InformationGiving away or selling your old PC with OS can be tricky. Should I leave my software, do I lose my licence, can the buyer see my files even if I delete them, is it OK to install some extras for that cousin of mine I'm giving this rig as a Christmas present?
This tutorial shows you how to prepare a PC to be given away or sold. My main purpose is to show what to do when selling / giving away a used Windows 7 computer, but you can also use this method if you (like me ) got some nice laptops or PC's almost free to be given as presents but they came without OS.
Giving away or selling a PC with everything intact is -sorry to say it- dumb. Not only can it bring a lot of problems and annoyances due to wrongly named user profiles and folders but it's also a security risk. Whatever you think, however careful you think you have been, there's always enough personal information available on a used PC to really make you suffer, if the new owner so decides. If you are giving away a used PC please wipe the hard disk first to ensure your privacy. Then install Windows 7 without any personal user related information.
This is what you need:
Skills / tutorials needed to manage this procedure:
- A Windows 7 Install Media of your chosen edition
- A disk wipe utility. If you do not know any, I recommend using Windows 7 built-in DISKPART command line utility
- A PC, of course
- Windows 7 Product Key, which you can normally find on a sticker at the bottom or back of the PC. This, of course, is up to you: you can also sell or give away a PC with preinstalled Windows 7 without product key, in which case the buyer / receiver has to produce one
Phase 1: Wiping the diskPhase 2: Installing Seven
- Backup your personal files and folders to an external destination
- Use DISKPART Clean All command as told in this tutorial to securely erase (wipe) your hard disk(s)
Computer shuts down, and next time it is booted it is so called first boot (Out-of-Box Experience), stopping to ask initial user profile name and computer name. If language packs are installed (Ultimate or Enterprise), initial first boot also asks user in what language he / she wants Windows to be set up.
- Begin installation of Windows 7 as told in this tutorial. If preparing a used computer which came with a pre-installed Windows 7, remember to use the original edition to ensure OEM product key can be used to activate it
- When you reach step 11 in above mentioned installation tutorial, DO NOT ENTER USERNAME AND COMPUTER NAME! Instead press CTRL + SHIFT + F3:
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.- This boots Windows 7 in so called Audit Mode using built-in administrator profile. There's no need to set up user accounts for now
- Finally Windows 7 starts again in Audit Mode. Click Cancel to close System Preparation Tool for now:
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.- Install all the drivers and software you want to. When installing software remember to use only valid, legal installation media
- If selling or giving away the PC equipped with Windows 7 Ultimate, install language packs needed if PC is going to be used in another language than that of your install media
- When done, browse to and right click C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe and choose Run as administrator to open System Preparation Tool (sysprep):
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.- Select Out-of-Box Experience in System Cleanup Action
- Select Shutdown in Shutdown Options
- Click OK
This way you can prepare the PC without creating any user accounts or naming the PC, letting the end user to do that.
Easy and quite fast (not counting DISKPART ).
Kari