arboldt
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2007
- Messages
- 417
Re: what do I do with my old computer?
Deleting a file doesn't make it go away. It just tells the operating system the space can be reused. Even reformatting the drive isn't really secure.
Option 1: Pull the drive and save it for other possible use as described in other posts.
Option 2: Pull the drive and physically destroy it.
Option 3: Download a free program or use a commercial program (such as Norton's wipedisk) that will over-write every bit on the disk with a certain character. This does totally erase (technically just replacing) all data on the disk. Whatever program you use, be sure it complies with Department of Defense security specifications. This is the option I use when I give away an old pc. I will often go a bit further and install a free OS like Ubuntu linux.
Deleting a file doesn't make it go away. It just tells the operating system the space can be reused. Even reformatting the drive isn't really secure.
Option 1: Pull the drive and save it for other possible use as described in other posts.
Option 2: Pull the drive and physically destroy it.
Option 3: Download a free program or use a commercial program (such as Norton's wipedisk) that will over-write every bit on the disk with a certain character. This does totally erase (technically just replacing) all data on the disk. Whatever program you use, be sure it complies with Department of Defense security specifications. This is the option I use when I give away an old pc. I will often go a bit further and install a free OS like Ubuntu linux.