LFX64 Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Within the next 4-5-6 months, some time around then, perhaps sooner (a few weeks even), I will be getting a Laptop, due to uncertainties of where I will be living and on how frequently I'll be moving around. For this reason, I cannot take a 30+ kg PC with an Antec 1200 case - which is massive - around with me, nor can I take a 20" 5 kg screen, a set of desktop speakers, a seperate keyboard, mouse and a desk itself. I need a more portable solution. A notebook! I've decided that my only option of getting a notebook would be to sell all of the above and get a laptop. However I am unsure about how I'd go about completely overwriting the data written on HDD. I know you can select Drive Wiper > Drive > EVERYTHING > x-passes > - But how would it do that if it deletes Windows in the process. Does it even get rid of Windows in the process? Of course any previous important information I've had on my drive must be unrecoverable. If it isn't, that's no good. Really I'd like to get a laptop sooner rather than later, so I'd very much appreciate the help, so I can get this underway as soon as possible. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Nergal Posted June 17, 2011 Moderators Share Posted June 17, 2011 Drive wipe Everything (wherein you must type the word erase) Permanently wipes and erases everything on the drive, yes this includes windows. You cannot run this on a live system drive (the drive you are running the currently running windows on.) If you instead run wipefreespace it will only wipe the area containing files you've already deleted. ADVICE FOR USING CCleaner'S REGISTRY INTEGRITY SECTION DON'T JUST CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT'S CHECKED OFF. Do your Registry Cleaning in small bits (at the very least Check-mark by Check-mark) ALWAYS BACKUP THE ENTRY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL BREAK IF YOU DON'T. Support at https://support.ccleaner.com/s/?language=en_US Pro users file a PRIORITY SUPPORT via email support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Andavari Posted June 18, 2011 Moderators Share Posted June 18, 2011 Tip: In order to do a clean wipe outside of Windows remember you will have to have either a Windows disc to reinstall Windows, or a recovery partition to reinstall Windows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom AZ Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Another option, Darik's DBAN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Andavari Posted June 18, 2011 Moderators Share Posted June 18, 2011 Another option, Darik's DBAN. One of the best options in my opinion for doing it outside of Windows! Good suggestion Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 I know it's been a week since my reply, but I'm pretty close to choosing my Notebook, therefore I'll need to erase (securely) absolutely everything on the HDD, so it's secure and safe enough to sell to somebody else. How would I go about securely erasing a 465GB HDD (7,200rpm)? I've come across DBAN before but I've never used it. I do have an OEM copy of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, which came with this system. Which brings me to another point - could I sell this PC with the OEM Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit software? Or will it be specifically tied my name as the person on the computer? Because it's the same system, same motherboard, etc, otherwise I'll just have to throw away Vista (which I used for 2 months - also OEM) and Windows 7 itself. - (if I can, should I sell both Vista and Win 7, or bin Vista?) Thanks folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Andavari Posted June 24, 2011 Moderators Share Posted June 24, 2011 I would think whatever OEM discs or recovery partitions that came with the system are solely for that system. i.e.; you'd never be able to use it legally on your new system. Also it would be extremely difficult to sell a system with no Windows OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Read back. I said could I sell this system with the OS? The OEM is system builders software, so it is specifically for this system. Everything except the motherboard can be changed, but since I'm selling the computer with the same stuff - motherboard included - I figured is there a chance I can sell Windows Vista and Windows 7 with it? If so, would it actually be tied with my name on the computer? Could I sell a completely formatted computer, Windows Vista and Widndows 7 and have that person install either (or both) and connect to the internet (same motherboard remember) and have their PC registered as Miss Molobollybolbolz or Captain Zanzibar and it be all peachy? I don't want to do that and then if they have issues something my name and details come up for whatever reason should they need to contact MS or something? I know, it'd be increasingly difficult to sell my computer without the OS, hence my asking. Edit. This PC, of the parts I picked, came with no Bloatware and genuine Windows discs, it did not have any naff stuff on it or dodgy recovery CDs or partitions. I do not intend to use the Windows Vista or Windows 7 discs I got with that system, on a future PC or Notebook. The Notebook I am currently looking at getting (most probably) does indeed have Windows 7 Home Premium but relies on a recovery partition. Once I delete the bloatware, I'll be making a recovery DVD myself. This is why I ask whether or not I could sell my computer with the OS's (both Vista and the uprade DVD for Windows 7) with the system, so long as it isn't tied to me, name/address etc in any way, an is only tied by that specific motherboard serial number. