Donating my old PC

I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard drive so
nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a floppy then
use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access.
Then I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000.
I would like to donate it to a women's domestic violance center in town.

Thank You,

Ron

Hello EAA,

http://www.bluechillies.com/list/cle...disk-wipe.html

http://3d2f.com/tags/wipe/harddisk/

http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/297

Best regards

Meinolf Weber
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.
** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm

> I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard
> drive so
> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a
> floppy then
> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access.
> Then I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000.
> I would like to donate it to a women's domestic violance center in
> town.
> Thank You,
>
> Ron
>

This one does the job VERY well. Just download it to a floppy or CD and run
it on your old machine.

--
Dustin Harper

http://www.VistaRIP.com | Vista Resource & Information Page


"EAA Docent" <> wrote in message
news:8BA7FB18-BAC9-44DA-AE14-...
>I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard drive
>so
> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a floppy
> then
> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access.
> Then I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000.
> I would like to donate it to a women's domestic violance center in town.
>
> Thank You,
>
> Ron

"EAA Docent" <> wrote in message
news:8BA7FB18-BAC9-44DA-AE14-...
>I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard drive
>so
> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a floppy
> then
> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access.
> Then I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000.
> I would like to donate it to a women's domestic violance center in town.
>
> Thank You,
>
> Ron

Just format the drive and re-install your operating system...
none of your old data will be there

On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:24:28 -0600, philo wrote:

> "EAA Docent" <> wrote in message
> news:8BA7FB18-BAC9-44DA-AE14-...
>>I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard
>>drive so
>> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a
>> floppy then
>> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access. Then
>> I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000. I would like to donate it to a
>> women's domestic violance center in town.
>>
>> Thank You,
>>
>> Ron
>
> Just format the drive and re-install your operating system... none of
> your old data will be there

For practical purposes, that is probably adequate, but it is still
possible to retrieve the data.

Frankly, I'd remove the hard drive, smash it with a hammer, and replace it
with a new store-bought drive. As new drives can be had quite cheaply I'd
consider it inexpensive insurance.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User]
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/


"EAA Docent" <> wrote in message
news:8BA7FB18-BAC9-44DA-AE14-...
>I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard drive
>so
> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a floppy
> then
> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access.
> Then I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000.
> I would like to donate it to a women's domestic violance center in town.
>
> Thank You,
>
> Ron

On 2 Feb 2008 20:05:43 GMT, ray <> wrote:

> On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:24:28 -0600, philo wrote:
>
> > "EAA Docent" <> wrote in message
> > news:8BA7FB18-BAC9-44DA-AE14-...
> >>I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard
> >>drive so
> >> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a
> >> floppy then
> >> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access. Then
> >> I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000. I would like to donate it to a
> >> women's domestic violance center in town.
> >>
> >> Thank You,
> >>
> >> Ron
> >
> > Just format the drive and re-install your operating system... none of
> > your old data will be there
>
> For practical purposes, that is probably adequate, but it is still
> possible to retrieve the data.


It should be noted that *anything* you do leaves it possible (at least
sometimes) to retrieve the data.

There's only one way to guarantee that the data can't be recovered,
and that's to physically destroy the disk (which is what the US
government does with sensitive data). There are sophisticated (and
expensive) data recovery techniques that can often recover even
overwritten data.

But I agree with Philo, that just formatting it before giving it away
to a women's domestic violance center is almost certainly sufficient
for almost everyone. It's highly unlikely that the center is going to
unformat the drive in an attempt to discover the OP's secrets.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

"Ken Blake, MVP" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On 2 Feb 2008 20:05:43 GMT, ray <> wrote:
>
> > On Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:24:28 -0600, philo wrote:
> >
> > > "EAA Docent" <> wrote in message
> > > news:8BA7FB18-BAC9-44DA-AE14-...
> > >>I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard
> > >>drive so
> > >> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a
> > >> floppy then
> > >> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access. Then
> > >> I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000. I would like to donate it to
a
> > >> women's domestic violance center in town.
> > >>
> > >> Thank You,
> > >>
> > >> Ron
> > >
> > > Just format the drive and re-install your operating system... none of
> > > your old data will be there
> >
> > For practical purposes, that is probably adequate, but it is still
> > possible to retrieve the data.
>
>
> It should be noted that *anything* you do leaves it possible (at least
> sometimes) to retrieve the data.
>
> There's only one way to guarantee that the data can't be recovered,
> and that's to physically destroy the disk (which is what the US
> government does with sensitive data). There are sophisticated (and
> expensive) data recovery techniques that can often recover even
> overwritten data.
>
> But I agree with Philo, that just formatting it before giving it away
> to a women's domestic violance center is almost certainly sufficient
> for almost everyone. It's highly unlikely that the center is going to
> unformat the drive in an attempt to discover the OP's secrets.
>



Well. I recently had the privilege to talk to an expert in the field of data
recovery.

If a drive is formatted or deleted it of course can be undeleted or
unformatted...
but formatting a drive , then reloading the OS makes data recovery for all
but an expert...
pretty close to impossible.

If a zero-wipe utility is used that complies to government standards...
it is actually impossible to recover the data. The expert defied anyone to
prove they
could recover data from a zero-wiped drive and said that it was an urban
myth about data
being recovered from a zero-wiped drive.

This is the interesting thing: He said the reason the government destroys
harddrives is because
of the possibility of a error being made by the person performing the zero
wipe operation,
rather then the operation itself being inadequate.

(I have first hand knowledge of this...but that's another story.)

So a simple format and reload should suffice in this case.
OTOH: If the woman's center were de-commissioning the machine...
then the drive should be zero-wiped or destroyed.

"Richard G. Harper" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Frankly, I'd remove the hard drive, smash it with a hammer, and replace it
> with a new store-bought drive. As new drives can be had quite cheaply I'd
> consider it inexpensive insurance.
>
>

A little drastic perhaps but effective.

I suggest wearing safety glasses if performing that operation <G>

Do not just format and reinstall. Here's a link why:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/..._harddrive.asp

Here's a link to the utility I use to wipe drives:
http://dban.sourceforge.net/

The Internet is full of anonymous "experts". Since it is your data and your
identity, why take the chance? Nothing says the computer can't be stolen
after donation.

Also, thank you for making a donation to this one (of many) great
organizations.

"EAA Docent" wrote:

> I want to donate my old PC, but fist I want to totaly clean the hard drive so
> nothing is on it. Is there a free down load that I can save to a floppy then
> use it on my old PC. The old PC no longer has internet access.
> Then I'll re-install Windows ME, Office 2000.
> I would like to donate it to a women's domestic violance center in town.
>
> Thank You,
>
> Ron