Safe to give away a formatted computer with Win 7?

[Golden]

I took most people's advice on here and ran CCleaner's Drive Wiper tool. I then wanted to make sure that CCleaner actually did its job and so I ran Recuva afterwards. To my surprise (and disappointment), Recuva was able to recover 5 copies of my old resume along with a bunch of other images and PDFs that I had downloaded - with personal information! Even images that were labeled "000X" were recoverable.

I'm now looking for other solutions given that CCleaner is not foolproof.

Read back through the thread - DISKPART CLEAN ALL if reinstalling Windows 7, or CIPHER to write over deleted data.

 

[sevenuser9]

I did some research and I decided to try another tool called BCWipe Total WipeOut to wipe the entire drive. I'm running it now and plan on using Recuva after to see if it finds any old files. I will update this thread in a few days.

 

[Golden]

I did some research and I decided to try another tool called BCWipe Total WipeOut to wipe the entire drive

I thought you weren't interested in using 3rd party tools?

 

[RolandJS]

Thanks for the ccleaner performance update! I appreciate your info. I learned today.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

From time to time, I get an OLD PC that still has a previous owner's data on it.
Wiping the hard drive is usually NOT an option, because I don't have a legal OS to put on it, and I don't have access to all the hardware drivers.* But there is an option:
* In ages past, I've spent days, trying to locate some driver for an OLD PC.
I once needed an SD card reader driver for an OLD Laptop. I guy in England sent it to me.


I do a massive cleanup on the HD, to eliminate all the old junk files that have been collected over the years.
Then I go into "Users" in the Control Panel, and create a new user with some fictitious name, giving it the highest level of permission.

Then I reboot the PC, logging in as the New User. Then I go back into the "Users" area and delete the original user. On reboot, all the old user's stuff is GONE.

Last step is to go through "Programs" and uninstall any old software that my have been licensed to the original owner.

If the HD is the old style spinner, I'll do a DEFRAG on it, before I start installing new programs.

Then I tweak and tune the OS for maximum efficiency. That usually finishes the job.

Cheers mates!
TechnoMage

 

[Golden]

From time to time, I get an OLD PC that still has a previous owner's data on it.
Wiping the hard drive is usually NOT an option, because I don't have a legal OS to put on it, and I don't have access to all the hardware drivers.* But there is an option:
* In ages past, I've spent days, trying to locate some driver for an OLD PC.
I once needed an SD card reader driver for an OLD Laptop. I guy in England sent it to me.


I do a massive cleanup on the HD, to eliminate all the old junk files that have been collected over the years.
Then I go into "Users" in the Control Panel, and create a new user with some fictitious name, giving it the highest level of permission.

Then I reboot the PC, logging in as the New User. Then I go back into the "Users" area and delete the original user. On reboot, all the old user's stuff is GONE.

Last step is to go through "Programs" and uninstall any old software that my have been licensed to the original owner.

If the HD is the old style spinner, I'll do a DEFRAG on it, before I start installing new programs.

Then I tweak and tune the OS for maximum efficiency. That usually finishes the job.

Cheers mates!
TechnoMage

None of this accomplishes anything - deleted data can still be recovered

 

[sevenuser9]

I thought you weren't interested in using 3rd party tools?

If you read my post I said it seems that we are putting faith in 3rd party tools which we are...unless using the built in Windows methods.

 

[sevenuser9]

I did some research and I decided to try another tool called BCWipe Total WipeOut to wipe the entire drive. I'm running it now and plan on using Recuva after to see if it finds any old files. I will update this thread in a few days.

Good news: BCWipe Total WipeOut seems to have done the job. It found about 1000 files but most of them were non-recoverable. Even for the ones that were recoverable, I couldn't recognize because they were temp metadata type files and they were zeroed out. I didn't recognize any of the file names or see any personal information in the file names like I could with CCleaner. The process took about 4 hours to complete.


I may even do a second wipe with DBan just to satisfy my OCD.

 

[Golden]

There is a Dban tutorial here -,I’d advise reading it carefully.

 

[SIW2]

secure erase

How Secure Is SANITIZE?
Some engineers and scientists have detected stray
electrons in NAND cells after an erase, and Micron
acknowledges this possibility. However, because a block
erase operation raises every NAND cell to an identical
erase voltage regardless of the cell’s previous state,
Micron contends that it is impossible to determine the
previous state of the cell based on leftover, stray signals.

http://www.micron.com/~/media/docum...al-marketing-brief/brief_ssd_secure_erase.pdf

How to Perform SSD Secure Erase and Restore SSD Performance?

Can also be done with parted magic linux boot media

 

[file3456]

NO! In my testing of Ccleaner it does NOT remove anything. I was able to use various deep finding programs and retrieved pictures, etc. Plus, Ccleaner only wipes free space, you want to wipe the entire drive. Do as suggested and get DBAN. Now just use the DOD wipe method and let it run over night. You will have to boot DBAN with a CD or USB drive. Read the website and ask here if you have any questions.

Also, is this a platter or a SSD? You DO NOT want to run DBAN on a SSD. With a SSD you need to use Parted Magic or the Secure erase command. With a platter you can use DBAN.