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_B Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 I suspect that a blank HDD is technically able to have Windows freshly installed and the new owner will be able to register it in any name he likes, but he will not be able to retrieve your name so he is unlikely to use your name. I see no legal reason (though M.S. lawyers could have a gotcha somewhere) why you should not DBAN nuke your HDD and re-install whichever Windows (or even dual boot both) and then sell on. If that is legal it should also be legal for you to sell the raw ingredients to your buyer, i.e. HDD erased and both installation CD's Once you Nuke the HDD then the buyer will be able to do whatever to connect to the Internet, but he will have no means to authenticate himself to your ISP or your banking service or, most importantly, to your Piriform account ! ! P.S. I have not yet installed for myself, but I believe your purchaser will need to get through W.G.A. validation. Microsoft Servers will probably recognise the serial numbers etc and see that the hardware matches what was previously installed. Hopefully they will not bother with a change of registered owner details, but if they do I guess it just needs a phone call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 I figured, because it's the same PC and the OS is bound to the motherboard, since I'm selling the motherboard why can't the OS, which is bound to it, go along with it - both Vista and Windows 7 HP 64 bit. My concern here though is that because I've installed Vista once and Windows 7 5 times (yep, 5 times), just for the sake of starting fresh, that they will end up having to call MS and then MS might call them up on it not originally being their PC. If I do sell it with the OS being apart of it, well... damn, I just sold them thin air? I don't want to be one of those guys, yano? I don't rip people off. My only other option of course is to sell the PC without the OS, but then the value drops or it's harder to sell. I keep my passwords encrypted on KeePass. Installed on my computer at the moment, but I always drop it on a flash drive if I'm changing OS/Computer or doing a fresh install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Andavari Posted June 24, 2011 Moderators Share Posted June 24, 2011 If for instance selling it on eBay or wherever else (just using eBay as an example) you could fully disclose that they may or may not have to call Microsoft to get it activated. But who knows for sure if they will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 I suppose that is all I will have to do then. Just tell them what's what with the PC and what the deal is with the OS and hope I get a good price. PC monitor goes with it, as well as speakers, keyboard, mouse etc. The mobo and memory are good, so hopefully I get a decent amount for it. So if I was to totally erase (securely ) my entire HDD, what would I go about doing, right now? Instructions? I've done plenty of shopping on here and I've checked my online bank statements many many times. I know, chances are they wouldn't get hold of it, but of course I don't want to take chances, nor share family stuff, personal contacts, etc etc blah blah blah Thanks folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 What should I do? I need to erase my HDD in like a week? Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_B Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Tom recommended DBAN Andavari agrees. You cannot get better than that ! ! If you need a third vote I add mine You will find all you need on http://www.dban.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 OK Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 OK slight problem. Darin's Boot And Nuke seems to think I'm running Linux. Yep. Loads "LinuxISO" and then tries to start at /dev/sda and fails. I figured by getting the latest software at the website, it'd of pointed out to me if it was a Linux version that I was downloading, but no... it just said, blah blah blah, this is the latest version. Didn't say anything about Windows or Linux. Is there a Windows specific version or could someone point out to me which of the previous versions is a good one? I'd rather spend more time burning failed CD-R's. Also, is 3 passes secure enough for some evil prying bastard eyes who may have thoughts about scanning the HDD after I sell it to them? lol Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Andavari Posted July 2, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 2, 2011 Also, is 3 passes secure enough for some evil prying bastard eyes who may have thoughts about scanning the HDD after I sell it to them? lol I don't know, however I've read before about DBAN users recommending 7 passes if selling a PC. Of course which ever you use you could try Recuva Portable to Deep Scan the hard disk to make sure everything is really gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 I don't know, however I've read before about DBAN users recommending 7 passes if selling a PC. Of course which ever you use you could try Recuva Portable to Deep Scan the hard disk to make sure everything is really gone. Well once it's erased, the only time I'll turn it on is when I check to see if the fans are OK prior to selling. The OS will be gone. I won't bother selling Vista OEM and Windows 7 OEM with it because the people might end up having to call Microsoft for a new serial and end up having to pay. I don't want to risk that. They can get new OEM software for the computer (motherboard) anyway for about ?70, which isn't all too expensive, or, if they wish, they can try out Linux. 