PC stands for personal computer and is a term that’s used to refer to desktop computers and also laptops. If you have had your computer for a while and want to buy a new one, then you should consider selling your existing one. Selling the one that you own can help to fund a new purchase, or just give you a little bit of extra spending money.
If you have been using your computer for a while, however, then you will need to prepare it quickly and efficiently for sale. You won’t be able to sell it as it is, with your user information and files stored on it. This post will tell you how you can do that.
PC selling checklist
Back-up files
If you are going to sell your computer, then the first thing that you need to do is to back up all of your files. If you don’t back up all of your files, then when you follow the next step which will tell you how to wipe a hard drive properly, you will lose access to all of your computer’s files. The best way to back up your computer’s files is to sign up for a cloud service. Cloud storage will allow you to save your computer’s files without having to purchase any removable or portable storage devices. You can then access your cloud storage account on another computer and download everything.
Wipe hard drive
The next step is to wipe your computer’s hard drive. Before you do this though, it’s a good idea to systematically go through your computer’s various folders and drives and delete anything that you recognise as being yours. This is just to make sure that everything’s removed if the hard drive wipe failed, which it shouldn’t. Once this has been done, you can navigate to your computer’s system folder, and find the reset hard drive feature. The location and name of this feature differ depending on the OS that you are using. Your computer’s set-up manual should tell you how to do this more precisely.
Deauthorise software
One thing that you also need to do just before you wipe your computer’s hard drive is to deauthorise your computer’s software. The reason that you should do this is so that nobody is able to download the same software as you once they buy your computer, and then use it for themselves. This is especially important if you have expensive software like Photoshop or Microsoft Office. Deauthorise and sign out of the software, so that nobody is able to get back into it again in the future, using your device.
Reinstall OS
Once your hard drive has been wiped, you can go ahead and reinstall your computer’s OS. This is one of the last things that you need to do and is a way of confirming that everything has been wiped from your computer and that the computer’s buyer won’t be able to access your personal information or data. Reinstalling your OS is a relatively straightforward process, although if you do find it complicated, then there are lots of videos explaining what you need to do in greater detail available online. If you aren’t confident reinstalling your computer’s OS yourself, then you can hire an IT specialist to do it for you.
Clean it up
Once your computer has been restored to factory settings and there’s nothing left on it of yours, you can start cleaning and tidying it up for sale. Unless you clean your computer on a daily basis, there’s probably going to be some dirt and grime left on it, especially between the keys. While it’s not necessary for you to do this (and many people don’t), it is still a nice thing to do for the person that’s buying your computer. Purchasing something of somebody else’s that is covered in dirt can be very off-putting and can make using it very unpleasant.
Check everything
The last thing that you need to do is to go through the computer and just check and confirm that everything’s been wiped and removed the way that it’s supposed to have been. You can do this by accessing your computer’s admin account, and then carefully inspecting the different files and computer areas. You should also make sure that all of your software has been uninstalled, which you can do by navigating to your device’s install/uninstall section. In very rare cases, software can hold on through a hard drive wipe and OS reinstall.
End note
If you intend on selling your computer, then you need to make sure that it’s ready to be sold. The way to do this is to clean it up, wipe it, and generally restore it to the condition that it was when you first bought it. Something that’s also a good idea which wasn’t mentioned here is to run an anti-virus scan, so you can be sure there are no viruses active on your device.
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