-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Two related problems
- From: "GMan" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 01:21:11 -0400
Hi Ralph,
Yes, it is as simple as just deleting the folders/files that used to
belong to Win98. Once they're gone, so is the old operating system.
However, you might want to do a folder by folder inspection to make
absolutely sure that there's nothing in them worth saving. Many programs
write their creations in a subfolder of the main program's folder. These
are located under the main Program Files folder. You may also find a few
things buried within the old Windows folder such as personalized wallpaper
&/or screensavers you added. Once you're certain that there's nothing left
that's worth saving, just delete those two folders (Windows & Program
Files), plus the files in the root directory (the stuff that's sitting just
inside the D:\ drive, assuming this old drive is now D:)
As for your wife's system, wiping an old drive before donating (or
selling) it is a great idea, especially if there's more on it than just some
MP3 collection. Unfortunately, the only way to truly wipe the 1s & 0s is to
connect it to a working system and then run a wiping program on it.
Reformatting the drive isn't enough since that only removes the file
system's index of the files and doesn't even touch the files themselves.
Fortunately, it's not difficult at all to connect a hard drive to a
working system. In most cases all you need to do is turn off the PC, open
the case, connect the drive to a free IDE or SATA cable, connect a power
cable to the drive, set the drive's Master/Slave jumper and then boot up the
system. Since the drive will only be 'connected' to the computer for a
short time, I don't bother to properly mount it to the case. Instead, I
place a cardboard box next to the opening, lay a clean, dry washcloth on top
of it and then the old hard drive on top of that. It isolates the drive
from any static that might be in the carpet below the PC and it also raises
the drive up high enough for the cables to reach the drive.
If you need more detailed instructions or any other assistance with the
procedure, we're right here for ya. :O)
Peace,
GMan
"The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked!"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ralph Krumdiek" <ralphkru@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2007 12:49 AM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Two related problems
>
> Hi. I have two related questions. First, I recently added a 2nd hard =
> drive to my machine, which is running W2000. The 2nd hard drive is from =
> an older machine of mine, which is no longer among us, and that drive =
> has W98 installed on it. What's the best way to remove W98 from the old =
> drive? I could reformat but it seems to me I should be able to remove =
> W98 without going that far, but surely just deleting the Windows folder =
> doesn't completely wipe the disk of W98, does it? I am not doing a =
> double-boot so my current machine knows nothing of the W98 install.
>
> 2nd question: My wife's computer recently died (short in the MB). We =
> had a backup (whew!) and restored her data to her new machine. Neither =
> of us wants the old drive and I'd like to give it to the local computer =
> recycle folks, but it's still got the data on it. Is there some way to =
> wipe the drive without installing it in a machine first (short of taking =
> a hammer to it?). I appreciate any help on either of these problems.
--
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