Q I read in Computeractive that if I were to take my computer back to its factory settings using the restore disc with which it was supplied, it would wipe out all the information on the hard disk. Would this mean it would take all of my documents off the disk, and make it safe to get rid of it? If I were to give the computer to a charity, would this procedure remove all my personal information?
John Foster

A Almost all factory restore discs (they sometimes go under slightly differing names) will wipe the computer’s hard disk clean and reinstall the operating system as though the PC had just come from the factory. In most cases, this will include formatting the hard disk, which is the most important thing to do when getting rid of a PC.

When restoring the PC, look out for a section where the PC will tell you it is formatting the hard disk. Some experts recommend removing the hard disk altogether and destroying it before giving away an old PC, since even after formatting it is sometimes possible for a criminal or other person to recover the old data from the disk. If you are not sure about formatting, this might be the safest option.

Alternatively, there is software that can overwrite old files so many times that it becomes very difficult to restore the information. To do so would be so costly and time-consuming that no one would bother trying to recover it unless they already knew that there was information they wanted. To do this, download and install Eraser. This program can be used to wipe empty space from the computer as well as files to make sure that old files are properly deleted.