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#11
Perhaps instead of sarcasm, you tried a little empathy...
No, the accident was not bad at all.
Thanks for asking!
Gfr92y
DavedE,
Your advice is spot on!
Leading up to the sale of the laptop to me and during the sale, local fireman who was selling me the laptop was absolutely delightful. After the sale, he certainly was not the same person he was before.
When he was nice as pie, I would have discounted your warning, but having seen how he changed, not listening to you could have been a problem.
Thanks, again.
Gfr92y
It was not sarcasm. Just a honest response for no acknowledgement, good or bad, to a volunteer effort to answer your questions and a long day.
EDIT: I apologize, for whatever reason, I did not see your response. As I said, it has been a long day.
RolandJS,
That was very thoughtful of you.
My real concern is my desktop with a client's data that really needs to be erased.
Regarding the laptop, I do not think any nefarious action took place, but poor "hygiene" while owning the laptop and not properly preparing the laptop are certainly two concerns. This is also compounded by my suspicion that their may be a problem with the product key.
Now, with all of that on the table, is doing a clean install on the laptop sufficient or should I wipe the drive before installing the software.
Gfr92y
PS... If I am beginning to make spelling or grammatical errors, I am sure it has something to do with working since about 2 a.m. on this and two other thread (related to other issues on other computers).
OK!
(1) You guys and gals have got me up to speed on hard drives.
(2) I think the only question regarding the laptop that I bought from a fireman is (a) am I sufficiently protected by a clean install of the OS or (b) should I wipe the hard drive before doing the clean install.
(3) Regarding the desktop computer with too much of my client's personal and financial data, I what to think this through after a couple hours of sleep.
Thanks, again, everyone.
Gfr92y
Roland, I have not forgot about the ticking clock!
Last edited by gfr92y; 29 Jan 2016 at 06:37. Reason: I am an idiot! It seems I always need to fix my grammar.
Do you have a Win 7 COA sticker with a readable license key on the laptop?
It might be in the battery compartment.
You will need that for a clean install, or have to purchase a new license.
Don't wipe or re-install Windows before knowing if you have a COA sticker/license key.
You can use a tool that Wipes the Hard Drive, and then do a clean install of Windows.
Minitool Partition Wizard has this tool/option.
I use Partition Wizard for Disk Management, but i never used the "Wipe Disk" option.
I don't know if it's the best tool.
Here's a link to the free bootable CD download:
Bootable Partition Manger | MiniTool Partition Wizard Bootable Edition
Here is screen print snip from the PW Help