Date: 2015mar13 OS: Windows Keywords: donation, donate Q. I am giving a old computer away but want to keep Windows on it. What should I do? A.

1. Make a new admin user, call it admin2 2. Delete all other users and their data 3. Uninstall all programs 4. Uninstall Prey (it doesn't show up in control panels add/remove programs) 5. Ensure all user data is removed 5a. Remove wifi passwords 5b. Change the computer name and workgroup to something generic 5c. Delete System Restore Points 5d. Change the networking to DHCP (if not already) 6. Empty the Recycle Bin 7. Wipe freespace 8. Give to your local computer charity

1. Make an new admin user called admin2. The reason I do this is so I can delete the previous admin user entirely. Don't give admin2 a password so the new owner can login. 2. Delete all other users and their data As admin2: Control Panel > User Accounts > Manage another account Keep the Guest login if you want. 3. Uninstall all programs Control Panel > Programs and Features This can take quite a while. If you want to keep an application for the next user I would still recommend removing it then reinstalling is so its clean. 4. Uninstall Prey. The Prey Project anti-theft app doesn't show up above so remove it separately if you have it. You don't want your Prey Control panel clutter with your old computers! Run uninstall.exe in the Prey folder. 5. Ensure all user data is removed. Check in c:\Users to make sure everything was removed. Do you have data anywhere else? Like in c:\ 6. Empty the Recycle Bin. After you have finished all other deleting. 7. Wipe the freespace. This will really remove your personal stuff. http://www.davekb.com/search.php?target=windows+wipe+freespace 8. In Toronto - Free Geek Toronto http://freegeektoronto.org Check the hours and/or phone first -- they might have odd hours.