Erasing everything but Windows XP sounds much easier than it actually is. Windows by its very nature has hooks into every other program on a computer, and sometimes can’t even function properly itself without them. It has a lot of dependencies and not everything it needs is included in the Windows folder.
Let’s explore a couple of scenarios and figure out the best method of dealing with it.
Say you want to sell an old laptop on Ebay but don’t want the buyer to be able to dig out all your old data. In that case, the very best thing to do would be to format the drive and re-install Windows XP.
A full format then re-install is currently the most foolproof way of completely erasing your old data. Even then it is still possible to recover deleted data if it hasn’t been overwritten. As an added precaution I would suggest using a program called DP Shredder, which uses a Department of Defense approved algorithm that overwrites each character on the hard drive 49 times, This makes it just about impossible to recover any data from the drive.
The only problem is if you don’t have the original Windows disc. Now you either have to borrow one and use your license key, usually on a sticker on the laptop somewhere, or download a Linux distribution and put that on there. Laptops don’t seem to sell as well with no operating system installed, but by installing Linux you can sell the laptop fully working, fully legal and without any worries. Use a popular distribution like Ubuntu to increase your chances of a sale.
We have all heard the horror stories of companies or even government organizations selling off old hardware, only for sensitive information to be found on them later. Following these tips will prevent that happening to you.
