Clear all personal files

[mainecoon lover]

Ok I need clear my laptop of all persoal files as sold it. It's acer laptop, what's the best way. Thanks

[josh.p.]

Even a re-format and a fresh install of windows does not wipe your hard-drive completely. A computer expert can easily recover your files, as all windows *basically* does, is delete the 'short-cut' (for want of a better word) to your file, making it invisible to us, however, it is compressed somewhere on your hard drive.

There are disk-wipe utilities available if you do a google search, which will fill your hard-drive with 'empty' information, over-writing your own data, and then you can re-format it.

Whether you bother with a disk-wipe software is upto you, it depends on the type of data that is on your computer, and who you are selling it to. The only thing is that you have to think of is if it gets stolen or similar from their house and lands in the wrong hands. Whenver I give/sell a computer, I always use a disk-wipe utility:
Darik's Boot And Nuke | Hard Drive Disk Wipe

[Vixynne]

*nods heartily at Josh's advice*

Even if you give your computer away to a trusted friend, there's no telling who might eventually end up with it, and nobody wants their credit card information or other sensitive info to end up in a stranger's hands. Get a disk-wipe like the one Josh recommends to make sure everything's well and truly gone!
My dad never gives an intact computer away, since he doesn't trust even a disk wiper...he just takes out the hard drive and takes a sledgehammer to it on the front walkway. Then he gives everything else away.

[mainecoon lover]

Thankyou both. Will look into it.