How do i do a complete wipe of a harddrive?(computer)
- Thread starter awesomeClaw
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If you think it's stolen, you might as well check. Worst case scenario: It is and the police take the computer, give it back to the original owners, put the guy you bought it from in jail (Or he gets heavily fined, depends on how much the computer's worth.)
Best case: Not stolen, guy was just an idiot, who knows they might even have a copy of Win7 lying around
Best case: Not stolen, guy was just an idiot, who knows they might even have a copy of Win7 lying around
The question wasn't "how do I delete stuff leaving the OS intact", it was:Trivun said:
Complete. As in, destroying every inch of usable data on there. I know two ways to do a complete hard-drive wipe, the other way involves a drill and doesn't leave the drive usable afterwards. A magnet wipe will destroy a lot of vital files, accepted, but it will also get rid of this guy's stuff.awesomeClaw said:
Actually, you know what? You're right. Dude, just spend £75-90 on a new HD if you're that worried about it being nicked, make sure you dispose of the HD properly (drill through the plates on the HD, making it unreadable). If you're that worried, buy yourself a new case and move the innards across. It now looks nothing like it did if it was stolen, and they'll have a job proving it's the same kit. Just remember to get rid of the old stuff.
I'd take photos, any other kind of evidence you can amass, then try to get your money back.
Either way, then pass it onto the police if you feel safe in doing so.
a computer is a very personal thing, it's not like losing a TV or to an extent a car, there's usually a lot of your personal stuff kept on it.
Hell, if you are going to return it, at least try to get an email or something off the PC and let the guy who was robbed know, and where you got it from.
Either way, then pass it onto the police if you feel safe in doing so.
a computer is a very personal thing, it's not like losing a TV or to an extent a car, there's usually a lot of your personal stuff kept on it.
Hell, if you are going to return it, at least try to get an email or something off the PC and let the guy who was robbed know, and where you got it from.
Wow, some massive over reactions here.
You don't know it's stolen, I'm not sure you even have any reason to suspect it. So:
Step 1, check for any interesting porn he may have left on there.
Step 2, reformat. I'm using Vista so this may not match your system, but you go to 'My Computer' right-click the drive and hit re-format. It will leave the operating system and any system files and just get rid of the rest. If you're looking to destroy evidence it's not the way to go. It's roughly the same as finding all the non-system files and pressing the delete key.
You don't know it's stolen, I'm not sure you even have any reason to suspect it. So:
Step 1, check for any interesting porn he may have left on there.
Step 2, reformat. I'm using Vista so this may not match your system, but you go to 'My Computer' right-click the drive and hit re-format. It will leave the operating system and any system files and just get rid of the rest. If you're looking to destroy evidence it's not the way to go. It's roughly the same as finding all the non-system files and pressing the delete key.
As much as I hate the meme, delete system 32 and use a magnet. It will turn your computer into a paper weight
It's not so complicated if you have your windows installation disk (often bundled as a 'restore disk' with factory-built computers). Just boot up the computer with that sucker in the CD-ROM (hopefully the CMOS is set to check the CD-ROM as a boot device before the hard drive) and follow the instructions to perform a complete windows installation. The option to reformat the hard drive prior to installation should make it self evident.
If you don't have a windows installation disk (or 'restore disk') then go buy one. Shell out $100 for Windows 7 or something. Frankly, it's a stupid thing to not have a means to reinstall your operating system, because every once in awhile a computer manages to get FUBAR enough to need its OS reinstalled, and without such a disk you're SOL.
You're probably being a bit paranoid about the stuff the previous owner had on there. PC software piracy is out of control specifically because enforcement is so unable to track it down in a timely manner. You really think they're not only going to track it down, but track it through another purchaser to you? A whole other order of unlikeliness. Even if it did come down to that, you've a pretty good excuse.
It wouldn't be all that hard to make the computer yours without all the work involved in reinstalling windows. First, just go over to Control Panel and uninstall any software you don't want. Next, go to Add/Remove accounts and add account, make sure it has administrator access. Log on as that account, it's yours. Now delete the old account. That should be a pretty clean way to get rid of his stuff.
If you don't have a windows installation disk (or 'restore disk') then go buy one. Shell out $100 for Windows 7 or something. Frankly, it's a stupid thing to not have a means to reinstall your operating system, because every once in awhile a computer manages to get FUBAR enough to need its OS reinstalled, and without such a disk you're SOL.
You're probably being a bit paranoid about the stuff the previous owner had on there. PC software piracy is out of control specifically because enforcement is so unable to track it down in a timely manner. You really think they're not only going to track it down, but track it through another purchaser to you? A whole other order of unlikeliness. Even if it did come down to that, you've a pretty good excuse.
It wouldn't be all that hard to make the computer yours without all the work involved in reinstalling windows. First, just go over to Control Panel and uninstall any software you don't want. Next, go to Add/Remove accounts and add account, make sure it has administrator access. Log on as that account, it's yours. Now delete the old account. That should be a pretty clean way to get rid of his stuff.
Yeah, that complicates things. And I don't have much experience with 7. You could go with the re-format option others have mentioned, but I suspect that would leave you without an OS...awesomeClaw said:
Personally.. I dont think doing a reinstall is really enough to truly wipe a hard drive. I know I can find file particulates on a freshly installed drive that only existed on the prior install. I know forensic computer scientists can do more than that, And I also know that some of the more unbelivably nasty viri.. can survive a reformatting with the system restore or a straight installation disc.
One relatively easy, but very time consuming thing that I do suggest doing in order to ensure the any lingering hidden files are at least neutered is before you reformat.. manually delete every registry entry you possibly can. Yes eventually you will break the operating system, but during the process of deleting the thousands of registry markers, you will at least cripple contingency files that more malicious programs can still latch on to.
But hey, thats just me, and im extremely anal retentive when it comes to computers, file footprints, and security.
One relatively easy, but very time consuming thing that I do suggest doing in order to ensure the any lingering hidden files are at least neutered is before you reformat.. manually delete every registry entry you possibly can. Yes eventually you will break the operating system, but during the process of deleting the thousands of registry markers, you will at least cripple contingency files that more malicious programs can still latch on to.
But hey, thats just me, and im extremely anal retentive when it comes to computers, file footprints, and security.
Yeah, don't use a magnet. If you're going to do that you might as well just throw it against the wall really hard.poiumty said:
Umm...drag the computer icon into the recycle bin? /joke
It's already been said a bunch of times. Get an install disc, load to the disk, and follow the instructions.
It's already been said a bunch of times. Get an install disc, load to the disk, and follow the instructions.
