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david471
December 4th, 2015, 07:36 PM
Hi Im selling a acer revo aspire.
It only has ubuntu as an operating system, but i want to delete all my personal info before selling

How do i do this ?
thank you in advance

SlidingHorn
December 4th, 2015, 07:39 PM
If you're selling it, why not simply perform a clean install? This would accomplish what you're looking for, and it would give the person you're selling the machine to a brand new environment with which they can change to their liking.

david471
December 4th, 2015, 07:45 PM
ok, how do i do that? im sorry im not great with computers....also i dont have a disc with ubuntu on

sudodus
December 4th, 2015, 07:53 PM
Welcome to the Ubuntu Forums :-)

What version of Ubuntu are you running now? I suggest that you install the same version unless it has passed end of life. Test it with the following commands (in a terminal window)



lsb_release -a
# and
uname -a


and post the result in a reply.

david471
December 4th, 2015, 08:03 PM
12.04

x68_64

QIII
December 4th, 2015, 08:30 PM
A reinstall will not remove the personal files from the machine. It will only mark the physical areas of the disk where they are stored as free to be re-written. The files themselves can be recovered.

If you want to really wipe it clean, I recommend DBAN. "Nuke" the drive.

sudodus
December 4th, 2015, 08:34 PM
Edit: QIII is right about wiping / nuking the drive - if that is what you want.

-o-

Two versions of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS amd64 will be supported until April 2017, with the precise series of kernels, 3.2.0-xx, and the trusty series of kernels in 12.04.5 LTS, 3.13.0-xx.

You find this information from the command


uname -a

Download iso files from http://releases.ubuntu.com/

You can boot a DVD disk or USB pendrive. Tell us if you need help to create a boot drive :-)

Get the 3.2.0-xx kernel from this iso file: ubuntu-12.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso (http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/12.04.1/ubuntu-12.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso)

Get the 3.13.0-xx kernel from this iso file: ubuntu-12.04.5-desktop-amd64.iso

and bring it up to date with



sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade


and reboot

david471
December 4th, 2015, 08:51 PM
its 3.2.0-34

sorry is DBAN a command to use?

its running through the first command...

i dont know what get the kernel means though

tried the second but it says the package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened

if i can just know how to nuke it then i can be sure its clean, then i can stick an old windows disc on it or create a new ubuntu disc

sammiev
December 4th, 2015, 09:10 PM
its 3.2.0-34

sorry is DBAN a command to use?

its running through the first command...

i dont know what get the kernel means though

tried the second but it says the package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened

if i can just know how to nuke it then i can be sure its clean, then i can stick an old windows disc on it or create a new ubuntu disc

Download it here (http://www.dban.org/) and make it bootable to a USB/DVD like you would with Ubuntu.

sudodus
December 4th, 2015, 09:44 PM
its 3.2.0-34

The current kernel of that series is 3.2.0-95, so your installed system is very far from up to date.


sorry is DBAN a command to use?
+1 to sammiev's advice

its running through the first command...

i dont know what get the kernel means though

tried the second but it says the package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened

if i can just know how to nuke it then i can be sure its clean, then i can stick an old windows disc on it or create a new ubuntu disc

For this kernel series you should download Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS amd64.

I checked but did not find it via the link in my previous post. Try this link instead:

ubuntu-12.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso (http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/12.04.1/ubuntu-12.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso)

with the following md5sum


06472ddf11382c8da1f32e9487435c3d *ubuntu-12.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso

You can see the whole directory at (when you scroll down)

http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/12.04.1

david471
December 5th, 2015, 12:51 AM
ive just downloaded and saved to a usb, ubuntu 14
i put it in the revo and changed the boot menu to usb but it didnt work...

QIII
December 5th, 2015, 01:25 AM
Did you download the iso file to the USB, save the iso to the USB from a download directory or did you create a live USB from the iso?

sammiev
December 5th, 2015, 02:49 AM
There seems to be a problem writing the ISO to USB but there is a way.

You can also use the dd command to erase your HDD.

Check out this thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1701757.html) for the ISO and post #7 for the dd command method.

sudodus
December 5th, 2015, 08:44 AM
ive just downloaded and saved to a usb, ubuntu 14
i put it in the revo and changed the boot menu to usb but it didnt work...

It might or might not work well with this newer version version of Ubuntu. Let us hope that it will work well :-) (I suggested to use the same version as you have now, to avoid the risk that there might be problems with some hardware drivers. I mean: why bother too much with a computer that you are selling?!)

-o-

Please check with md5sum (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes) that the iso file was downloaded correctly.

You need a tool to 'install/clone/flash/burn/restore' the iso file to the USB drive. You cannot simply copy the file to the pendrive. See this link

Installation/FromUSBStick (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick)

gordintoronto
December 6th, 2015, 12:04 AM
The right approach is to use DBAN.