fastest way to clear all data off a computer and to bring it back to square 1?

[kaox0018]

I have a dell 1100 inspiron and I want to get it ready to sell.
I have the OS reinstallation disc (Win XP, service pack 1) and a disc with the pre installed software.


What is the easiest way to make sure all of my sensitive info is off the computer and everything is back to square one?

[AnotherMuggle]

Download "Eraser" and use it to create a "Nuke Disc" from within your OS.

Format your hard disk using the reinstallation disc, but do no install the new OS.

Boot from the "Eraser Nuke Disc" and use that to completely wipe the drive so that no data is recoverable even using un-delete programs.

Then reinstall the OS using the reinstallation CD

[doctorgonzo]

DBAN, then reinstall Windows and all the software.

[AnotherMuggle]

or that :P appears to be a very similar piece of software!

[rjfvillarosa]

Be carefull you don't wipe out the recovery partition or you will need more than the recovery CD to reinstall the OS.

[glc]

No, that's fine. Dell reinstallation disks are a full version of XP. You will also need the resource CD to put the drivers back on.

[Cricket]

Another zero-fill utility.

Cricket

[GraemeM]

Originally Posted by tomkear2006 Boot from the "Eraser Nuke Disc" and use that to completely wipe the drive so that no data is recoverable even using un-delete programs.

That's not exactly true. From what I've heard, even running those programs multiple times, data can still remain. That should be more than enough for most people, but if your harddrive contains a program to launch a nuclear missile, the only way to make it safe for sure is to physically destroy the drive.

But if you use a program liek that, the only way someone will get your data is they have to
a.) really want it
b.) really know what they're doing
c.) be lucky

[AnotherMuggle]

GraemeM sounds about right

[doctorgonzo]

Yes, that's true, but the point of shredding data isn't always to get rid of the data, it is to make it economically unfeasible to retrieve the data.

Nobody is going to spend $100,000 to retrieve data from a hard drive that is worth $50.

From what I have read, even the best STM data retrieval methods can't deal with data that has been overwritten more than 15 times. So if you really, really want to be sure that the hard drive you give to somebody else probably won't have your data on it in a retrievable form, do what I do: use Eraser or a similar utility to overwrite the hard drive 35 times with random data. It's paranoia proof.

In the end, though, the only way to make sure that the data can't be retrieved is to grind the hard drive platters into dust. But that makes it hard to give it away to somebody else.

[macko72]

And on the other hand will you sell the computer to somebody who knew what you had on it ???

[kaox0018]

ok, new development.

I can't find my cd of drivers. I thought I had one... or am I just imagining it?

Anyways, is it problematic if I destroy all data and only have the os recovery disc?

Btw, I have a 2002 dell inspiron so I don't have recovery data on a hard drive partition

[AnotherMuggle]

If it is a recovery CD that came with the computer then it will most likely have all the appropriate drivers packaged with it.

If not then check what hardware is in the PC (using Device Manager) and download all the required drivers before you do the format. You can then simply reinstall all the drivers once the OS is back on the system.

[glc]

No, Dell recovery CD's are just generic Windows. That's why they also ship the Resource CD.

Go to support.dell.com and enter the service tag number. You can download everything you need.