/ Clean PC before donation

Clean PC before donation

I want to clean out my old computer and I forgot my password to get into it. It’s been sitting for about a year in my basement and I want to get in it and clean it up so that I can donate it.

Celeste Stewart It is a smart idea to clean up your PC before donating it to charity. After all, you don’t want the next owner to have access to your data. Since you forgot your password, we’ll need to deal with two issues: getting into the computer and cleaning it.

Accessing your PC without a Password

If you have data that you need to preserve, then you’ll want to log onto your computer and copy the data to a CD, USB stick, external hard drive, or online storage source. Likewise, you need to be able to log on in order to delete data so let’s tackle this issue first. If you have Windows XP, try logging on as:

Username: Administrator

Password: (leave blank)

This works if you have XP and have never changed the Administrator’s settings. For example, if you created your own user account and password combination.

Below are some related articles covering different ways to log onto computers when you do not know the password:

http://filetonic.com/blog/2009/03/13/lost-administrative-rights/

http://filetonic.com/blog/2008/10/08/forgot-vista-password/

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940765

Reformatting the Hard Drive

If you have the original system disc or recovery CD, you might consider using it to revert the computer back to its factory settings. You won’t need your password in order to do this and it will erase your data (though not permanently as described below). If you are not concerned with retrieving your data and you have the original discs, this may be one of the easier options. However, after resetting your computer to its original settings, you’ll still need to update the operating system and antivirus programs as well as “wipe” the drive.

Cleaning PCs before Donating to Charity

When donating a computer, the data on your hard drive is a concern. For example, if you use a program such as Microsoft Money or H&R TaxCut all of your financial information is stored on your computer - information that you don’t want others to view. While you can hit the “delete” button and empty the Recycle Bin, that doesn’t do the trick. Anyone with data recovery software can go in and easily retrieve the files. This is true even if you have reformatted the hard drive! Reformatting doesn’t really erase files; it erases the index referencing the files.

We recommend using a product such as ParetoLogic Privacy Controls to permanently delete sensitive files before donating or recycling PCs. If you opt to recycle the computer, you can remove the hard drive and physically smash it with a sledgehammer before disposal.