old computers

I have several old computers which I would like to give to charities. I do I remove all personal data but leave the operating system for those who receive the computer? Thanks

 

Do a complete wipeout of the data (using special software, I'm not sure formatting is enough) and reinstall OS. No way to recover the data if you do that. If you just delete, anyone can recover that data using simply data recovery tools

 

Also, some old computers should be allowed just to die. If it is really old, it is more a pain than a help for others.

The only thing that can renew an old computer is using Linux on it, specially if it had XP on it....

 

Either that or use a Low Level Format utility to wipe the drive and let the charity install the operating system.

To leave the OS on the drive and erase everything else, you can use a program called Eraser. But to do that correctly you'll have to delete each program, then run Eraser using the "tips" function.

 

dban is the best imo.

 

destroy the drive... give the computer away... take the write off... be done with worrying about what if someone recovers anything... simplest is best..

 

I second the idea of dban-ing the drive. You need to make sure that the drive is completely wiped off. When you delete a file in Windows for example all it does is flag the file as having been deleted. It’s not technically overwritten with anything which means that file can be easily recovered.

 

Does anybody know where I can get this software? Like is it a bootable CD, floppy...? I also have a hard drive that I’m wanting to give away but I want it to be totally wiped first

 

dban, Eraser, and HD Guru's Low Level Format should all be available online... just do a search.

 

DBAN is a really small ISO. If your PC is recent enough you should be able to boot DBAN off a USB drive instead of burning a CD.

Highly recommeded software.