How do you delete EVERYTHING on your computer wo/ orginal CD?

[zasterguava]

I have a computer that I'll be giving away. How do I erase everything on the computer leaving just windows as it was when I first got it? I no longer have the original CD's or documentation.

[funkyworms]

You can't. You'll have to do it manually if you want to leave windows installed.

[downrange]

As the responder already said, you'd have to erase things by hand because you can't replace windows w/o the discs. But no matter who you're giving it to I don't think that's a good idea; for one thing you don't know if/where windows has been saving any of the login names/passwords you use for whatever. And even if you knew no sensitive personal info was stored in any remaining windows areas you also can't thoroughly erase all the non-windows stuff just by doing "delete".

Don't mean to sound paranoid but since you don't know where this computer/hard drive will go after you give it away I would get a tool from seagate or western digital or some freeware thing that will rewrite every square inch of the hard drives to completely obliterate EVERYTHING. This means the computer is useless to whoever you give it to until they install an operating system.

[MattSuspect]

I've been trying to find a freeware that does this? Anyone have anything?

[Low Key]

Well, had you the program before you put stuff on Windows, you could have used Ghost or a similar image making program to make a fresh install image of Windows, nothing on it. But now, it's a little late for all that.

Oh, and:

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I no longer have the original CD's or documentation.

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Come on, you're among friends. Just say that a buddy installed a cracked/stolen copy of Windows. We won't crucify you.

[ToeHold]

[ QUOTE ]
I've been trying to find a freeware that does this? Anyone have anything?

[/ QUOTE ]

DBAN will do what you're looking for.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/