Thread: How do I remove info from computer?

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I have a laptop given to me by the company I work for. I also have used it for business purposes that have nothing to do with my job . How can I clear it out? I am planning on turning it in soon.

do they expect you to turn it in with it running or wiped clean? there are softwares out there that will REALLY erase all data on the drive. look for one of those, i.e. wipe drive. typically when you erase something it still resides on the computer's hard drive until that portion of the disk is overwritten. i have recovered (at the file owners request) data that was deleted from a system using special software for that purpose.

if you have the restore discs you could wipe it and restore it and they would probably not notice.

Red

I just had to wipe out 155 viruses in my computer, and I did what is called a non-destructive reconstruction. It essentially turns the computer into what is was when you took it out of the box brand new, but it saves pictures, files, etc.

There is also what is called a destructive reconstruction, and that one REALLY turns your computer into a cleaned out unit. Everything goes and you have to reinsert any cd's etc that came with the machine to get any programs back up.

What you do is turn the machine on and keep tapping the F10 key until you get the screen that asks if you really want to do one of these actions. Then you follow the instructions. I did get rid of the viruses (at least good so far) I had tried running Spybot and AdAware and a few of the viruses just laughed at those programs, so I had to go further.

I'm not good with computers by any means, but I had viruses before and paid $ 49.95 to have Compac do exactly what I described above. That time I had to go the destructive route. I think you could do the same thing and clean out your machine, but someone may be able to steer you in another direction.

Don

Originally Posted by Dago Red

do they expect you to turn it in with it running or wiped clean?
Red

Yes , it will have to at least light up the screen.

a sledge hammer to the hard drive should do the job.

Use the 'format' command in a DOS window and everything will go away. Of course you'll have to reinstall the OS. You'll have to have a copy of whatever Windoze version it had.

Originally Posted by DennyW

Did you put all the stuff you did in a seperate folder ? Or do you know the exact location of the info you put in there ?

No and no,lol.

Put the biggest magnet you have near the hard drive, it will wipe out the entire thing. It can be reformatted and reloaded with windows again, so you will not be actually harming the thing...

Some times you can just go into the file storage areas and delete your personal stuff, without going to the extremes mentioned above. It becomes a major pain to reload operating systems, especially due to all the upgrades windows constantly puts out. If they just want it back, I do what Don or the others suggest, but if they want it operating top notch, it might be worth the hunt and delete method!

Will this delete temp files and files on the hard drive? Or is there a program that I can get from maybe Best buy to erase all info. The laptop does not have to be operating at top notch so I am not worried about that. I just want to get all my personal info and search history off so I can turn it in . The computer guy will go through it and bring it back up to speed when the time comes. I talked to the guys at best buy and they said they could clear it out for 130 bucks and 2 days.

http://www.winclear.com/?hop=contro71

If it's XP....restore to factory settings.

BTW, what are you trying to hide?....LOL

personal info,lol

My son is a cumputer guru and he claims that unless you remove the hard drive and replace it, it is possible for someone to retrieve the data, with the right equipment, no matter what software is used to attempt to permanently remove it.

Are you trying to get rid of the information from people casually looking at the computer, or trying to get rid of it so nobody can ever find it no matter what steps they take to look for it including data reconstruction?