Wipe sections of old HD

[gogreen]

Well, my old XP computer is sitting in a corner, now that this Windows 7 machine is up and running. So I've decided to sell my XP machine--reluctantly. That machine saw a lot of creative work!.

Of course, I had some personal files on the HD, and I'd like to ensure they're unrecoverable. How do I do that to sections of the old HD (not the entire HD)?

Thanks.

 

[richc46]

This may help
How to Permanently Delete Data from Your Hard Drive
Most use this
http://lifehacker.com/software/downloads/download-of-the-day-eraser-125289.php

 

[whs]

I would make an image of the recovery partition (if any) and wipe the whole disk with a CD bootable program. Then I would reimage the recovery partition and reinstall the system. If you have a XP installation disk, that would be even easier.

You have to understand that a lot of your personal file information is also buried all over the operating system partition. Anybody halfway smart can get at it. That's why you have to set the system back to "out of the box" state.

 

[Golden]

I have used Eraser in the past for the same reason, and it works well. Be sure to use one of the more secure algorithms - it takes longer, but is worth it.

 

[gogreen]

Thanks, richc46 and whs. I'll have to fire up that computer when I have a moment and see if the boot CD I have works.

 

[richc46]

You are very welcome.