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I have a perfectly usable laptop I'd like to donate to charity, but don't want to leave any of my data, is there a way to clean it without rendering the laptop useless. Do I also need to remove the operating system?
restore back to factory settings and choose the slower option to format the drive first, you will get a warning that you are deleting everything.
It will reinstall the operating system and ask the new user to enter their language etc as if you just unboxed it.
If you really want to delete everything use Dariks boot and nuke.
It will also delete the OS
I would thoroughly recommend Darik boot and nuke, if you going to bin the laptop (or hdd), but for the laptop to be really useful, if could do with an O/S*.
What O/S is installed currently?
.
.
.
*I'm assuming , I don't actually know what charity's want/expect.
Windows 7.
Charity** should understand the requirements for putting a usable, stable, secure, supportable OS on it, using the mechanisms available to them; license built into BIOS, license on a sticker on the bottom, use of open source, whatever.
Protect yourself, nuke the data using DBAN and let them make a decision on making it usable again.
** assume it's an IT / computers for whomever charity rather than your local charity shop.
Windows 7 excellent, I'd delete any personaly data you can find, just for piece of mind, there are secure wayto do this but running a couple of installation of win10 over thetop should overwrite anything...
Download the Windows 10 installer to a USB drive. Do an "upgrade" installation on the laptop, connect to the internet confirm it's activated (it will, it's free for Win7), then re-install it again as a fresh install, wiping any previous data.
Hoping to donate to British Heart Foundation, who have an electronic store.
DBAN
Hoping to donate to British Heart Foundation, who have an electronic store.
In all likelihood the only checks the BHF shop would do is an electrical safety one - its unlikely they'll be interested in the contents. You're interest in in making sure non of your data makes its way to a customer beyond them. It seems wise to hand it over with a functioning OS for the charity to have a reasonable chance of selling it without headaches for themselves or the buyer. Charity shops don't have time or energy to waste at the best of times so make it easy for them - they are going to be overwhelmed with donations at the moment too - and steps to quarantine items that arrive means everything is going to be a bit if an effort and space - especially for things that need testing too is going to be a premium. I know Oxfam are asking people make appointments before turning up with donations so check with the store you have in mind.
You could...... sell the lappy on ebay and donate the cash instead.
Download the Windows 10 installer to a USB drive. Do an “upgrade” installation on the laptop, connect to the internet confirm it’s activated (it will, it’s free for Win7), then re-install it again as a fresh install, wiping any previous data.
That's overcomplicated and unnecessary.
Download the ISO to USB. Boot from it, choose "keep nothing" or however it's worded this week, give it the Windows 7 OEM key from the sticker on the laptop when prompted for a key. Job jobbed.
DBAN will secure erase it to various standards of your choice and is a great idea if you're paranoid, but realistically no-one is going to be buying a laptop from a charity shop in order to perform a forensic analysis of a used HDD in order to try and unearth your 2010 porn collection.
That’s overcomplicated and unnecessary.
Download the ISO to USB. Boot from it, choose “keep nothing” or however it’s worded this week, give it the Windows 7 OEM key from the sticker on the laptop when prompted for a key. Job jobbed.
yeah I know, but I'm assuming the OEM key sticker has been destroyed, as its normally the case. I could go into more detail but the non-techie's panic. So running 2 installs, much of which is automated, was my simpler solution
So that's a question that needs asking rather than an answer that needs assuming. (-: It can be extracted from the OS, at any rate.
IME it depends where it is. Laptops with removable batteries generally fare better as the sticker is often underneath it.
yeah but then you get into a long explaination, that start to make their head spin & back away like a startled dear... just install it twice, jobs jobbed.
"Can you see a 25-letter/digit key on a sticker" is hardly a long explanation and it'll save them like 12 hours.
Anyway. My point was that you don't need to do that, though you used to have to with earlier versions of W10. Often when people suggest this it's because they're working from out-of-date advice. I din't know whether you knew or not.