Terry’s Computer Tips newsletters April 26th
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This week’s online newsletter includes:
* Word 2007 — Minimizing the Ribbon & Gettting It Back!
Whether you want to hide the Ribbon to get more desktop space, or did it accidentally like I did, you need to know how to get the Ribbon back…
* The Lighter Side of Technology
This week’s computer technology cartoon at Terry’s Computer Tips.
* Yahoo! Announces Closing of GeoCities Web Site
The long-lived free web hosting site is schedule to close later this year…
* A Great Replacement for GeoCities Web Hosting
Whether you’re moving from GeoCities, hosted someewhere else, or getting a web site for the first time, the web host that I use is a great choice — and offers a 45-day money-back guarantee.
* Deleting Everything But Windows from a Used Laptop
She received a used laptop as a gift, but the drive is almost full…
* My Security Software Recommendations
My recommendations for anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, and anti-spam software…
This week’s email and on-line newsletters are nowa vailable:
* free weekly Terry’s Computer Tips email newsletter
* weekly on-line Terry’s Computer Tips newsletter
Re: 5. Deleting Everything But Windows from a Used Laptop
You wrote,
She can just start in Control Panel > Add and Remove Programs. There, she’ll find programs there that she can select and remove. After that, it’s ok to remove the corresponding folders under C:\Program Files.
Might I recommend RevoUninstaller to more effectively remove programs. Windows and program uninstallers generally leave bits and pieces of the program on the hard drive such as folders (see above), but more commonly Registry entries.
RevoUninstaller (freeware) initially will run the program’s uninstall routine or the Windows uninstaller as appropriate. Then it searches for leftovers, and allows you to decide which to delete. In my experience, it ALWAYS finds something, as I use the “Advanced” mode.
Based on research, and reassurance from mega-gurus, I have deleted literally thousands of Registry entries on my own and others’ computers with no problems. Yet!
I have read many positive reviews of this program, and have yet to see a negative review, or a report that Revo screwed things up. I assume that its wholesale deletion of Registry entries has sped up thousands of computers around the world.
http://www.revouninstaller.com/
freeware
Ken Kennedy
London, ON
If you’re concerned about someone using an “undelete” program to restore your personal files when you dispose of a computer, you can use VIPRE’s secure file eraser to completely erase them.
If you want to wipe out the whole disk, use a program like “Active@ Kill Disk” or “CopyWipe”.
Between Hen999’s suggestions there are also freeware tools that will wipe/overwrite the unused space, where formerly deleted files live.
Depending on what type of information you had on the HD, if it is sensitive enough to you, or you are really paranoid/concerned and you have the Windoze install disks, it may be easiest to simply buy a small new HD. They are cheap enough these days. And thoroughly trash the old HD. There are lots of fun YouTubes showing inventive ways of doing that.
I found the tips you provided on Word 2007 very helpful to me for I could not just figure out where to locate this or that before.
Thanks so much.