Removing old data from a pc.

trendy

trendy

David H.
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Location
Swansea South Wales UK
Good day to all.
I have a HP compaq laptop running windows 7,I have gone and bought a new Acer windows 8.1 laptop.
Now my issue is what is the best option to do with the old HP laptop,Either sell it or find another solution of making some other use from it.
Well about the selling part,What would be the best way to make sure that all my data is removed from the hdd. Is there a simple method that one can do and then restart the pc and it's up and running as a new one with only the windows left to use.
Or any other options that maybe that I can use this for another use?,A pal suggested converting it to use on another operating system.Well it was a thought but I'm not very technically experienced on doing that.
Would anyone please pass on some advice on this matter.
I would be very glad of some help.
Many Thanks.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Build windows 7 Home premium.Built by a local computer shop.
OS
Summary Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1 CPU AMD Athlon II X2 250 23 °C
CPU
AMD Athlon II X2 250
Motherboard
Manufacturer BIOSTAR Group Model N61PB-M2S (Socket AM2 )
Memory
Total memory slots 4 Used memory slots 2 Free memory slots 2
Graphics Card(s)
Name Generic Non-PnP Monitor on NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio Playback Devices Realtek Dig
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer
Hard Drives
Main C drive is now a 120GB SSD With only operating system and programs.
Second HDD 1TB with all documents etc.
Keyboard
HID Keyboard Device Device Kind Keyboard Device Name HID K
Antivirus
Karsersky
Browser
Google
Other Info
Summary
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon II X2 250 23 °C
Regor 45nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 401MHz (6-6-6-18)
Motherboard
BIOSTAR Group N61PB-M2S (Socket AM2 ) 40 °C
Graphics
Generic Non-PnP Monitor (1024x768@60Hz)
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (Biostar Microtech Int'l)
Storage
1863GB West
I personally like keeping my hard drives. You can sell the PC on Ebay without the HDD. Either buy an external hard drive case and use it as a storage device.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Dual Boot: Windows 8.1 & Server 2012r2 VMs: Kali Linux, Backbox, Matriux, Windows 8.1
CPU
A10 7700 Kavari SteamRoller
Motherboard
ASUS A88XM-PLUS (FM2+ )
Memory
8GB DDR3 SDRAM PC3-8500
Graphics Card(s)
1024MB ATI AMD Radeon R7 Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung
Hard Drives
SSD Crucial 120gb
WD VelociRaptor 1tb
PSU
Rosewill Gaming 650w
Case
Rosewill Galaxy 2
Internet Speed
55/12
Antivirus
Malwarebytes, MSE, SAS
Browser
FireFox, Chrome
I agree, just pull the drive and keep it.

As long as the laptop has a readable COA on it, the new user can easily install windows.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Skylake Special #666
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64
CPU
Intel Core i7 6700K
Motherboard
Asus Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1
Memory
GSkill TridentZ RGB 16GB 3600 16-16-16-36
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC x2
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC G2460PG
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 144Hz
Hard Drives
Samsung 860 Pro 256GB, Seagate Barracuda 4TB x2
PSU
EVGA 1000 P2, EVGA White Custom Braided Cables
Case
Corsair Vengeance C70 Gunmetal Black
Cooling
Corsair H100i v2, Corsair ML120 x2, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
Keyboard
Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum
Mouse
Logitech G700s
Internet Speed
Verizon Fios Quantum Gateway 75/75
Antivirus
Windows Defender, Malwarebytes Free 3.8.3
Browser
Chrome
Other Info
Corsair SP120 x4, LG Blu-ray Drive, Durabrand HT-395 100 Watt Dolby Digital Amp, Corsair H2100 Wireless 7.1 Headset

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP ENVY 17-1150eg
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 EN-GB
CPU
1.6 GHz Intel Core i7-720QM Processor
Memory
6 GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 Graphics
Sound Card
Beats sound system with integrated subwoofer
Monitor(s) Displays
17" laptop display, 22" LED and 32" Full HD TV through HDMI
Screen Resolution
1600*900 (1), 1920*1080 (2&3)
Hard Drives
Internal: 2 x 500 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
External: 2TB for backups, 3TB USB3 network drive for media
Cooling
As Envy runs a bit warm, I have it on a Cooler Master pad
Keyboard
Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser (bluetooth)
Mouse
Logitech Performance Mouse MX
Internet Speed
50/10 Mbps VDSL
Antivirus
Windows Defender 4.3.9431.0
Browser
Maxthon 3.5.2., IE11
trendy said:
Well about the selling part,What would be the best way to make sure that all my data is removed from the hdd. Is there a simple method that one can do and then restart the pc and it's up and running as a new one with only the windows left to use
Click to expand...
There are 2 easy options:

1. Sell the computer as a "new" one with only Windows installed
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/197255-windows-7-installation-prepare-pc-sold.html

2. Sell it with everything securely wiped from the HDD
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/233819-darik-s-boot-nuke-use-secure-wipe-hard-drive.html

Both methods will securely wipe the HDD of all personal data. Using Option 1 may allow you to command a premium on the selling price as you have gone to the trouble of preparing the "out the box "Windows installation.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Many thanks all,Lot of thing to look into there.
Thanks.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Build windows 7 Home premium.Built by a local computer shop.
OS
Summary Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1 CPU AMD Athlon II X2 250 23 °C
CPU
AMD Athlon II X2 250
Motherboard
Manufacturer BIOSTAR Group Model N61PB-M2S (Socket AM2 )
Memory
Total memory slots 4 Used memory slots 2 Free memory slots 2
Graphics Card(s)
Name Generic Non-PnP Monitor on NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio Playback Devices Realtek Dig
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer
Hard Drives
Main C drive is now a 120GB SSD With only operating system and programs.
Second HDD 1TB with all documents etc.
Keyboard
HID Keyboard Device Device Kind Keyboard Device Name HID K
Antivirus
Karsersky
Browser
Google
Other Info
Summary
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon II X2 250 23 °C
Regor 45nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 401MHz (6-6-6-18)
Motherboard
BIOSTAR Group N61PB-M2S (Socket AM2 ) 40 °C
Graphics
Generic Non-PnP Monitor (1024x768@60Hz)
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (Biostar Microtech Int'l)
Storage
1863GB West
If you don't want to have to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164 then you can simply create a new Administrative User account titled "Owner." http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/181024-user-account-create.html.
Then delete your User account as shown in How to Delete a User Account in Windows 7. All your files in your User folders will be deleted. Then check C: to make sure no personal files are left in the root folder.

If you have any programs you want to keep you can uninstall them in Control Panel.
 
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