Sep 17, 2016 - This can usually be done by pressing the delete key, the F1 key or Alt and F4. If there is no output your system may not have the virtualization.

I have a friend who wants to sell their computer, but obviously all personal information and software that it is on it needs to be removed before doing so. Usually I would format and reinstall it, but I cannot easily get hold of the required XP DVDs and I'm not 100% sure the serial number is stuck on the case as usual so getting hold of it will probably require more effort than I'm prepared to spend. So, what's the best and quickest way to remove and uninstall everything from the PC without reinstalling it? EDITS: I'm looking to remove things like Internet History and all installed programs, too. I know how to remove the history and each individual program, but that could take hours.

The machine is not branded and therefore there is no website I can go to download recovery software. There is no recovery partition on the computer and I'm not aware of any recovery DVDs for it either. I can only assume it was installed from a retail copy, and therefore there is no way to recover it to factory settings.

It needs to have XP installed, not any distribution of Linux. Like most average people, the person getting the computer will not understand what to do with a computer that doesn't have Windows installed, and software like Office does not work on Linux either. Buying another licence is not really an option either. She has just brought a laptop to replace the computer, so buying another licence for a computer that she's getting rid of doesn't really make sense. Thanks for all the help so far! This is what I have done in the past before donating an old computer to a friend or a relative.

• Uninstall everything that isn't shipped with windows using an uninstall tool that also cleans the registry and deletes leftover files. You're not going to be able to clean a computer to any degree that is secure without wiping and re-installing the OS.

However it doesn't have to be painful. • Download and install to a CD. • Get hold of a copy on CD of the version of Windows your friend is using. • Download and run.

Use it to back up your drivers onto a USB stick. • Use to find out what the Windows XP serial is. Once you've done all that, then you're ready to go: • Run Dariks Boot and Nuke to erase the hard-drive. As noted by M.M this could take many hours, so run overnight.

• Boot the Windows XP CD and go through the installer. Ensure that Windows Updates are turned off (as otherwise you'll find yourself wading through hundreds of them) during the install. • Use the CD key you got previously to re-register Windows. • Let Windows go online and validate your CD key. • Unplug the network cable.

• Point Windows at the USB stick for any drivers that are missing. No need to download anything. Ptv drama serial beti title song mp3. • Turn on Windows Update to the recommended settings. • Power off the computer. If you're feeling benevolent, then you could also: • Turn on Windows Update and download all high priority packages • Install Microsoft Security Essentials. • Use to pre-install a bunch of useful applications really quickly and unattended (eg. FireFox, VLC, Picasa, Adobe Reader, Flash, SilverLight and CDBurnXP if you have a CD/DVD writer on the computer).

Short answer, no easy way to do what you suggest. Cleaning personal info from XP is a manual job that takes time, and no way to guarantee you got it all. Best advice is to use the restore partition (if it has one) or clean Install of XP and then when it is done restoring or the clean install is done, overwrite all the free space on the drive with 'Eraser 5.8', this guarantee's all info has been overwritten and is not recoverable by anyone. Posting your Make and exact Model may prompt us for more suggestions. Since reinstalling is definitely Not an option. Back up data you want to save.

• Create a new user account. • Log into that new account and delete any other user accounts (do not delete the admin or guest accounts) • Uninstall any software you don't want to pass on.

Then search the hard drive for those names of software and remove any folders left behind. • Delete any folders on the C drive that may have been created manually by the user. • Do a IE7-8-9 reset, then delete browsing history (select all the boxes) • Use index.dat suite to delete any dat files it finds,(requires selecting them to be deleted on a reboot) • At the command prompt type these 3 commands one at a time hitting enter each time, the erase tmp command may take time to complete. Cd erase *.tmp /s erase *.bak /s • Empty the Recycle Bin • Use eraser version 5.8.8 to erase the free space on the hard drive, install eraser, then right click on the C drive and select 'erase unused space'. (it may take quite some time if the hard drive is large). I have a friend who wants to sell their computer, but obviously all personal information and software that it is on it needs to be removed before doing so.