ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 105
Open.Click Startand your
bootable USB drivewill be
created,which you can use to
install Linux on your computer.
Aquick wordofwarning: if
you have alaptop,makesure
thatyou have Wi-Fienabled.
Many laptops have akeyboard
combination thattoggles Wi-Fion
and off,but these typically only
work in Windows 7,so boot into
Windows 7and turnonWi-Fi
beforeyou install Ubuntu.
GET RIDOFYOUR
OLDCOMPUTER
If you want to get rid of your
old computer,then first of all
you’ll need to makesurethatyour data
can’t be recovered.
If you want to give away your PC to
someone else,makesurethatyou’ve copied
any files you need offofit,as you’ll need to
securely delete everything.If you’rerunning
Windows 10,the good news is thatyou can
easily wipe everything and startfromscratch
with the MicrosoftRefresh WindowsTool.
Download the tool from the ‘Startafresh with
aclean installation of Windows 10’ website
(www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-
download/windows10startfresh).
Runthe Refresh WindowsTool thatyou’ve
just downloaded.Click Accept to agree to the
licence terms and conditions.You’ll then have
the option to keep personal files only or to
keep nothing,which is the optionyou want.
TheWindows RefreshTool will now
download anew copy of Windows10,which
is around 3.2GB,so you’ll havetobepatient
while this happens.Once it’s complete,click
Next and the tool will check for updates
beforestarting to install Windows 10 over
your existing installation.Your computer
will be back to its original state.
If you’ve got Windows 7or8,then the
refresh options aren’t as easy.First,you should
delete all personal filessecurely.Agood
way to do this is to use the free Eraser tool(eraser.heidi.ie/download).
Download and install the
software,and then run
Eraser.Now,when you finda
file or folder thatyou want to
remove,right-click it,select
Eraser and Erase.This will
securely delete the files from
your computer.Thiscan take
awhile,as the softwarewill
overwrite the files with
random characters to
prevent them from being
recovered.If you have items
in the Recycle Bin,you can
right-clickthis and select
Eraser,Erase,too.Repeat for
all user accounts thatyou
have on your computer.
Once you’ve removed
all your files,it’s worth
securely overwriting your
unused disk space to
prevent files thatyou deleted
previously from being
recovered.To do this,open
Eraser from the Notification
Area,click Erase Schedule
and select NewTask.Click
Add Data and setTarget
type as Unused disk space,
then select the harddisk that
you want to tackle and click
OK,and then OK again.You
can now reinstall Windows
using your installation media
or using the system restore
option provided by your
computer’s manufacturer.
If you don’t have anyone to donate your
PC to,and have no use for it yourself,you
can takeitfor recycling at the tip.Makesure
thatyou remove your harddisk or SSDfirst.
Youcan either reuse these in another
machine,or smash them up with ahammer
to prevent them from beingused and data
being recovered.MOVE BEYONDWINDOWS 7
LEFT:Running Ubuntu can
be agood way to breathe new
life into an old computerABOVE:Use the free Eraser tool to securely delete data from an old computerRIGHT:Youcan reset Windows 10
back to its default state easily enough