My daughter is selling her notebook. Does anyone know how to clear everything off without any disks???

take the drive out and put a new one in, earesed data can be retrieved, so if you have used for banking your best replacing it.

hi may be interested in buying it how much she looking for without the hard drive

Thanks Lansyp but she's down south and already has a buyer
thanks though

Depends whether she has the original Windows installation disk (or Windows reinstall is on a separate hard disk segment). If that is the case then although not perfect she could do a full Windows re-install. That will involve a reformat of the C: drive (where any data is likely to be stored)and will then put back Windows in the original state. ALL other software etc will be deleted

Snod

Hi Snodvan
I've done it to mine before but she's got a notebook with no disk drive so no disks to reinstall from - that's why I'm struggling, I don't know how. I've sent her a link from eknow how which looks like it may do the job
Thanks

Are you sure it is not set up with a drive D: as well as the usual C: and with the "restore" system on D?

On my lappy it was even set up as C: D: and E: when I bought it and with the Restore system on D: and a load of (totally useless) freebee software on E:

Snod

TBH I'm not sure, she's in Devon so I can't see and she's not very techie - what worse than Softie I hear you ask??? - Yes!!!
Hopefull she'll find someone down there that can help

New HD.

There is software available to completely erase the hard drive and overwirte the sectors with zeros, I think it's called Webroot window washer. A new hard drive, although expensive would be a sure way of making sure nothing was recovered.

Thankyou, now thats 3 of us!

Like i said, data can ALWAYS be recovered!

A new HD is overkill and a total waste of money. Bad advice.

Use Darik's Boot and Nuke... http://www.dban.org/

That will clear the HD to US military spec.

Can't she delete personal details etc
If she formats it or gets a new hard drive how is she or whoever buys the notepad going to install the operating system and any other original programs

impossible to delete personal details, all logins and passwords can still be retrieved using software.
windows can be installed via usb or memory card slots.

Have a quick read up on the ATA standard "Secure Erase". Even forensic grade software isn't be able to recover data erased in this manner. (Technically data can still be recovered, but it involves dismantling the drive and analysing the platter(s) in an electron microscope...)

However, in this case I think your suggested method of a new hard drive and installing Win/Linux from USB is safer option than messing about with hdparm.

Ok all, it just depends on how far you want to take it and what the PC has been used for also who will you be selling it to And what they want to do with it? And how desperate you think someone will be to get thier hands on your info?

But I must admit I would not be bothered going to the trouble of a new HDD.

Sorry Ste, but you're wrong. "Like i said, data can ALWAYS be recovered!"

That is of course true, until you actually delete something by mistake or your hard drive crashes and you don't notice until it has been overwritten. Then, believe me there is no chance of you getting your data back without paying a fortune to a drive recovery company..... There are plenty of programs out there that CLAIM to recover lost data, but few that actually work well. They only ever work on the basis that the data is not deleted, but simply removed from the directory, so the file name Fred.doc becomes ?red.doc and Windows, Linux, etc. ignores it as existing. The recovery programs work on the basis of simply putting back the first character and hey presto, your data is magically back, but ONLY if the sectors on the drive have not been overwritten by more data in the meantime.

I work in the IT business and have done for over 35 years and we do have to securely erase disks. There are several programs out there, some freeware, or available on cover disks that will write random patterns over all the empty space on the drive, after you have deleted the files using the operating system. Once that is done, there are extremely few ways to recover it without some extremely specialist equipment and even then it will be only parts of it that can be recovered. Forensic type software won't be able to read it.

Download CCleaner, it has a 'wipe disc' function. It sets every bit to 'O'.

I 2nd Darik's Boot and Nuke... http://www.dban.org/

Download app, create CD and run. 1 pass is all that is required really to securely wipe a drive, more than that is overkill.

After one pass of overwriting data with 1's & 0's pretty much renders the disk unrecoverable even with the disk dismantled and trying to use methods of inspecting individual platters by some of the biggest data recovery companies out there.

Data can be recovered by these free apps when you've recently deleted it. the more you use the PC, the more of the old deleted data get scrubbed over with new data.

One last thing, if you run the DBAN (boot and nuke) the disk will be blank. with out a restore CD / Windows CD / Drivers, the laptop will not appeal to those people want a PC but can't reload it themselves.