Do you still have the original system disks?  Your computer should have come
with a format and recovery disk that you can use to completely erase the
hard drive and reinstall all of the original software that came with your
computer.  Any software or file that you added after you purchased it will
be permantly gone.

It's actually quite easy.  Just boot your computer from your recovery disk,
and then follow the instructions.  It takes a while, but it is easy.

Hope this helps,
Trevor

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Rebman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 11:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: securely formatting hard drive?


Folks,

I need a little advice that is not directly related to assistive tech, so
if somebody who has some info for me could mail me off-list with this, I
would appreciate it.

My laptop is about to die and I have ordered a new one and I am trading in
the old one and need to find a way to ensure that the hard drive is
securely formatted with no possibility of somebody being able to recover
any data from it.

Does anybody know how to do this, or if there is some kind of utility I can
try?

Thanks,

Jim

---------------------------
James A. Rebman

Cognitive Levers Project
Center for Life-Long Learning and Design (L3D)
University of Colorado, Boulder

"In times of change, the learners will inherit the earth, while the learned
will find themselves beautifully equipped for a world that no longer
exists."
- Eric Hoffer