I want to donate my computer to Goodwill. I will do a clean drive wipe or...should I remove the hard drive? Also, I have the Win 7 Pro 64 operating disk and the 32 disk. Is it legal and proper to give the disks along with the computer with the Win 7 key number, etc.? I don't expect to ever need it again. Thanks for any advice you can give me, as always.ellenc
Well I would just take out the hard drive and get the recipient to put in another and as for the disks they are not much good to anyone else except the new owner of that machine because the key is tied to that board so sure give away what you want.
Hi EllenC
nice tutorial here:)
Windows 7 Installation - Prepare PC to be Sold - Windows 7 Help Forums
NOT another W7 deserter
Roy
I would use the tutorial by Kari that Roy has posted.
Then install Windows 7 OEM again and update it.
Give the new owner the COA key and any disc's need for that system.
I personally would find a needy person on my own and give it away.
Jack
I agree with Jack rather than an organization find someone yourself and I think we have all just about covered what you need to do.
Personally I would put in a new drive as the way to go - giving away an old one well who's to say it will not go belly up after a short while anyway.
I like the others don't want you to jump ship unless you have a the burning desire to but that is your choice . I am lucky in that I can run both OS's on my machines but if I was forced to make a choice I would go with 7.
I`d just pull the drive as John said, let the new owner worry about that, after all you are giving it away.
Giving it to someone you know would be even better, maybe even a youngsteras already suggested.
Fist of all, what kind of Win 7 disk / license you have? OEM, OEM SLP or retail?
OEM or OEM SLP is tied to the computer it was installed. Give them with the computer.
If you have a Retail, you have a very valuable software (>US$150) as it can be installed on another computer.
To keep an old HDD makes no sense. With the Win 7 installation disk, delete all partitions and give the computer with the blank disk. Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command - Windows 7 Help Forums
Whether the old PC goes to an institution or an individual, unless the recipient is a PC Guru, they will probably never get it working, if the HD is removed or wiped clean.
The biggest problem will be finding the proper drivers for the motherboard and video, LAN and Sound.
If someone gives me an old PC, one that I might want to re-purpose, I don't want to wipe it clean and then have to worry about finding drivers for it. I do refurbish old PC's and then sell them dirt cheap or just give them to needy persons.
It's so much simpler, to just go into the Control Panel and Users and create a New User. Then log in as that new user and again go into Users and delete the old user.
That takes out the old user and all their related files, but preserves the OS and all the hardware drivers.
Then I scour the HD for old programs, etc., that need to be removed. Then I run a program that will clean out all the old Temp files and related garbage, and I clean the registry to remove any out of date and redundant entries. Once the old PC is thoroughly cleaned, it's ready to find a new home.
Just a thought!
I don't think there's any purpose in giving an incomplete computer to a charity (which I assume Goodwill is, presuming the OP is American which I am not). It simply creates more work for them than they will likely consider worthwhile.
Conversely, the problem with giving a surplus computer to someone you know is that the minute they need to do anything to get it working initially or fixed if there's a subsequent problem, guess who they will call?
I'd simply format the hard drive, get it up and running with the appropriate OS and drivers, and then give it to charity.
For myself in the UK, I tend to remove the hard drive, smash it and keep it, and then leave the rest of the computer at a waste disposal site. If someone wants to salvage it and make something from it then good luck to them, but retaining my hard drive data is more important to me than giving the computer away. Bear in mind that, like me, you may also be subject to contractual or statutory responsibilities if you have private data from your employer or other third parties installed on the machine.
Yep well if it were me I would get the drivers for Windows and the machine onto a stick before I replaced the drive it isn't rocket science and anyway that is what I do with my give away stuff. all I ma concerned with is that I can get the ISO and have a key for the version already on the machine.
The ISO I get from the Microsoft Software Recovery link in Brinks clean install tutorial because if the key is not genuine then you cannot download the ISO - simple as that.
As fro smashing the drives up I always take them apart and retain all the rare earth magnets from them (spinners) as they make great tool holders and magnetisers
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