After all this is it safe to donate old computer to charity?

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Corrine - 07 Jan 2004 20:41 GMT

I have an old computer with Windows 95. I copied my files
to disks, then deleted them, then emptied the Recycle
Bin. I then put on the restore disk to return it as it
was when I purchased the computer. My question is: How
likely would it be for anyone to obtain any info from my
old computer? Is it safe to donate it?
Thanx for your input.
CC

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Gerry Voras - 07 Jan 2004 20:47 GMT

It is not totally impossible at this stage to recover files, but it would be
fairly difficult.

What I would do is fdisk the hard drive, then run maxllf (from Maxtor)
against the drive to totally wipe it. Then you can reinstall the OS (or let
the person who you are donating it to rebuild the OS per their preferences.
This way you can be pretty sure against recoverability.

> I have an old computer with Windows 95. I copied my files
> to disks, then deleted them, then emptied the Recycle
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Thanx for your input.
> CC

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philo - 07 Jan 2004 20:53 GMT

> I have an old computer with Windows 95. I copied my files
> to disks, then deleted them, then emptied the Recycle
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Thanx for your input.
> CC

It is safe to donate...

It would take expensive lab work to recover any of the original data.

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MPeshlakai - 15 Jan 2004 05:27 GMT

Download run and follow the instructions for a floppy disk, KILLDISK to
remove all your
personal files from the hard drive before you donate it.

Killdisk.com

> I have an old computer with Windows 95. I copied my files
> to disks, then deleted them, then emptied the Recycle
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Thanx for your input.
> CC

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