profiles and then run Eraser.
--
How hard does DRM have to bite before business abandon it? |
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dave
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio | reply to lordpuffer
Wipe and reinstall - it's the only way to be sure you get everything.
Not only that, but the buyer gets the benefit of a system that's free of the accumulations of the years. |
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PeteC2
Ballad Of A Thin Man
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
clubs: | I am for wipe and reinstall, all the way down to fdisk'ing it. Fdisk, reformat, clean install of the OS.
--
...something is happening here but you don't know what it is...do you, Mr. Jones? |
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angussf
join:2002-01-11
Tucson, AZ
|  said by PeteC2  :I am for wipe and reinstall, all the way down to fdisk'ing it. Fdisk, reformat, clean install of the OS. FDisk and reformat doesn't overwrite the drive with random data, and it's not that difficult to recover data from the formatted area -- there are many free tools out there for doing just that. DBan (referenced above) does |
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Jeffrey
Bye George, 1937-2008
Premium
join:2002-12-24
Long Island
clubs:
·magicjack.com
·Verizon FIOS
·Vonage
| reply to lordpuffer
said by lordpuffer :Hi....I am selling my desktop and before I do, I want to get rid of all of the sensitive, private data that may be in it such as credit card numbers, passwords, etc. I do not want to wipe my hard drive clean. I want the person who buys it to have a fully loaded, working system. Without spending any money for software, what is the best way to make sure that all of this data is gone when I sell it? Thanks. I know you don't want to wipe it clean, but the only way to be sure is to follow some of the suggestions below.
Boot and Nuke, reinstall Windows and all security updates and throw on either AVG or AVAST!.
Make sure you have your recovery/Windows discs.
--
And so castles made of sand, slip into the sea, eventually.
I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing. |
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Stevert
join:2001-10-23
Algonquin, IL
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to lordpuffer
said by lordpuffer : Without spending any money for software, what is the best way to make sure that all of this data is gone when I sell it? As others have stated, wiping the drive and doing a clean install of the OS is the only secure solution.
If you don't have the restore/install/whatever disks, write down the actual license key (there is freeware to retrieve that key, also) before you wipe the drive.
Then find someone who has the install disk for the same version of XP that you have and use those disks with your license key. For example, if it's a retail version, borrow a retail install CD. If it's am OEM version, borrow an OEM CD, etc.
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therube
join:2004-11-11
Randallstown, MD
| reply to izy
Note this warning on cipher in context to Win2K.
quote:
You must install Cipher.exe by using the installer package instead of copying the new version of Cipher.exe to your computer. The tool relies on additional NTFS functionality that is added as part of the installation process. If you only copy the Cipher.exe file to your computer and then run it, you could destroy data on the drive.
»support.microsoft.com/kb/298009/en-us
Cipher is included in XP Pro, but not in XP Home.
Does that mean that you can safely copy a XP Pro version & run it on XP Home? Don't know? Perhaps not. Because XP Home also does not support EFS.
Sysinternals SDelete may provide similar functionality & doesn't seem encumbered like cipher may be. |
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dave
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to izy
said by izy :You can use windows cipher utility to overwrite the deleted information. Yes, if it's on the file system's free space list.
But if it's just sitting around in some database, logically disconnected but still part of some file, then it's not going to get overwritten. |
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OneHeart
join:2002-02-20 | reply to lordpuffer
1. Nuke it.
2. Reinstall OS.
New owner can install what he/she wants afterwards.
--
OneHeart |
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Oleg
Bellsouth Fastaccess
Premium
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL | reply to lordpuffer
Most people are not good at data recovery. |
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haroldo
join:2004-01-16
Short Hills, NJ
edit:
May 2nd, @03:13PM
| reply to lordpuffer
Buy a $50 Hard Drive
Pop your Drive out
Install the new one
Install the OS
100% guaranteed!
There are data recovery services that recreate the hard drives form laptops that were burned and melted.
better safe than sorry |
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BinaryXtreme
join:2004-04-20
Sparks, NV | reply to lordpuffer
take the hard drive out and destroy it. hard drives are cheap and better to fork out the extra dollars than deal with information leak. When you wipe and reinstall, there are still pointers on the disc that exist that can be accessed. |
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rawwhide
join:2000-09-03
The Moon
clubs:
·AT&T DSL Service
| reply to Mele20
said by Mele20 :Wipe it clean and then reinstall Windows for them. Use Dban (free) to wipe it or use the utility from your hard drive manufacturer (also free). » dban.sourceforge.net/
--
TinFoilers UFO Union of America!!
TinFoilers UFO Union Local 101... |
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dave
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to BinaryXtreme
said by BinaryXtreme :take the hard drive out and destroy it. hard drives are cheap and better to fork out the extra dollars than deal with information leak. When you wipe and reinstall, there are still pointers on the disc that exist that can be accessed. Like where? |
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MetroT1
join:2006-02-08
Snellville, GA
edit:
May 2nd, @04:49PM
| reply to lordpuffer
Here is what *I* did when I had to sell a computer and it appeared to work pretty good:
1. Turn off Automatic System Restore so that restore points will be deleted.
2. Using Add/Remove Programs, remove any programs that you don't want on the computer.
3. Download a free registry cleaner and cyberscrub (30 day trial download)
4. Clean the Registry with the registry cleaner
5. Use Cyberscrub to delete all of your internet history and previously deleted files beyond recovery. ***Be sure to set the security level to 3+7+3 beyond DOD standards.
6. Clean the registry again.
7. After doing this, go back and tell cyberscrub to wipe the empty portions of the disk being sure to include slack space and to scramble file properties. **Change the security level to Gutmann** This security level is 35 passes of random generated data. It will take a long time but is supposed to stop all forms of recovery.
The last step took me over 12 hours on an 80 gig drive running a P4M 1.6 machine.
This should pretty well wipe any unwanted data off the drive. Most of these steps were told to me by a forensic computer investigator for a state law enforcement agency. I added some extra steps just to be sure. |
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MetroT1
join:2006-02-08
Snellville, GA
| reply to lordpuffer
Forgot a couple of steps:
Don't forget to clear all your email accounts and email out of your email client if you use one.
Don't forget to delete all network profiles out of your wireless connection if you have one.
Don't forget to delete all bookmarks, etc. out of your internet browser.
Don't forget to delete your documents folders.
Do all this first before you do all the registry cleaning, etc. |
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