Wipe your laptop safely

before selling or donating it.

 

Preparing a laptop for sale or donation can be challenging if you’ve just upgraded your laptop. Someone could steal our personal information and files, which is a scary thought for all of us. The reason for this is that all of our devices store so much information.

You don’t need to follow a different process, no matter what kind of device you want to sell or donate. However, depending on the device, you may need to follow a different method.

Make a backup

You should create a system backup of all files on your device before you begin. Time Machine is available for Macs, and System Image Backup is available for Windows.

Whether you use Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud, you must back up to another external hard drive or a Cloud-based storage solution.

Additionally, you should save all your web passwords on your web browser and sign out of every app on your Macbook before moving on to the Delete phase.

Delete the file

You need to perform a factory reset to remove all of your files. You can access Disk Utility on an Apple Macbook by pressing Command-R to enter Recovery Mode and selecting the Erase Disk menu. You can use a third-party app like DBAN to format older Windows machines and change PC settings by going to Settings. If your computer is newer, you can use Settings and click Change PC settings. Finally, select Reinstall Windows and Remove Everything.

Reset the computer

A factory reset will automatically reinstall all the necessary software on most laptops. However, as soon as that is done, you can set up the computer so it is ready for use by the following user.

You need to wipe and clean your computer after installing Windows. Create a new user account with Setup Assistant Mode. After unlinking your old laptop from Microsoft and iTunes, please remove it from connected devices and clean it thoroughly with compressed air or alcohol swabs. Contact 3C’s if you need further assistance.

When handing over the old laptop, ensure it gets a deep cleaning! Using compressed air can be effective in getting rid of dust and dirt in difficult places. If dust or dirt needs to be removed, use alcohol swabs.

Are you having trouble with this process? Contact 3C’s today.