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    removeing personal data w/out wipeing all programs in xp

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by georgeallen9, Apr 30, 2011.

  1. georgeallen9

    georgeallen9 Newbie

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    nice guy gave me his old compaq 6325 w/ windows xp pro and all he asked is i remove personal stuff. he gave me no disks but has plenty of software i need and some i dont want but dont wish to throw away. can softwar be sent to say a gmail account to save as back up etc. MAIN thing is to remove personal stuff as he asked me to do . but save programs .
    im no geek but can follow step by step directions.
    hope i have not missed this info elswhere if so sorry , kinda a beginer.
    many thanks .
     
    georgeallen9, Apr 30, 2011
    #1
  2. James D

    James D Notebook Prophet

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    this is very noob question so no one wants to answer. Go to "MY..." folders and delete all stuff manually. documents, music, images etc. You can find them pressing start on the right side of Start panel. Just remember that some images are default wallpapers so do not delete them if you want them.Also you can check manually created folders by him if he save his stuff elsewhere. Just DO NOT TOUCH Windows folder and Program files Folder.
     
    James D, May 1, 2011
    #2
  3. gerryf19

    gerryf19 I am the walrus

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    The answer to this question is actually to do the following.

    Log into existing account, go to control panel. Go to users.

    Create a new account, make it an administrator.

    Log out of old account.

    Log into new account.

    Go to control panel. Go to users. Remove the old account. Choose DELETE ALL PERSONAL FILES.

    It will take a while as Windows scrubs the old data. Be patient.

    Now, run a deep defrag with a program like MYDEFRAG (set to monthly system disk)

    This creates a new, fresh profile and deletes all personal data. Furthermore, it runs much snappier than the old profile.

    The only thing to watch out for is some older programs did not place personal data in the proper place (in the profile) and those files may need to be removed manually.

    A couple that come immediately to mind are older accounting programs (quicken), some game programs (diablo)...many others.

    But the method I outlined is the preferred method.
     
    gerryf19, May 7, 2011
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