Should I erase the hard drive of the secondhand laptop I've bought today?

Question

I've bought a secondhand laptop today and it still has some of the internet history and programs of its last user. Should I erase the har drive, if so, how? What if the person before me used it for illegal material with its IP adress everywhere?

My point is, after buying a laptop or computer, is there anything one should do or be aware of?

Answer 1

If you buy any second hand laptop, PC or just a Hard Drive you should always format it. You never know the previous buyers internet habits, nor if they are truely trustworthy or not (even relatives keep secrets particularly from the rest of the family). you can not really tell if there is any malicious software on the machine until it is often too late.

There should be a genuine CoA sticker on the bottom with the licence number to be able to reload it, if you are lucky the recovery partition is still there or you get the recovery CD's. If not try this to recover the CD Key (http://sourceforge.net/project/downloadi... ), note that you cant use OEM keys on retail software and vice versa and if the licence is for XP without SP updates you will need the correct CD to make the key useable.  

Answer 2

yes, reformat it. that person is retarded for not doing it him/herself. it still will have that person's personal information on it. a fresh install of windows will be good for the pc, and make it run a bit smoother also. good luck.

Answer 3

Basic Rule is to reinstall the operating system and Format the disk as rule as it erases any history files and corrupt files and viruses that would otherwise cause you upset.

then you can start from a clean fresh virus free system and make it yours.

Answer 4

reinstall and start from scratch --and have a clean fresh operating system ----u never know what the last person went and did on ur new pc

Answer 5

your ip depends on your internet provider so dont worry.I would erase and start from scratch anyway to make sure there are no hidden files and viruses.

Answer 6

you can format the hard drive.

But before doing it you have the operating system disk if not you wont have windows or leopard or linux which ever you use.

So make sure you also have disks for programs you use.

If you ip gets tracked for something illegal then you can tell the police who you bought it from and when and if the date of the illegal **** if before you bought it then you should be safe. They have loads of technology that can sort that stuff out.

Don't worry and good luck