Cleaning out laptop?

Question

I have a dell inspiron1520. I want to clean out everything from my laptop. I would uninstall things but that would take along time. I know their is away to completly delete everything that was installed, except for the things that were already on the computer. We had to clean out our desktop and start off fresh. But how do you do it on here?

Answer 1

For sure, 'deleting' files does NOT remove them, it only changes the file name (extension) so anyone with a little bit of knowledge can recover them, and read what you've done on that unit.

To securely get a computer ready to sell, or cast off, an overwrite of at least 5X is recommended.

'Nuke on Boot' will do this, but be aware, there will be no operating system (Windows) left.  Restore disk required to re-install it.

Answer 2

  I go 2 Dell.com @support Good luck

Answer 3

Double check that you have all the CD drivers and those things. Then just format the whole thing. You might want to have a back-up of those files, just in case. I did this to my PC a year ago, and it took me the whole weekend to be done. Make sure you have plenty of sodas and pizzas. Have fun!

Answer 4

Doing this will wipe out everything on your computer and restore it to the day that you received your computer.  Any new programs, documents, pictures or songs you have will be gone.  Back up what you want to save before doing this!!!

Remove All External Devices except for the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, remove all external peripherals, including:

    * Scanner

    * Printer

    * Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

    * USB flash drive or other external hard drive

    * Any other external devices (for example, USB-attached devices)

Note: If you have a Dell™ portable system, undock the computer from the docking station, if applicable.

You can do a complete system restore to the day you got it from the factory on any system that shipped on or after Oct. 18, 2005

   1. Verify the modem or network cable is detached from the computer.

   2. Start the computer.

   3. When the Dell splash screen appears during startup, press <Ctrl> + <F11> and release them at the same time.

       Note:  Press the key combination only once. If you press them more than once, a keyboard error occurs. Restart the computer and repeat the steps above.

   4. Click Accept when the Symantec|Dell Recovery Environment End User License Agreement screen appears. The Symantec Recovery Disk window appears displaying two options:

          * Recover My Computer - Restores your computer to a backup point:

               1. Click Recover My Computer.

              Recover My Computer to Original Dell Configuration - Restore your computer to its original Dell configuration:

               1. Click Recover My Computer to Original Dell Configuration. The Recover My Computer Wizard window appears.  Click Yes and press <Enter>.

Click Yes when the Recover My Computer Wizard dialog box appears, and press <Enter>.

The Ghost32 window appears, and the restore process begins, which takes approximately 8 to 10 minutes to complete. When complete, the computer restarts.

» Enable Automatic Updates

Microsoft periodically releases updates to fix security vulnerabilities. To make sure that your computer stays up-to-date, Dell recommends that you let Windows download and install updates automatically.

   1. Click Start and then Run.

   2. Type sysdm.cpl in the field provided and click OK.

   3. In the System Properties window, click the Automatic Updates tab.

   4. Click the circle to select Automatic (recommended).

   5. Click Apply and then OK.

Good luck!!

Answer 5

simply format the laptop and reinstall new OS and drivers.