Yes simply reformatting the drive - or as Gene notes just using your recovery CDs is good enough for the average person who has nothing to hide. Very few 'normal' folk have the capability or interest in trying to see what you had on there before. Someone will no doubt be very pleased with that computer as a gift. If it is going to an older person it might be nice if you have the time to find and install a few free games for them.

Thanks for the info. I am in no way stupid, but my skills are heavily in language and anything related to math can easily sandbag me. I am afraid of making my computer problems worse if I try to fix them, because that is exactly what has happened in the past. I don't open suspicious files but I still get an occasional worm or virus. I live in the country, precisely, among many Mennonite farmers, and technology has not found its way very deeply into this area. Getting technical help out here from Syracuse is expensive. MY ISP, TDS, whom I hate because I believe they gravitate toward underserved areas and then exploit their customers, offers an expensive monthly "service" to keep my computer fast and clean, but it is expensive and I am suspicious od TDS. I am fortunate that I can get DSL because many of the people out here are still stuck with dialup service. Few dare to try satellite service and I have heard nothing good about it. As I said, I research anything and everything that crosses my mind or which I want to buy and I am certain I am encouraging problems that way. I will ask the guru who is eventually coming about imaging. I have Asperger Syndrome and don't deal well with change and that is why I cling to MS products--I got started on them with an ISP employee sitting next to me, who set them up, and instructed me in their use. I have tried different browsers and mail programs in the past but the differences in them were extremely annoying. Another thing--I don't "intuit" very easily and things that seem obvious to others never dawn on me. I can and do learn but I need to find a tutor who can figure out how to explain things so I can grasp them. Still, I have compelted two MS degrees and theses with high honors since computers took over the libraries.

What I would like to know is-is there a way I can clear out the old one so that whatever is in there can't be found by anyone else? We really need to ask who is "anyone" and what kind of information they could possibly recover. Are we talking about classified materials that might be used by enemy government? If so, you need to physically destroy the drive. Otherwise, something like Boot and Nuke works just fine. Understand that it destroys ALL the data on the drive including the operating system. If you have the original disc, then you can reinstall Windows or just give it to the new user.

Is it an HP? My son put 6 new hard drives in his HP laptop and they put in multiple motherboards in a 2 year period. It was a lemon from day one and I had to fight tooth and nail to get them to completely replace the computer. I kept escalating until they ran out of people to send me to - had a record of every call and the resulting lack of follow-up. I know every computer mfg has customers who love them and those who hate them. None of them are a bargain in the customer service arena as far as I'm concerned.