Computer question....

[Dottore]

I would like to donate my old Apple lap-top to a half-way house for recovering addicts that is looking for computers.

Although I have deleted all files etc. - I am concerned that these may still be recoverable somehow.

Is there a simple way to ensure that an old computer is "squeaky clean" before it is passed on??

[legion]

Clean: format the hard disk, then reload OS

Squeaky Clean: format hard disk, then write it over with binary zeroes (usually need a utility to do this), then reload OS

[svandamme]

ultra clean, acetylene torch for about 5 minutes and 24 secs

[svandamme]

or tig weld the disk to the battery

[stealthn]

You can get disk tools that will use the DOD method of erasing the hard drive. It usually takes at least 3 passed over the entire disk writing random patterns over and over again. I'm not sure of their names, but any local electronics store should have them.

[widebody911]

dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/hda bs=1024

[TerryH]

Nothing deleted is really deleted until it has been written over.

[jriera]

Check this --> http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303462

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by jriera

Check this --> http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303462

That's very helpful. Thank you very much.

[onewhippedpuppy]

There's several programs to overwrite-erase hard drives, I'm sure your local Best Buy/etc has them.