Clearing Laptop

[lelapin]

I have recently bought a new laptop and wish to give my old one with Windows 10 to a friend.

I want to remove all my personal information from it first, including word, Excel files. saved passwords, bookmarks and other personal files.

Is there an easy way to do this (like reverting to factory settings) or do I have to delete each item separately?

[tonray]

If you have the DVD (or separate disk partition) holding the WIN10 installation...the  best way is to format the drive and re-install windows.

[userabcd]

Save/backup the data you need to a usb key.

 

Usually to reset the pc take quite a bit of time.

 

I usually prefer to create a new bootable windows 10 usb and then do a completely new reinstall of windows 10. This is much faster and all the partitions and information on the disk can be deleted completely and the disk formatted a few times at the start of the new win10 reinstall before install a new windows 10.

Edited December 4, 2021 by userabcd

[mtls2005]

I did this recently.

 

I archived all data. Then deleted it from the notebook.

 

I copied a bunch of movies to the drive to capacity, deleted them, rinsed and repeated.

 

Then ran DBAN on the entire drive (DOD option). 

 

Then re-installed Windows fresh (new legit license was $4.23), then sold the notebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by mtls2005

[bendejo]

15 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Then ran DBAN on the entire drive (DOD option). 

Another vote for DBAN here.

 

 

[Thaijack2014]

Why don't you just take out the hard drive and put in a new one. They are not expensive and install Windows 10 on that one. I'm sure the local dealer can help you with that. You can keep your old hd in a usb-casing and have your old data always at hand. A 250 gb SSD costs around 2500 Baht (WD Blue) and it will make the laptop (in case you now have regular HDD in it) a lot faster as well.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Search in Windows 10 for "Reset this PC", it is in System, Recovery.

One of the options is to reset the PC to factory condition, all your personal data will be wiped.

That is easy and it works.

[HappyExpat57]

There is nothing that can't be retrieved with enough effort, though the levels after a DBAN wipe would be ridiculous. The only way to be sure is to remove and replace the hard drive then destroy the old hard drive. 

[mtls2005]

2 hours ago, Thaijack2014 said:

Why don't you just take out the hard drive and put in a new one.

Agreed. But I had only recently installed an SSD.

 

In hindsight though, I would follow your recommendation. 

[Kan Win]

6 hours ago, Thaijack2014 said:

Why don't you just take out the hard drive and put in a new one. They are not expensive and install Windows 10 on that one. I'm sure the local dealer can help you with that. You can keep your old hd in a usb-casing and have your old data always at hand. A 250 gb SSD costs around 2500 Baht (WD Blue) and it will make the laptop (in case you now have regular HDD in it) a lot faster as well.

 

ORICO 2.5" USB 3.0 SATA HDD Box HDD Hard Disk Drive External HDD Enclosure Transparent Case Tool Free 5Gbps Support 2TB (2139) | Shopee Thailand

 

I have one of these and it works great.

 

Win 

[Thaijack2014]

33 minutes ago, Kan Win said:

ORICO 2.5" USB 3.0 SATA HDD Box HDD Hard Disk Drive External HDD Enclosure Transparent Case Tool Free 5Gbps Support 2TB (2139) | Shopee Thailand

 

I have one of these and it works great.

 

Win 

Price is not bad, I have a few HDD's in my drawer but not all have a case. I always swap between the drives if I want to store something... they could use some cases! ????

 

[lelapin]

I have successfully restored the computer to factory settings, cleared all my data  (which has been successfully transferred to my new laptop), Windows is up and running but when I boot up the system it requires my Microsoft info to sign on (email / password) and sends a verification code to my email account that I have to enter. How do I get rid of this requirement as I obviously don't want to pass on the laptop like this.

[Bruno123]

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-switch-local-account-microsoft-account-windows-10

[3NUMBAS]

it needs a low level format not a quick format

[TheScience]

50 minutes ago, lelapin said:

How do I get rid of this requirement as I obviously don't want to pass on the laptop like this.

On later versions of windows 10 now and windows 11 you'll get this.

 

Create a bogus, generic email address for the admin account.

 

Google up how to create additional accounts locally without the address.

 

Definitely one feature I'm hating about w11

[chrisinth]

17 hours ago, TheScience said:

On later versions of windows 10 now and windows 11 you'll get this.

 

Create a bogus, generic email address for the admin account.

 

Google up how to create additional accounts locally without the address.

 

Definitely one feature I'm hating about w11

There is no need to setup with a Microsoft account if you are doing a fresh install. Just make sure you are not connected to the internet when doing the installation setup, and go with a local account. You will still have this option while disconnected.

 

If the person who the computer is going to needs a Microsoft account, they can easily add this.

[bbko]

On 12/5/2021 at 6:36 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Search in Windows 10 for "Reset this PC", it is in System, Recovery.

One of the options is to reset the PC to factory condition, all your personal data will be wiped.

That is easy and it works.

↑↑↑ This, using the search function on your Windows 10, type "reset this PC", then look for the "remove everything" button and go from there, it removes all your personal files, apps and settings.

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by bbko

[TheScience]

2 hours ago, bbko said:

↑↑↑ This, using the search function on your Windows 10, type "reset this PC", then look for the "remove everything" button and go from there, it removes all your personal files, apps and settings.

 

Not so fast.

 

If you're going to bother with a reinstall then do it right.

 

Format the drive and reinstall it.