From time to time, all family lawyers buy a new computer. Sometimes I give an old computer to a family member or friend. I've given one to a senior center. But first, I have my IT guy erase the hard drive. Today I learned how I can do this safely myself. To do it yourself, you'll need to have the bootable CD-Rom disc that came with your computer--the system recovery disc.
WINDOWS Platform:
Step 1: Insert your bootable disc into your CD-ROM or floppy drive. You should be able to boot to your Windows operating system CD or the system recovery disc that came with your computer.
Step 2: Restart your computer.
Step 3: Press the appropriate function key when prompted to "Boot to CD" at computer start up. The key that you'll need to press varies by computer but is typically one of the function "F" keys located at the top of your keyboard. There will be a message on the screen before Windows boots up that tells you which key to press. If you don't press the key in time on your first try then your computer will boot to your operating system; restart the computer and try again.
Step 4: At the DOS prompt, type "format c: /s" and press "Enter." If the hard drive that you want to format is at a different location than "c:," insert that drive letter instead.
Step 5:
Type "Y" when the computer asks if you really want to format your hard drive. The computer will format the hard drive, erasing all contents and preparing it for installation of a new operating system.
MAC USERS:
There are seven easy steps to erase a hard drive so that you can give away or sell your old computer without compromising client confidentiality (or your own personal banking and financial data). You can find those 7 steps here.
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