Windows failed to reset but everything is gone?

mrjack2207

Reputable
Jul 29, 2015
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Hi All,

This may sound strange but please assist if you can. Recently sold an old laptop but in the process of resetting it to sell it supposedly failed to remove all personal files, however it started up like a brand new install of windows. I tried the reset again for good measure but same error, but since there were no files left on it I just left it. Now, im a bit paranoid about what if something is still on it, my old user profile is completely gone and I set it up with a new profile for the new owner (my house mate), is there anyway they could get back my old data?, or is the warning from windows just rubbish ?
 
Solution
There's no way using the Windows user interface, but the old data could still be in the space marked unallocated now. It would take a 3rd party program to scan and try to retrieve. The only way to be positive about that would be to run something like DBAN (Darick's Boot And Nuke) to write over everything on the HDD, and then reinstall Windows. Whether it's worth the trouble to do this depends on how sensitive the old data is/was, which is a decision only you can make.
There's no way using the Windows user interface, but the old data could still be in the space marked unallocated now. It would take a 3rd party program to scan and try to retrieve. The only way to be positive about that would be to run something like DBAN (Darick's Boot And Nuke) to write over everything on the HDD, and then reinstall Windows. Whether it's worth the trouble to do this depends on how sensitive the old data is/was, which is a decision only you can make.
 
Solution