Many computers ship with recovery partitions, so that you don't need to use separate Windows 7 media. When you completely wipe a hard drive clean, this recovery partition is also removed.

Before you resell, recycle, or donate an old laptop or desktop, learn how to wipe a computer clean and protect your personal data.

The simplest way to do that is with a factory reset, which wipes your data from the hard drive and returns the computer to its original settings. With a Chromebook, a Mac, or a Windows PC, it ...

The process for resetting your PC differs slightly for each version of the operating system. For Windows 10, go to the Start Menu and click on Settings.

What is a factory reset? That's when you wipe your computer's hard drive and reinstall its operating system. Doing this reverts your computer to its pristine state, deleting all your personal ...