When you replace your old but still functional Windows PC with a shiny new model, you have several options for that gently used device. You can give it to a friend or family member. You can donate it to a charity like Goodwill (which partners with Dell Reconnection). You can even redeem it for credit or sell it on a third-party site like Exchange either Back market.
However, whatever course of action you take, your most important task is… Permanently delete all your personal files from that PC before moving it to another. With a desktop PC, that may be as easy as swapping out the system drive for a new one. But that’s not usually an option with a laptop, where replacing storage can be impossible or prohibitively expensive.
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For laptops, the easiest option is to reset your PC and choose the option to remove personal files and reinstall Windows. On a Windows 10 PC, go to Settings > Update & security > Recovery. On a Windows 11 device, the Reset PC option is located under Settings > System > Recovery. Make sure you choose the Remove everything option, as shown here.
When resetting a PC to give away or sell it, be sure to choose the Erase everything option.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
It takes a few prompts before you get to the actual reset option (you don’t want to do it accidentally, after all), and if you dig around in the settings, you can find a Clean Disk option designed to wipe all data in addition to deleting your files. Alternatively, you can boot from the Windows installation media, delete all existing disk partitions, and then perform a clean install.
Either option deletes existing personal files, but Microsoft’s documentation warns that “the data erasure feature is targeted at consumers and does not meet government and industry data erasure standards.” As a result, it’s possible that someone with advanced technical skills could use forensic tools or data recovery software to access some of the deleted information.
On modern systems with solid state drives, you can often find a management utility that includes a secure erase command. For Samsung SSDs, use the command Samsung Wizard Program. For Intel SSDs, download and install the Intel Memory and Storage ToolCrucial SSDs use the Crucial Storage Executive UtilityMicrosoft Surface devices support a custom tool called Microsoft Surface Data Eraser; See the download links in that article to determine if you need the newer version of IT Toolkit or the legacy version for older Surface devices.
Some third-party partition management tools include the option to completely erase a disk. My favorite for this task is MiniTool Partition Wizardwhich includes the Wipe Disk option in both free and paid versions.
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You can also use Windows’ built-in encryption tools to ensure that the entire system disk, including unused disk space, is encrypted before performing a clean install. That extra step takes a little more time, but it ensures that data recovered from any part of the disk will be unreadable. And you don’t need any third-party software to get the job done.
Your system drive is fully encrypted by default if you’re signed in to Windows with a Microsoft account on a modern device that supports BitLocker Device Encryption (BDE). To confirm that your device supports BDE, run the System Information utility (Msinfo32.exe) as an administrator and check the Device Encryption Support entry at the bottom of the System Summary page.
On a Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11 Pro system, you can use the Manage BitLocker utility (type BitLocker in the search box to find it) to encrypt the system drive and any data drives. Make sure you choose the option to encrypt the entire drive, not just the space that currently contains data.
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If device encryption is not available, open a command prompt using the Run as administrator option and enter this command:
Encryption /W:C:\
That command “zeroes out” unused disk space and overwrites it so that it cannot be recovered. This process can take a long time, so you may want to leave it running overnight while you focus on more important tasks.