I was wondering if there is a program to erase all information from a computer.
I don't want to reinstall because I don't know the cd key for the computer. I just need to remove all the information from it because I have a friend selling it.

Killdisk my friend. Put it on a floppy, and boot to it. Rather than format, it sets each bit on the disk to 0 (zero), including the MBR or boot sector. There won't be anything AT ALL on the drive when finished.

But does it erase all the OS. I want to keep the OS on it and all.

Magical Jelly Bean Software - Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder v1.5
That will tell you your cd key and you could reistall if thats the only reason you dont want to reformat.

There is also BCWipe to erase files completely from within OS.

There is also a full disk erase program.

boot up a gentoo disk and mount it up and type

fdisk /dev/hda (hda would be master, hdb would be slave on ide)

then enter d

then 1 through 4

hit w

that will write the changes and now you have an empty disk

You forgot the bestest thing ever. NUKE THE HDD FTW!!!!


Boot n' Nuke

This is late, but the guy wasn't wanting to erase his disk, he doesn't want to lose the registered, licensed OS. Just remove all his personal data.

That is a bit of work, but possible.

1) Login as Administrator (not as a user with Admin rights, you may need to login as Safe Mode to see the Admin profile, as it's hidden by Windows during normal boot process)

2) Right-click "My Computer" > Properties > Advanced tab > User Profiles Settings button

3) Delete all profiles that aren't the Administrator.

This will remove all the separate profiles' information, including temp internet files, My Documents, Outlook and Outlook Express identity data, internet Favorites, desktop settings...basically, anything that was specific to the login profiles.

A good program to remove crap is CCleaner, that should take care of most of the rest, while leaving your OS alone.

EDIT: I forgot to add that the Admin will have to create new user accounts for anyone other than the Admin to login to Windows and have that profile created.

I have to agree with Coelacanth i have been using CCleaner for quite sometime and works great for me.

Quote: Originally Posted by ranger1033 I have to agree with Coelacanth i have been using CCleaner for quite sometime and works great for me.

& it's FREE!!