How to remove personal information from computer before selling

I’ve done this a few times myself, and honestly, it’s pretty straightforward if you follow a few steps. Here’s how to remove personal information from computer before selling — just my personal tips, no fancy tech jargon. First off, I always back up anything I wanna keep — photos, docs, whatever — just in case. Then, to really wipe my personal stuff, I use a couple of tricks:

1. Reset or wipe the drive:
If you’re on Windows, I recommend doing a “Reset this PC” and choosing the option that removes everything. It’s pretty thorough. On Macs, I use Disk Utility to erase the drive and reinstall macOS.

2. Use specialized tools:
For extra peace of mind, I grab free tools like DBAN (Darik’s Boot and Nuke). They’re good at overwriting data so it’s not recoverable. Just be careful with DBAN — it’s powerful and erases everything.

3. Remove personal accounts and info:
Before wiping, I log out of all accounts — Google, iCloud, everything. Then I remove any linked devices or accounts associated with the machine. That way, the new owner won’t have access.

4. Check for leftover data:
After wiping, I do a quick scan with a file recovery tool to make sure nothing personal is left behind. If I find anything, I wipe it again.

5. Reinstall the OS:
Once wiped, I reinstall the OS fresh so the new owner gets a clean system.

Honestly, when you are going to remove personal information from computer before selling, the key is making sure all personal stuff is gone and the OS is freshly installed. That way, they start with a clean slate, and you can sell it without worries.