i want to get rid of my laptop but.......

para999

para999

para999

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25 Jan 2010
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i recently bought a laptop from a well known high street shop now i wish to get rid of it for something else.
the laptop didnt come with an installation disc for windows7 but the HDD has 2 partitions on it one containing a factory restore program.
how can i make sure the HDD is erased of all my personal information as i bank online and credit cards online etc and i want to be sure this information doesn't fall into the hands of the new owner?
 
Clone/backup the drive to another (using something like Acronis True Image), run several cycles of DBAN or similar on the laptop drive, then restore the recovery partition and recreate the other partition fresh and run the recovery program.

I think that's what I'd do, there might be a quicker way, but not many more comprehensive without replacing the drive entirely (and probably voiding the warranty) and leaving the laptop in an 'as new' state.
 
dbeckett said:
Ask around and see if anyone has a windows7 disk you could borrow? ensure it's the right edition though
Click to expand...

thanks for that the problem would be that a.. it would void the warranty and b...as the laptop has a sticker on the bottom with the serial number for the o/s i think if i was to load a different copy i would have to re-register it
 
alexhull24 said:
Clone/backup the drive to another (using something like Acronis True Image), run several cycles of DBAN or similar on the laptop drive, then restore the recovery partition and recreate the other partition fresh and run the recovery program.

I think that's what I'd do, there might be a quicker way, but not many more comprehensive without replacing the drive entirely (and probably voiding the warranty) and leaving the laptop in an 'as new' state.
Click to expand...

thanks for that if i understand you correctly just restoring to factory would not be safe enough is that correct?
 
To be quite honest, what sort of information would be on there? Personally, I would format the partition and do a full restore. I do not keep anything of any importance on a laptop anyway!
 
PhillyDee said:
To be quite honest, what sort of information would be on there? Personally, I would format the partition and do a full restore. I do not keep anything of any importance on a laptop anyway!
Click to expand...

i use it for internet banking, credit card transactions, and other information none of which i would like to get into the wrong hands

also yes i would reformat and do a full install but as i said i do not have the installation disc i assume its done by licence by the manufacturers they dont supply a backup copy apart from the capability of using the factory restore on 1 of the partitons
 
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The few times I have used data destruction software I seem to recall being able to select the partition I wanted to run it on, so you can just select the main install partiton and and nuke it, no need to touch the restore one.
 
Simplest way is to burn a set of recovery discs there should be a program in windows that will do this, then use a hard drive erase program, these can be found on the Hiren disc, do several wipes, then reinstall using the previously burned recovery discs.
 
beermonster said:
Simplest way is to burn a set of recovery discs there should be a program in windows that will do this, then use a hard drive erase program, these can be found on the Hiren disc, do several wipes, then reinstall using the previously burned recovery discs.
Click to expand...

many thanks for all your answers guys.
i have a drive erase program but am a bit confused about the recovery disc.
i am running windows 7 and when i put recovery disc in the help section i get several choices.

system repair disc
system image disc
return windows to original settings ( factory)
boot disc

can you tell me which one i use?

wish it was as simple as previous versions of windows, 1 disc did all.
 
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