deleting personal information off hdd

peterflln

how do!just got a new pc and i'm thinking of selling my old pc.I am considering using dban programme to get rid of any personal information on the harddrive.I am just wondering is there much hassel in this process and will i have to install a new operating system on to it?Thanks in advance

dazftw

hmm.. do you have any operating system disks? Like windows xp?(assuming thats what was on the pc)

I reckon(in my knowledge)you could format the pc and it would be gone?

peterflln

no,but i was thinking of downloading one.Would this work?

Ghost Train

http://dban.sourceforge.net/ would wipe the drive
then you could install ubuntu(or some form of linux) or windows if you have the disks

or http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ might be more user friendly, and will just erase the free space if you want to leave windows intact

L31mr0d

DeafVision wrote:

hmm.. do you have any operating system disks? Like windows xp?(assuming thats what was on the pc)

I reckon(in my knowledge)you could format the pc and it would be gone?

formatting will not get rid of the data on your drive. You need to do a disk wipe. Dban is pretty simply to use, just burn it to a CD and boot into it, it has a GUI so you can just select the option you want and then let it run, note to be sure that your data can't be restored leave it running for around 12 hours at least.

peterflln

thanks very much lads!

Khannie

I reckon this should get added to the FAQ. Anyone want to write something up? I'll give you credit.

peterflln

hey guys.used dban on the computer,worked a little too well.wiped everything including o.s as suspected,but the problem is i don't have o.s disc.:mad: Does anyone know where i can hold of one of these?thanks in advance

irlrobins

Khannie wrote:

I reckon this should get added to the FAQ. Anyone want to write something up? I'll give you credit.

Done