Re: deleting hard drive info before selling a computer

kc.corey@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
: I have a laptop computer that I will be selling soon. Before doing so,
: I want to make sure all personal information (banking information,
: passwords, work related documents) has been deleted and can't be
: retrieved. Is there a software program that can accomplish this or
: would it be best to replace the hard drive? Thanks for any help.

You want to WIPE (not just format) your hard drive. WIPING it will
make it very difficult for anyone but experts with expensive equipment
to obtain your information - say the NSA. In other words, you have
nothing to worry about.

To wipe your drive (which will erase EVERYTHING on it, including
Windows), you should get a wiping utility. I recommend using one of
the ones on the Ultimate Boot CD (Google for it). This is a set of
utilities on a CD that you can boot. You can download the ISO image
of the UBCD, burn that to a blank CD, and boot it. Select the
utility (I think the one I've used was AutoEnclave). I'm not sure if
UBCD for Windows will work as well but you can try that one also.
Note that wiping your drive can take a very long time (figure
overnight at least).

After you wipe your hard drive, you will need to re-install Windows
from your original CDs, so of course you will need them!

Andrew
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