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This question is closely linked with my previous question, so it may make more sense to read that first.

I want to remove all the personal data and software files from a friends computer so it can be sold. I do not have the required DVDs and codes to reinstall it, which I would normally do, so I need to remove as much as I can manually.

I will uninstall all the software, but that doesn't always remove all the information associated with the software.

So, where are the most common places for software to store data and personal information on Windows? I'm talking Office, Internet Explorer/Firefox and iTunes type software.

It doesn't have to be particularly secure, just deleting it normally like you would in Windows is secure enough, so I dont need secure formatting tools or military grade sortware removal programs.

Thanks.

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  • Sidenote: I'm currently doing the same as you are in both the questions, and answers are pretty handy to me as well.
    – Sathyajith Bhat ♦
    Oct 5, 2010 at 18:00

1 Answer 1

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where are the most common places for software to store data and personal information on Windows? I'm talking Office, Internet Explorer/Firefox and iTunes type software.

Some of the common places:

  • My Documents
  • %appdata%
  • \Program Files
  • %temp%
  • %tmp%
  • Local Settings
  • Start Menu

Entering the above in the Run box will take you to the respective folder, so you can wipe out the data there.

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