7 passes on a 500GB HDD? Damn, that'll take ages. So DoD instead of DoD Short? Why is DBAN saying my computer is Linux? I assume I have the Linux ISO on the disc? Is there a seperate version for Windows? I'd like to get the secure erasing under way as soon as I can. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_B Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Sorry, but a Bootable version of Windows cannot be legally downloaded for free. What you have is based on Linux or something of that nature. What you have is probably an ISO file which is NOT run as an executable by Windows, it is something that Windows will burn to a CD with software such as the free imgburn software from http://www.imgburn.com/ When you have burnt to CD you simply reboot with the CD ready to Run and Windows and everything will vanish - or they will all survive if you have failed to configure Boot into CD, in which case fix the BIOS and try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Sorry, but a Bootable version of Windows cannot be legally downloaded for free. What you have is based on Linux or something of that nature. What you have is probably an ISO file which is NOT run as an executable by Windows, it is something that Windows will burn to a CD with software such as the free imgburn software from http://www.imgburn.com/ When you have burnt to CD you simply reboot with the CD ready to Run and Windows and everything will vanish - or they will all survive if you have failed to configure Boot into CD, in which case fix the BIOS and try again. The first disc I made I did with Windows burner, which failed. I also read up on that. The 2nd disc I created which booted, was written down with ImgBurn. I held F8 at start up, booted from the disc drive and selected the algorithms for secure file deletion, had everything set up, hit F10 and it tried to start from /dev/sda1, which I know full well is a Linux route to the HDD, even though I have little experience of how it all works. I have no issues and the bios for this motherboard is great, I have no boot issues other than the fact that DBAN treats my PC as Linux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Help? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 OK. I am becoming increasingly annoyed with the fact that this so called awesome software that gets rid of your data on your HDD, is in actual fact, a piece of s**t. Entropy: Linux blah blah... errr, no it isn't. It's Windows, so stop going to /dev/sdd and failing all the time. Someone please give me a hand here. Seriously, I would like to sell my computer this century. It was written to the disc correctly, are there any ways to erase my HDD which are relatively simple? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators hazelnut Posted July 3, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 3, 2011 Sea Tools might be the easiest for you to use. Burn the iso mentioned in the lnk. Start the machine up with it in the drive. You will be doing the zero fill. Might be an idea to print out the instructions shown on the page if you don't have another pc handy to read them on. Read the instructions twice. http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=203931 Support contact https://support.ccleaner.com/s/contact-form?language=en_US&form=general or support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFX64 Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 No I have it working. Many people run into problems because of media card readers. Since the ASUS Crosshair III Formula ROG board doesn't have the ability to just turn it off, I had to take the side panel of my Antec 1200 off and unplug the media card reader from the board. Since I did this, DBAN works fine. However I do have an issue whereby if I do standard DoD it says it'll take like 16 hours. I cancelled it and ran DoD Short. Will 3 pass be good enough to cover personal details, bank details, etc? Assuming someone who buys the computer intends to snoop around with the intention of finding stuff? It's been overwriting for about 4 hours already and it has about 4 to go with DoD Short (3 pass). My security and details are important to me. I'm at 50%, but should I re-run it again by resetting the PC and rebooting to the disc and then running DoD 7 passes, or again... is 3 passes good enough to leave my personal and financial details unrecoverable? Currently messaging from a super ancient system lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators hazelnut Posted July 3, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 3, 2011 I would say 3 passes is enough unless the people you are selling it to work for Nasa or the FBI. Support contact https://support.ccleaner.com/s/contact-form?language=en_US&form=general or support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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