StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Is there a way to wipe a computer clean leaving just the OS intact as if it was a clean install?

Yeah, you could wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS.

Other than that, not really.

Uraniun235 wrote:Yeah, you could wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS.

Other than that, not really.

ahh, thanks. I bought another computer and want to give this one to my in laws but I didn't want to format and start over. I was hoping WinXP had a utility to let me wipe the computer clean leaving just the OS.

Enigma wrote:

Uraniun235 wrote:Yeah, you could wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS.

Other than that, not really.

ahh, thanks. I bought another computer and want to give this one to my in laws but I didn't want to format and start over. I was hoping WinXP had a utility to let me wipe the computer clean leaving just the OS.

Couldn't you back it up to a convenient restore point? I suppose it's unlikely that someone created a restore point right after installing the OS, but if there's one early enough you might be able to get away with it.

It doesn't delete anything. If you look into the Program Files folder and the Documents and Settings folder after a system restore you'll see a bunch (well, depending on how severe the changes are) of folders that are marked as being back ups of stuff that is seemingly deleted. Not something I would entrust with my privacy, even if the in laws aren't computer literate.