If you have the Win98 OS do a complete reformat.
Format usually works very well...except for that whole "wipe out Win98 itself" thing.
Complete format of the hard drive.
Reformat and reload win 98
The only way to insure that the files can never be recovered is to do a complete re-format and then a re-install of the operating system (Win98).
I presume she just doesn't want anyone to have her personal files.
I just cleaned up a machine in my office that I was leaving to the next user. I deleted all my word processing files, and anything else that was personal. I'm not paranoid, so I didn't use one of those programs that scrubs deleted files so they can't be recovered, but it can be done.
The only problem with that is that you have to know what's on your machine. It would be hard for an outsider to do the cleaning up.
If she has all the windows installation disks, the alternative would be to FORMAT C: and reinstall the operating system. But I always hesitate to do that unless I'm sure I have everything I need, such as the windows disk cover that has the Windows ID code on it. Without that, you can't reinstall Win98 unless you're a hacker.
New people? What new people?
Your mom is giving away her old computer? Why, that's sacreligious!
When I give away old machines, I use a utility that reformats the drive then proceeds to write specific 1s and 0s patterns over all sectors. It repeats the process a few times. DoD security levels.
If you no longer have the Windows 98 operating system, you can easily buy one on ebay for around $40.
My advice for you is to upgrade to Windows XP Professional. You can also buy an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) disk for around $100 on ebay.
I don't know what your situation is, but Win 98 is very unstable. You can download programs to wipe your hard drive clean for free and buy Win ME or Win XP very cheap. They are much more stable than 98
It is extremely difficult if not impossible to remove all traces of user files from a Win95 system whilst retaining the OS itself, and as a consequence is rarely attempted. The easiest way for a "noobie" to wipe the contents of a hard drive clean in preparation for a new system install is to use the various utility floppies or CD that comes with a new hard drive. Maxtor and other popular brands come with such a utility disk, and they can usually be used with brands other than intended. Simply "boot" the utility disk and follow the instructions for a "low level format". That will wipe out all old data on the drive and leave it in a state ready for reinstalling windows or another operating system like linux from scratch.
fdisk
format won't do jack.
You need to format it and then use a hard drive scrubbing program. You can get some that boot from floppy disks. Run it several times (or as recommended by the author of hte program).
Then reinstall windows on the clean hard drive. If you rely on formatting alone, you could be in for surprises. And if you rely on just deleting files, don't count on any type of security.
The absolute best way is to purchase Norton Utilities and use the utility called "Norton Wipe". After you delete all the files, tell "Norton Wipe" to wipe only the blank spaces on the hard drive. A simple one pass wipe will probably do the trick, however depending upon how paranoid she is, you can tell it to do a "Government Wipe" which will do several passes of the blank spaces and completely obliterate the information. This is the program that Ollie North should have used. He would have never gotten caught if he had and we could have avoided the Iran Contra scandal. Most of what they got him on, they retrieved from hard drives that he thought he had deleted.
Wiping only the blank spaces will leave your Win98 intact.
Happy New Year!!!
My favorite oldie but goodie.
from the command prompt.
C:\>deltree /y C:\
Seriosly, reformat like everyone is saying, but install Windows 2000. This way you will have XP compatibility and NTFS with an operating system that works on any machine that runs Win98. It is not a resource hog.
One more thing. The Norton Utilities Program is now called "Norton System Works" and "Wipe" is a utility on that CD. You can get it on eBay for under $20. You won't need the latest version (2005). The 2003 version will work just as well and is about a third or less the price. I bought 2003 a couple years ago for about $12 plus shipping. Excellent program to have.
Good Luck
http://killdisk.com/
download the free version and use it.
It's extremely easy to recover deleted files and deleting files only deals with those you know about. Why in the world would anyone want Windows 98 anyway? Format the whole drive and reinstall Windows 98 if it's really necessary, or sell it sans operating system.
fdisk then format