Q. I must get rid of computer. I've heard the only way to get rid of all personal info is to totally demolish it. Is that true? I've lost the recovery disc so can't take back to factory settings that way.
A. There are only two ways to make sure no one can recover data from the drive. One way is to physically destroy the drive, the other is to use a utility program that rewrites the drive with a bunch of random letters and numbers. One of these programs that is highly rated and is free is called Eraser. You may dowload it from www.download.cnet.com
How to install tinyxp on a computer that has win98?
Q. I am wishing to install tiny xp on my computer. I am currently running windows 98SE. I want step by step instructions since I am not that good with programs. I also have not found a place to download it yet. All the ones I have found were dead links.
I am also wanting the computer start up with windows 98 and have me open tiny xp when I wish to.
I am also wanting the computer start up with windows 98 and have me open tiny xp when I wish to.
A. It is not a good idea to install XP on the same partition with another operating system. A second empty partition should be created first. Although partitioning can be done from the XP disk using the modern version of Fdisk, everything on existing partitions will be destroyed. Unless you are going to completely reinstall your older operating system you will need something like Partition Magic. If using Partition Magic, create a data partition and do not use the option âthis partition will contain an operating systemâ unless you plan to use a boot manager other than the one that comes with XP and you want to hide the two operating systems from each other. Hiding one operating system from the other was necessary when dual-booting Windows 95 with 98 or dual-booting Windows 98 with Me. It is not necessary with XP and my personal preference is to be able to see the entire system from each operating system. Windows XP can also be hidden from the Windows 98 system by formatting the XP partition with NTFS. Windows 98/Me must have a FAT partition. More advanced users may prefer this setup. Any FAT32 partition will be visible to Windows XP but Windows 98/Me cannot read NTFS volumes.
The older operating system must be already installed before starting the XP installation. Installation is very easy with only one thing that has to be carefully watched. Do NOT use the default choice of an upgrade installation. Ignore the message that this is ârecommendedâ. That choice will over-write the older existing Windows operating system. Choose âNew installation, advanced.â The installation will then go in automatically onto the empty partition. If you have more than two partitions, there is an Advanced setting that will allow you to pick which partition you want XP to be on.
After XP is installed, a boot menu will appear whenever the computer is first turned on. By default Windows XP will be at the top and will be the operating system that boots unless Windows 98/Me (called Windows on the menu) is highlighted by using the down arrow key. The default setting has a 30 second delay period in which to make a choice. Both the order of operating systems in the boot menu and the delay time are controlled in a hidden file boot.ini that is located in the root of the C: drive. It is a text file and can be edited with a text editor (after removing the attributes) but it is a better idea to do any editing from Windows XP. One way to adjust settings is to go to Control Panel-System-Advanced-Startup and Recovery- Default Operating System
One final point is that the early stages of booting XP actually involve the C: drive even when most of the operating system is on another partition. XP installs three files in the root of the C: partition. These files are hidden, read-only, system files and include the aforementioned boot.ini, and two others, ntldr, and ntdetect.com. Dual-boot systems also have a file bootsect.dos. If these get corrupted, the system will not boot so I suggest making a backup diskette with copies.
The older operating system must be already installed before starting the XP installation. Installation is very easy with only one thing that has to be carefully watched. Do NOT use the default choice of an upgrade installation. Ignore the message that this is ârecommendedâ. That choice will over-write the older existing Windows operating system. Choose âNew installation, advanced.â The installation will then go in automatically onto the empty partition. If you have more than two partitions, there is an Advanced setting that will allow you to pick which partition you want XP to be on.
After XP is installed, a boot menu will appear whenever the computer is first turned on. By default Windows XP will be at the top and will be the operating system that boots unless Windows 98/Me (called Windows on the menu) is highlighted by using the down arrow key. The default setting has a 30 second delay period in which to make a choice. Both the order of operating systems in the boot menu and the delay time are controlled in a hidden file boot.ini that is located in the root of the C: drive. It is a text file and can be edited with a text editor (after removing the attributes) but it is a better idea to do any editing from Windows XP. One way to adjust settings is to go to Control Panel-System-Advanced-Startup and Recovery- Default Operating System
One final point is that the early stages of booting XP actually involve the C: drive even when most of the operating system is on another partition. XP installs three files in the root of the C: partition. These files are hidden, read-only, system files and include the aforementioned boot.ini, and two others, ntldr, and ntdetect.com. Dual-boot systems also have a file bootsect.dos. If these get corrupted, the system will not boot so I suggest making a backup diskette with copies.
How can I DELETE all information from my old desk top computer?
Q. Can someone please advise me on how I can DELETE all personal information like social security numbers, checking account numbers, and all info from the memory chip from my old Windows XP desktop?
I want to dispose my old desktop, but I fear simply tossing my desktop on the curb for the sanitation department to pick up.
Is there a FREE program online that I can use on my old PC that can totally DELETE all personal information? Thank you very much! I truly appreciate your assistance!
I want to dispose my old desktop, but I fear simply tossing my desktop on the curb for the sanitation department to pick up.
Is there a FREE program online that I can use on my old PC that can totally DELETE all personal information? Thank you very much! I truly appreciate your assistance!
A. Use DBAN. It will clear a hard drive beyond recovery using random data over several passes. It is free, and works as a bootable disc.
Download it, burn it to a CD, shut down, plug in ONLY the hard drive you intend to delete, turn the PC on, and boot from the CD.
You can select where to boot from from the BIOs, or from the boot menu. It's usually accessed by pressing the F2 or F5 key, or the Del key, or something very similar, as soon as the computer is turned on. The key you need to press varies from motherboard to motherboard.
You can do a Secure Erase, which is superior to DBAN or Eraser, but requires much more know-how. Read up on it here and see if you'd be up for it, otherwise, stick with DBAN.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/storage/how-to-really-erase-a-hard-drive/129
Also, I've used Eraser before, but I do not remember an option for formatiing and securing a HDD. I believe it just allows files shredding and wiping of unused disc space, not the entire disc itself. I could be wrong though.
Download it, burn it to a CD, shut down, plug in ONLY the hard drive you intend to delete, turn the PC on, and boot from the CD.
You can select where to boot from from the BIOs, or from the boot menu. It's usually accessed by pressing the F2 or F5 key, or the Del key, or something very similar, as soon as the computer is turned on. The key you need to press varies from motherboard to motherboard.
You can do a Secure Erase, which is superior to DBAN or Eraser, but requires much more know-how. Read up on it here and see if you'd be up for it, otherwise, stick with DBAN.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/storage/how-to-really-erase-a-hard-drive/129
Also, I've used Eraser before, but I do not remember an option for formatiing and securing a HDD. I believe it just allows files shredding and wiping of unused disc space, not the entire disc itself. I could be wrong though.
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