Reformat HD - Or...another stupid PC question

[Tone2TheBone]

I have a very old and very obsolete computer that I want to give to Goodwill (yes they will take it as long as it works). My problem is that I'd like to reformat the hard drive so that any of our private information gets wiped out and the PC has a new fresh start for it's "new owners". Trouble is I don't have the OS backup system disk to reformat with. Is there a way to do it without this disk?

I'm thinking there isn't.......

Btw it's Windows 95....remember it? It could have been worse...It could have been Windows 3.1

[duhvoodooman]

All you need to do this is a simple "boot floppy" with a few DOS utilities. There are all kinds of websites that offer free boot disk images. Just Google "boot disk" and you'll see what I mean. Download the appropriate file, follow the directions for making a boot floppy, boot up the PC with the floppy in the drive, and when you get to the A:> prompt, type in "format c:", and away you go.

BTW, this method will not completely erase all the contents of the drive. What it does is analogous to tearing the table of contents out of a book--the "pages" are still there, but there's no "map" to find your way around. A knowledgeable hacker with the right recovery software can still access the disk contents, however. Depending upon how you're disposing of the PC, that may not be a concern. But if it is, there are also programs available that will write all zeros to the disk, and that does indeed wipe out everything that was there....

[Spudman]

You could just select all your folders with personal stuff in them and just delete them. That would leave the op system in tact. If you aren't in any hurry to get it out of the house you'll have plenty of time to do that.

[Tone2TheBone]

You could just select all your folders with personal stuff in them and just delete them. That would leave the op system in tact. If you aren't in any hurry to get it out of the house you'll have plenty of time to do that.

But couldn't a smart guy get those files back that were "deleted"? There are mostly a lot of children's games and software on the machine but we did use it for internet use LONG time ago. I just don't want anyone digging up personal info that used to be on the machine. Although back then we didn't use the computer for any purchases or commerce.....

[Spudman]

I thought when you deleted those folders the stuff was gone for good. You'd have to get every temp folder etc. as far as I know. It should work, right?

[Justaguyin_nc]

I didn't notice which OS your running..but here are a few links to help you.. Basicly you make a boot disk..reboot from it and use Fdisk command to format the drive... all will be lost..

as far as info on a drive.. Unless you rewrite the whole drive with say 0's or 1's... anything can be recovered from a smart feller.. even after a format... there are programs for this.. the chances someone will go through the problem recovering your information is pretty slim.. but ya never know..

http://home.pacbell.net/dbk4297/fdiskformat.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_format_a_hard_drive

http://hardwarehell.com/fdisk.htm

[duhvoodooman]

I thought when you deleted those folders the stuff was gone for good. You'd have to get every temp folder etc. as far as I know. It should work, right?
Not true, in general. When you "delete" a folder, all you really do is wipe out Windows' record of where it was & what was in it. It doesn't actually get erased until those sectors of the drive are overwritten with new data. Until that happens, the data is still recoverable by a knowledgeable hacker with the right software.

BTW, it's for this reason that damaged or "crashed" hard drives can often have their contents recovered. Even though Windows can't find/access the data, it's physically still there.

[Spudman]

Not true, in general. When you "delete" a folder, all you really do is wipe out Windows' record of where it was & what was in it. It doesn't actually get erased until those sectors of the drive are overwritten with new data. Until that happens, the data is still recoverable by a knowledgeable hacker with the right software.

BTW, it's for this reason that damaged or "crashed" hard drives can often have their contents recovered. Even though Windows can't find/access the data, it's physically still there.

Uh oh! That means that all my world domination designs on my old computer can be used by someone else? I knew I should have patented them before giving it to Deseret Industries.:D

Thanks for the info. I always thought that once you clear it from the trash it was gone.

[SuperSwede]

Uh oh! That means that all my world domination designs on my old computer can be used by someone else? I knew I should have patented them before giving it to Deseret Industries.:D


Spud, since I work for Deseret Industries we would like to ask you about the file called deathstar.bmp. We dont get the point of creating a giant starsized spaceship.

T2tb, you can create a boot disc in the control panel, I think it is under install/remove apps. You should do as Justa says, use fdisk to remove the partition map, and then create a new C: partition and then format it.

[Tone2TheBone]

AHA I knew nothing was sacred! Smart people are...smart. Thanks for the information guys.