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07 Sep 2010

Support Center » Knowledgebase » SecureClean » How to use SecureClean to clean a computer before donating/selling it

	How to use SecureClean to clean a computer before donating/selling it

Solution Note: SecureClean can and will help clean your hard drive of sensitive information by following the steps below, but it is not designed to do so; some files may still remain. To permanently erase all data on your hard drive, use WipeDrive. For more information about WipeDrive, click here.

Uninstall the programs that you do not want to remain on your computer. You can do this from the 'Add/Remove Programs' control panel, which can be accessed from the Start Menu and then selecting 'Control Panels'. Click any program that you would like to delete and then click the 'Uninstall' button to remove it from your computer. If you are told to do so after a program's uninstallation, you may want to manually delete any remaining folders or files.

After you have uninstalled the programs that you want to remove, you will then need to erase the files that you do not want to remain on the computer. Most versions of Windows will store personal files and documents in the 'My Documents' folder. To access that, find it in an Explorer window, or type in 'My Documents' (without the apostrophes) in the 'Run' command box that is found in the Start Menu. You may also want to check your desktop or other folders to make sure you erase all sensitive and/or personal files. Drag whatever files and/or folders you want to permanently erase to the 'SecureClean File Zapper' icon on your desktop. Click 'Yes' to zap the file(s). After you uninstalled all programs you no longer want on your machine, it may be possible to select every folder in the root directory of your hard drive (i.e. C:\, D:\, etc.) EXCEPT for the Windows and Program Files directories, and drag them all to the File Zapper. However, you will first want to double-check that the other folders do not hold any crucial files.

Open SecureClean by double-clicking the 'Clean My Computer' icon on your desktop or in the 'WhiteCanyon | SecureClean' section of the 'Start' menu. On the 'Clean Drives' window, select the drive(s) that you want to clean and click 'Deep Clean.' Enable every option except for 'Names of Deleted Files' and then click 'Start Clean Now.'