 

[sevenuser9]

NO! In my testing of Ccleaner it does NOT remove anything. I was able to use various deep finding programs and retrieved pictures, etc. Plus, Ccleaner only wipes free space, you want to wipe the entire drive. Do as suggested and get DBAN. Now just use the DOD wipe method and let it run over night. You will have to boot DBAD with a CD or USB drive. Read the website and ask here if you have any questions.

Also, is this a platter or a SSD? You DO NOT want to run DBAN on a SSD. With a SSD you need to use Parted Magic or the Secure erase command. With a platter you can use DBAN.

I'm running DBAN right now and it will finish in 5 hours. I selected the "dodshort" method based on a tutorial I read. How much longer would the "dod" method take compared to "dodshort"? This is just a regular HDD.

 

[Golden]

DoD is 7 passes, DoD "Short" is the standard 3 passes as far as I am aware (same as CIPHER). The wipe time depends on disk write speed and capacity.

 

[Megahertz07]

All this to give a used computer to someone else?
Clean unused space is all you need.
Anything else is paranoiac.

I knew a client that gives old computers without the HDD.
The HDD he destroys with a hammer.

 

[RolandJS]

Once DBAN finishes, either include the HDD or keep the HDD. Mz07 may have a point

 

[file3456]

All this to give a used computer to someone else?
Clean unused space is all you need.
Anything else is paranoiac.

I knew a client that gives old computers without the HDD.
The HDD he destroys with a hammer.

I have you know I have bought many used hard drives and laptops on eBay where the user never cleaned the drive at all. Thus I was able to pull their music, pictures and documents right off that formatted drive with no issue.

So no, it's not "paranoiac." It's good standard practice. Especially in this day and age with social engineering, etc. Just think of the damage you would incur if someone were to retrieve your old tax documents or bills that have your social security number or worse your credit card information.

Just wiping free space is asinine and really never needs to be done if you deploy full disk encryption from the jump right after you install Windows. As soon as you are done installing the OS, encrypt the drive then start adding your data and programs. In fact, I just did this today on a laptop I use with my police scanner that records audio.

 

[Golden]

Just wiping free space is asinine and really never needs to be done if you deploy full disk encryption from the jump right after you install Windows.

Fact is very few users would consider implementing encryption prior to installing software & adding user data - it's a complex topic for the average user.

Deleting files, and then adequately wiping free disk space with {name your tool here} is more than adequate.

 

[sevenuser9]

Here is a summary of the steps that I have taken so far:

Computer A

- Ran CCleaner to wipe free space based on the suggestions here (Run time: ~3 hours)
- Ran Recuva to try to uncover deleted files to test effectiveness of CCleaner
-> Found sensitive deleted files which prompted me to find alternatives to CCleaner
- Ran BCWipe Total WipeOut (Run time: ~4 hours)
-> Re-ran Recuva
-> Could not find sensitive deleted files - success!
- Ran BCWipe Total Wipeout for the second time just for the heck of it (Run time: ~4 hours)
- Ran DBAN dod method (Run time: ~40 hours)

Computer B

- Ran CCleaner to wipe free space based on the suggestions here (Run time: ~1 hours)
- Ran Recuva to try to uncover deleted files to test effectiveness of CCleaner
-> Could not find sensitive deleted files but I had my doubts given my testing with Computer A
- Tried to run BCWipe Total WipeOut but my evaluation expired
- Ran DBAN dodshort method (Run time: ~0.5 hours)
- Ran DBAN dod method (Run time: ~12 hours)
- Ran DBAN dod method for a second time just for the heck of it (Run time: ~12 hours)

I'm pretty sure my computers are safe for recycling now

 

[Barman58]

Professional procedure is as follows ...

1. Remove old hard drive from computer
2. Purchase cheap replacement hard drive
3. Fit new drive into computer
4. sell the computer
5. when you need spare drive use recycled drive removed

Reason for above is the cost of the replacement drive and fitting same is less costly than the time spent messing around with encryption and or wiping drive to DOD standards

 

[Megahertz07]

Here is a summary of the steps that I have taken so far:

Computer A

- Ran CCleaner to wipe free space based on the suggestions here (Run time: ~3 hours)
- Ran Recuva to try to uncover deleted files to test effectiveness of CCleaner
-> Found sensitive deleted files which prompted me to find alternatives to CCleaner
- Ran BCWipe Total WipeOut (Run time: ~4 hours)
-> Re-ran Recuva
-> Could not find sensitive deleted files - success!
- Ran BCWipe Total Wipeout for the second time just for the heck of it (Run time: ~4 hours)
- Ran DBAN dod method (Run time: ~40 hours)

Computer B

- Ran CCleaner to wipe free space based on the suggestions here (Run time: ~1 hours)
- Ran Recuva to try to uncover deleted files to test effectiveness of CCleaner
-> Could not find sensitive deleted files but I had my doubts given my testing with Computer A
- Tried to run BCWipe Total WipeOut but my evaluation expired
- Ran DBAN dodshort method (Run time: ~0.5 hours)
- Ran DBAN dod method (Run time: ~12 hours)
- Ran DBAN dod method for a second time just for the heck of it (Run time: ~12 hours)

I'm pretty sure my computers are safe for recycling now

The deleted files found by Recuva was probably files on the recycle bin