Erasing hard drive

Create a bootable floppy/CD and put the windows programs 'fdisk' and 'format' on it. Run fdisk then format. This will also take out the operating system.

If you would rather keep the operating system use this program : http://www.diskwipe.org/

A GA for good answer.

Re-partition + Formating [after partioning format is neccessary + Activating the the 1st partition necessary ], normal user cannot recover any data.

Anyhow a further use of any of the Disk-wiper is more safe.

There are lot of such free programs on web.

Have a fine day !!!!!

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You also need tio use a Disk Wipe software as well.......DOD wipe being reasonable....

Doing what you just wrote STILL leaves the data accessible to anyone who knows how and that is a lot of people in today's world!

Formatting your drive does not actually erase your files, it essentially just loses the 'map' identifying the locations.

Erasing the files requires that the places that the files are stored be changed, or rewritten. theere are several free programs available to securely erase data, that cab be found on download.com....just be sure to consider user ranking and read the comments.

Benbenben

Consider also just how much you need to erase. You might want to get rid of most or all data files, but you might not need to delete various software applications that could be useful to the next user. There may be license transfer issues involved. I doubt that there is any one-size-fits-all answer to your question, so think it through as well as you can.

If you want to create a "clean" hard drive use a program called "Killdisk" it can be set up to run from a floppy disk. Once you start the cleaning process thats it. It virtually returns the drive to factory fresh and removes all partitions including the hidden one that windows sets up. The free version allows for one pass, but that's usually enough to make a drive "secure"

It is available here

http://www.killdisk.com/

Once you have used killdisk, you can then rebuild the drive with an appropriate operating system and programs for your friend to use. Knowing that if it gets "borrowed" no one will be able to recover your old data.

I usually run killdisk if I'm rebuilding an old machine, saves conflicts with dodgy product keys when rebuilding with windows and recovers a bit more hard drive space when I build a linux box.

Hello

Just format the disk and reinstall windows. This is what we all do.

Of course it wil not totally clean your hard disk.

Some existing data, of which are not overwritten, could be bring back if somebody intended to do this.

Eventually you are not giving your hard disk to CIA or KGB. A new user will be a little innocent girl.

She will overwrite the total disk with the games or pictures in the short time and no one will able to trace back the old data.

It's not worth to try to make sure the disk totally cleaned and retraceable.

Careful - laptops often need special drivers which will not be installed by reinstalling windows. See my post #6

In general Laptops are delivered together with their licenced installation CD, and all the needed drivers are supplied. Otherwise the kid would be in trouble when her windows is crashed in the next time. The guy, to give the laptop as a gift must supply the original installation CD, with the licence number.

I just have a minute to check these comments, thanks so much for all of your suggestions, and I'll finish reading them soon. I think I still have the disk that came with it. I'll see when I get a chance.

You can choose not to format the recovery partition too.

How securely do you want to erase your stuff?

The only way to ABSOLUTELY guarantee your stuff cannot be recovered at any cost is to totally destroy the drive - opening it up then burning it should do the trick.

If you're not totally paranoid though, the suggestions in the above posts will work.

If you don't have all the drivers, etc. backed up you might just want to erase all files created after a certain date eg just before you bought the laptop, although the registry could still contain passwords.

Best to backup your drivers first, and various license keys for the operating system (OS - eg Windows XP) and software.

A search on "Driver Backup" on Google etc. will find various free driver backup programs. I'd try the one from Sourceforge.net (sourceforge.net/projects/drvback/ ) first as they have a really good reputation and you won't have to worry about spyware, viruses, etc.

Belarc Advisor (free from http://www.belarc.com/ ) will tell you your OS license key, some other software license keys, and a whole lot about what hardware and software is on the laptop. The Windows license key is probably also on the outside of the laptop.

If you don't have CDs (or DVDs) from when you bought the laptop, the OS install files may be in a folder called I386 . From memory it may be in the root directory (ie c:\I386 ) or under Windows ( C:\Windows\I386 ). A little digging around may also find other install/recovery material.

If you have legitimate license keys you can legally borrow someone else's source CDs to reinstall software if you "scrub" the disk and don't have a backup.

If you do wipe the disk completely, be careful about deciding to change the OS. some laptop and PC manufacturers don't support OS changes and seem to deliberately lock you in to the current OS.

Finally, if you have the drivers and licenses (and preferably the OS and software) it will probably be pretty easy to find a colleague or acquaintance who will help you put the system back together after erasing the disk - especially since it's for a charitable cause.

The only sure fired way I have found to completed distroy data on an old Hard Drive, is to remove it from the computer, take it out back and place it on a stump. Wack it into several hundred small pieces with a sledge hammer, ax, or what ever tool you choose.

How to partition and format a hard drive using Windows XP setup program>

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348

and for windows 95 or 98 using Fdisk tool:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867

For your purpose I'd suggest the following:

Create a new user (little girls name) with admin privilages. This will give her a clean start for her stuff.

Delete any other users on the machine. This should get rid of your information but keep the programs she'll need without spending hours reinstalling. As was said earlier, her stuff will over write the sectors which had your info.

If you're still concerned use one of the file wiping programs just to clean your important info before you add the new user.

The best Off-Topic I think.

Confidence on friends, an better help with material & in time

Garbage overwites don't guarantee against (expensive) forensic analysis, as they rely on slight differences in head alignment leaving traces of the old data not covered by the overwrite. Overwriting a dozen times won't do it if each overwrite misses the same part of the original data track.

In theory, using a program like Eraser with the disk at normal temperature, then at each extreme of operating temperature (ie hot and cold), would give better protection due to thermal expansion affecting head alignment, but still wouldn't guarantee against shifts in head alignment over time. That said, modern disks push the physical limits of storage, so any residual traces of the original data may be too small to survive (assuming the head alignment is still close enough to that at write time that the data was still readable just prior to overwrite).

Does anyone know if programs like Eraser overwrite sectors marked "bad"? Bad sectors could contain recoverable data from before the sector went bad.

Mind you, Unless the disk is known to contain some really valuable secret data, or incriminating evidence for a very serious crime, it is extremely unlikely that you'd need better protection than a program like Eraser would give you.

I suspect this thread has gone way past the level of erasure the original poster requires, but it's fun!

Whew! Got a chance to check in. Thank you for your advice, and I agree with you. I'm assuming the little girl I want to give it to wouldn't go about TRYING to retrieve any of my old data, but I do of course want to remove as much as possible, at least let go of it feeling secure that even if she were to lose the laptop, no one would be roaming around with my account nos., correspondence, pictures and the like. But it is fun to read the suggestions and discussion. This isn't my niche, and I really enjoy reading the responses from those who do know. Because it made me laugh till I cried (much needed), my favorite has been the suggestion to erase it by placing it on a stump and smashing it to hell. But I'll probably take the second favorite, and just put a NEW drive in it.

Thanks, guys!

Google a secure delete/wipe program. Install it and use it to delete the file you don't want other to see. Then use the program to wipe all free space. It'll save you the headache of reinstalling Windows and looking for drivers and CDs. If you format the hard drive, you may have trouble installing Windows again.

One sure way is to use thermite to eradicate the hard drive, no way to pull info off a molten pile of metal.