fixing to get new computer. how do i make a backup disc and then destroy all the data on the old one?
Im trading it in and i dont want them getting my data. thanks
Filed under: Data Security
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ok..like the other guy said therea re several alternatives but this is how i would do it. Pick a media to back it up on, (ie. external hard drive or even dvd discs) transfer the FILES you need onto the backup media. Programs arent worth the effort to transfer so you will need to transfer the executable files (setup files). As for cleaning the data off the old computer, depending on how secure the data old data needs to stay you could
a) take out the hard drive and put in a NEW one installing the OS onto the new hard drive with your same windows product key
b)format the hard drive and then put the copy of windows back on again which can be easy if your computer came with restore discs
c) just delete the data you dont want on there and clean the recycle bin
The options a,b,c are listed in order of how serious the data is… (a being most serious to c) if its just yourold pics and music etc.. chances are youll just run restore discs but if its company data ive seen them completely CRUSH entire computer towers in order to keep the data secure
Several alternatives.. (1) you can have whomever you are buying the new computer from, copy your old hard disk to your new hard disk. (2) you can remove your old hard disk and install it in your new computer. (3) this is a program called "diskcopy" that will copy your old hard disk to your new hard disk - That way you can do it yourself.
If you don’t want to keep your old hard disk, and after you are sure you have copied everything, then do an Fdisk, which will erase and reformat your hard disk. It is suggested that you do this two or three times to insure your have erased everything. You can also run your hard disk through a magnetic field, which will destroy everything on the disk.
Take the hard drive out and drill three holes in it,or smash it up with a hammer into little pieces.
Simply burn any data you want to a cd , then use this program to wipe the hard drive clean , then reinstall just the operating system and drivers http://dban.sourceforge.net/
Get acronis disk director, you can try it at http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/download/
I use it when I change computers to backup everything. But not only that I use it when I upgrade hard drives on my notebook, I make an exact copy of the old disk and put it on the new disk and the coputer is exactly like it was. If you do this to change all data to a new computer Windows may not run because of the change of hardware, in that case just reinstall windows on the new computer.