Question on CPU

[Jo_L]

Hi guys, I'm going to "donate" my desktop PC to my cousin and to make sure the CPU is
clean before I hand the PC to him, I had deleted all files and sw which I've saved and
installed over the years.

But I've heard that files will still be hanging around somewhere in the harddisk even though
I've deleted them. Is that true ? If yes, how to do a thorough clean-up or I have to send in
to service centre to do it for me ?

TIA !

 

[Adam Goi]

Hi guys, I'm going to "donate" my desktop PC to my cousin and to make sure the CPU is
clean before I hand the PC to him, I had deleted all files and sw which I've saved and
installed over the years.

But I've heard that files will still be hanging around somewhere in the harddisk even though
I've deleted them. Is that true ? If yes, how to do a thorough clean-up or I have to send in
to service centre to do it for me ?

TIA !

Hi, I think you're referring to your hard disk. If I'm not wrong, with data recovery softwares, the content can still be recovered. Perhaps you should just ask your cousin get a new hard disk instead? They're pretty cheap anyway ...

 

[Ola]

Check here
To be effective, need to format or write over it at least 7 times.

 

[jbma]

No need to go to the extreme. Just format the hard disk and give the pc to him. It is not that easy to recover your old data on the hard disk and even if he has the time and the purpose to do so it will cost him a bomb. Why get so paranoid? What is so good on your hard disk that want to make him recover it?

 

[Jo_L]

Thanks guys for your advices.

So next question, how to format the harddisk ?

 

[megaweb]

Thanks guys for your advices.

So next question, how to format the harddisk ?

While installing new Windows like XP, you can format HD during the installation.

 

[NMSS_2]

format, flood & lastly format again!

 

[Ballack]

Formatting with WinXP is useless. These are but only high level formatting.

If you want to clean out your data, you have to perform a low-level format. That is usually done in the factory before it is shipped out for retail. To understand this term, try searching the web with the keyword "Zerofill". It basically means, putting zeroes in all the slots in your hard disk.

However, data can still be recovered by data forensics, like those from the police force working specifically in the IT department. A more secure way would be to randomise ones and zeros in the entirety of the disk from once, seven times and can go even up to fourty times.

Personally, if you are just donating it to your cousin, a one-pass zerofill would be good enough if you are that skeptical.

 

[dominator]

Do you think your cousin will go thru the trouble to dig out what you had deleted. Are there really stuffs which you afraid anyone will find out from the hard disk?

If you have any concern just ask him to buy a new hard disk as someone suggested earlier.

 

[VR2]

a new HD wont cost much and save all yr paranoid.. file recovery cant retrive back 100% of yr data also..