I want to sell 2 computer but also want to clean them before selling them. I do not want any of my passwords etc on them. How do I do this? thank you so much **KArla

Format the Hard Drives

**edit** I'm sorry I should elaborate that is a large subject, LOL

I'm sure someone will post a proper way of doing this, truthfully this isn't something I'm at expert at even though I've done it before I'm not the most confident in my abilities to NOT screw it up. :p

There are websites that can walk you through this that are helpful, I'm sure if you just did a general search that you can find something.

I have XP at home and the beauty of my system is my OS files are on a seperate partitian(sp) and the system does it for me. :)

actually, best advice would be to remove the HDs completely, but if you want to leave them and be safe, you should get a program that overwrites the entire hard drive with 0s first ('wipes'). drives that are simply formatted can be easily recovered (DOS used to even include an unformat command).

you can see a sample of available programs here (http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?qt=wipe&tg=dl-20&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=+Go%21+)

you should get a program that overwrites the entire hard drive with 0s first ('wipes').
It's also usually recommended that for maximum security this be done a minimum of 3 times. Most programs created for this purpose usually have this feature built in.

Erasing the hard drive isn't just deleting files or reformatting them, by the way. When you "delete" a file, the file still actually exists on your hard drive; it just no longer has a "pointer" to it so you don't see the file on your desktop. Someone who is snooping around can still extract the data.

There are programs that will physically wipe all that out so none of that data is extractable. THAT's what you want.

ok, I am lost but tell me, if I go and buy a new hard drive for this computer what is the cost these days? so if I take the hard drive out will my passwords be gone etc?

A new hard drive of reasonable size will run you between $.50 and $.80 per gigabyte. Installation shouldn't cost more than $30 or $40 and may even be included with the purchase. All of your data, including your passwords and personal information, is stored on your hard drive. If you replace it, your data will not be on the new one unless you explicitly copy it over.

yeah!~ I will go get a new hard drive :) I do not have anything that is bad, heck games etc. but I do not want my pass words or such since I have those for my banking and credit card sites. Thanks much I appreciate it much. **Karla

If you replace the drive then yes, your passwords and all other personal information will be removed. Expect to pay around $.50 to $1 per GB.

CircuitCity is offering some nice rebates on hard drives right now.

Replacing the drive will be a lot more work than just wiping it though.

ETA: Andrew's a quick one.

your kidding? you mean putting a new hard drive is harder then cleaning one off? I just thought you take the old one out and put new one in. man I am so lost. I sure wish you genious men lived around here!! Darn it!!

Well, if someone is going to be installing it for you then it's not a big deal since they know what they're doing. But to do it yourself you have to know what you're doing inside the open computer so you don't fry all your compenents when you touch them and discharge static electricity. You also have to know how to get the drive out, which can be tricky with some case designs, and then do that backwards to put the new one in. Don't forget jumper settings for Master/Slave configuration.

But even then the computer isn't ready to use. The HD has to be formatted, which I guess you can just leave up to the buyer. Or better yet, yank your drive and just let them install the new drive themselves.

But wiping it is just a matter of starting from a boot floppy and running the program.

thanks bill,but what is a boot floppy? oh man I am so dumb when it comes to computers. Can I sell this computer with out a hard drive? its a dell 256k, windows 98se its 4 years old and has a cd burner, dvd etc. I am just over run with computers. I like to get one ever few years when I can use my taxes and get the latest. No new one this year, just my gateway :)

When your computer boots up it needs a disk with system software to boot from. Usually your HD takes on this job. But since you're going to be wiping your HD you can't boot from it. So you use a floppy disk (or CD-ROM) with a minimum system on it. It won't boot into a graphical Windows environment though. It just boots into DOS. You then type the name of the program you want to run and it does its thing.

You can download boot disks, Windows can make one for you, or check the disks that came with it. Most computers come with one.

Can I sell this computer with out a hard drive?
Sure. Just make sure the buyer is aware of this. Also, make sure you give them the software that came with the computer so they don't have to have that added expense.

But how much were you planning on selling this computer for? A brand new computer can be had for about $400. They'd spend about 1/4 that just for a new hard drive. You won't be able to get much for it. Have you considered just donating it to a charity?

If you plan on doing a wipe I recommend getting Active@ KillDisk. You can download it from their website (http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm). Follow their instructions (http://www.killdisk.com/prepare.htm) for making a boot floppy or use their Bootable Floppy Disk Creator.

ok, iam going to find some one to do this for me and have them wipe it clean. I do not want much for the computer, heck Rachal has one to that she never uses and its just in the way ( she uses mine) so I was thinking of selling them both for less then 300.00 and getting her new carpeting to.