Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2017 January 23

= January 23 =

Wipe harddrive except for OS?
I have an HP Pavilion DV6 with Win7 that I'm trying to sell. I don't have a windows disc. I've googled everything - this doesn't work in my situation. I've been monkeying with the F11 thing for several hours to no avail. I don't think this laptop has a restore to factory default function. There are no restore points. So far I've just uninstalled and shift+deleted everything on the laptop, so it seems maybe good to sell but I know there's still a bunch of my personal stuff lingering.

Is there a program that just wipes every single thing except the OS? The thing's hardly worth anything anyway, if I can't completely wipe it I'll probably just use it as kindling once bonfire season comes around. NIRVANA2764 (talk) 17:44, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Without the OS disk that came with the laptop or a restoration partition, you'd have to wipe the entire hard drive and re-install Windows. This would also be the safest option for protecting your personal data. A program like DBAN will securely wipe the disk. As for re-installing Windows, if your laptop has a Windows product key sticker somewhere on it, you can download a corresponding Windows installation disk for that version (Home Premium, Ultimate, etc.) and use the product key to activate it. (Edit: you can also find the product key for the current installation of Windows using certain programs, such as Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder.) See here for more on how to find and download a Windows 7 disk image, which you can then burn to a DVD. clpo13(talk) 18:01, 23 January 2017 (UTC)


 * If you have a valid Windows 7 product key: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7
 * If you don't have a valid Windows 7 product key: https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
 * --Guy Macon (talk) 18:08, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Before you do ANY of the above, check if your computer has a recovery partition. A lot of laptops since xp / win7 days include a recovery partition which can reinstall the OS to the factory state. First thing I would try is try tapping "F" key used for "Recovery" immediate after turning the computer on.  If this works, you're done. Just make sure you have any data you want to keep copied off the laptop. If it doesn't work, I can't find a good tutorial from HP it self but there's a few threads in the HP support forums which might be able to help. reset pavilion dv6 to factory state and recover from partition. Vespine (talk) 22:08, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
 * This may sound like overkill, but I'll post it anyway. You're going to sell a laptop to somebody you don't know. So you can't trust the next owner of the laptop. Therefore, you should securely wipe the hard drive. Simply deleting all files is not enough, but a tool like DBAN can do the job. At the same time, the next owner of the laptop can't trust you. After all, you're not a reputable computer salesman. You could have installed your own malware, unknown to the malware scanners. The logical result is that both you and the buyer should wipe the hard drive. You could deliver a Windows install dvd along with the laptop, but the new owner shouldn't trust that either. And maybe he doesn't want Windows at all; it only has 90% market share. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:15, 24 January 2017 (UTC)


 * Note, some OEM PCs have a preinstalled key in BIOS/UEFI. Such machines, least Windows 10 does not ask to enter a key. -- Hans Haase (有问题吗) 21:23, 26 January 2017 (UTC)


 * You can ask your local nerd to borrow his/her Windows CD for a couple of hours, or download and burn one yourself. &#40;&#40;&#40;The Quixotic Potato&#41;&#41;&#41; (talk) 14:45, 28 January 2017 (UTC)