I have two old computers I have been charged to dispose of. I don't want anyone to get access to our personal information or whatever might be on our computer. So I what do I do to clean the computer and is there any point in keeping the hard drives for "extra memory"?
How to get rid of my computers?microsoft office
Old computers usually have tiny drives which makes their value questionable. In addition you should expect a several year old drive to have a much higher failure rate than a new drive.Often they are IDE type and new computers use SATA II hard drives. To use them as an external drive you need a $20 enclosure. You can buy a brand new 500 GB external hard drive for about $120. If you work out the cost per GB it is probably less expensive to buy a new one.
Using the Windows install disk to reformat does not ensure all the data is removed. In order to destroy all data you need to overwrite all the information (preferably several times) on the hard drive.
Use DBAN (free) to overwrite all data on the hard drive. It offers several options for overwriting the disk . DOD 5220-22.M (7-passes) is preferred. Will run 6 hr- 7 hr for a 120 GB drive.
Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN)
http://www.download.com/Darik-s-Boot-and...
http://security.calpoly.edu/docs/policy/...
http://secure.nd.edu/disposal/index.shtm...
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