remove details laptop or pc before sale

B

billybellfoot

Member
hi

what is the best way to clean all personal details (i.e online banking personal documents letters etc) from laptop or pc before sale

is there a way to do this without loosing the OS or is best option to format and re-install os and if this is the best or only way is there a way to completely make sure the new owner cannot retrieve my personal details etc.

thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
thanks they look good.

so i would need to format my drive then use this (dban) software then re-install OS

thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
billybellfoot said:
thanks they look good.

so i would need to format my drive then use this (dban) software then re-install OS

thanks
Click to expand...

dban will format the drive for you :) IIRC, it does it to Ministry of Defence classified data deletion standard or something like that.

Wipe the drive with dban, then install your OS.

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
oh ok. so no need to format the drive 1st

just use dban to format then just re-install.(so i can run dban from within windows then?)

thanks tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
I think you've misunderstood me :)

Your drive needs formatting (removes all of the data). Windows can format the drive when you reinstall Windows, but we don't want this as it isn't a very secure method of data deletion. We will format the drive with DBAN instead :) You can't run DBAN from within Windows as it will be wiping the disk and that just doesn't work logically. You need to boot from a DBAN disc and format it then. After the format has completed (it will take several hours), you then need to install Windows.

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
oh ok i thought you meant no need to formatt twice just use dban from within windows but now i understand boot from cd with dban on it. thanx for clearing that up..

several hours really i only have an 80gb drive in laptop will it still take that long?

thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
Only sure way is a shotgun.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Most security programs write random data onto the drive 7 times. This is to get rid of the magnetic signature left by data. Just formatting the drive does not get rid of the data.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
    Memory
    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
    Sound Card
    creative x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    Both 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
    PSU
    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
    Case
    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
    Cooling
    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
    Mouse
    Technika TKOPTM2
    Keyboard
    Logik
    Internet Speed
    288 / 4000
    Other Info
    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers Trust Graphics Tablet
so what is best way (besides shotgun method.lol)

thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
DBAN
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
thanks tom

only reason i re-asked the question is a couple of posters stated it dosent completly remove my personal detals?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
Almost there. There are similar terms flying all over the place in this thread so it's a little confusing! A format won't completely remove your details. Wiping the disk with DBAN will remove your details :) It writes complete nonsense (I don't know if it's random, or it zeroes it out) all over your data on the disk and then repeats the process 7 times. Use DBAN :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
yes it has got rather confusing. sorry.

ok so using dban will write over the data 7 times thats more than the average person is going to be able to recover any data from isnt it.

ok sounds like dban is the way to go thanks tom u have been a great help to me.

much apreciated
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
No need to apologise - the confusion was a joint effort!

Yes, exactly :) No worries, happy to help. Good luck with the sale.

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
thanks... yer i guess it was ha ha


brilliant thanks tom i will use dban .


thanks again

much apreciated
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    acer aspire revo
    CPU
    intel atom 230
    Memory
    2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated nvidia ion
    Mouse
    lenovo n5901
    Keyboard
    lenovo n5901
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