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want to sell my home server, how do i make sure all personal data is removed RRS feed

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    how can i delete all data on my home server to make sure the buyer doesnt have access? i emptied all public folders cleaned up backups but backup still shows 1.6GB and 2 public folders show a few kb's

    i have 2 hdd which each have 465.76 gb free space
     PR: wait...  I: wait...  L: wait...  LD: wait...  I: wait... wait...  Rank: wait...  Traffic: wait...  Price: wait...  C: wait...
    Friday, October 16, 2009 2:23 PM

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    Yes, this is the process.
    But the PC does not need to get booted. Uninstall the connector software on it, and copy the content of the server installation CD to a local drive on that PC (some early builds of the CD have been nagging about the system not being a Fujitsu system, if the installation batch was started from the CD).
    Try to avoid upgrades being instantly applied, do so after the initial configuration is completed.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    • Marked as answer by delplumo Friday, October 16, 2009 7:08 PM
    Friday, October 16, 2009 5:13 PM
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    Yes. Don't bother with anything after the actual factory reset, where you would normally take your server through the "Out of box experience" (OOBE). You said you're going to be selling it, and you will want to deliver it in as close to the factory state as possible.

    On a side note, could you please remove the nonfunctional toolbar from your sig? Thanks!
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    • Marked as answer by delplumo Friday, October 16, 2009 7:08 PM
    Friday, October 16, 2009 6:43 PM
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    Removing all backups leaves a few files on the server in D:\folders\. You can delete them by logging in to the server and performing following commands in a cmd prompt:

    net stop PDL
    net stop WHSBackup
    DEL D:\folders\{00008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4}\*.*
    net start WHSBackup
    net start PDL

    Be aware, that data deleted that way or from shares is often still recoverable with some investment of time.
    Better would be to attach the disks to another system as secondary drive and use diskpart to overwrite the disks (or boot the server from a Vista/Win7 DVD and perform that here):

    diskpart
    list disk
    select disk x     (use the number or the drive letter shown in the previous command for that disk)
    clean all (this will empty the entire selected disk and overwrite each sector with 0, so it takes a while, but nobody would be able to recover data from these disks after that with easy to get tools).

    After that you can install and patch the server software, if you want, without risk for the privacy of your data.

    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf

    Friday, October 16, 2009 2:52 PM
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    Vielen Dank Olaf

    But where can i enter the cmd prompt on the server?

    I only have a laptop so it's a bit difficult to attach discs as secondary drive i guess... i'm not so good with these things ;-)

    Gruß
    Carlo
     PR: wait...  I: wait...  L: wait...  LD: wait...  I: wait... wait...  Rank: wait...  Traffic: wait...  Price: wait...  C: wait...
    Friday, October 16, 2009 3:06 PM
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    Assuming you have an OEM server, a "factory reset" will wipe everything. Data will still be recoverable using data recovery software, but casual users won't be able to get at it. To wipe your drives completely you could remove them from your server, connect them to some other computer, and use some secure data erasing software (I have no specific recommendations) to completely wipe the drives. Then out them back in your server and do a factory reset.

    If you have a home-built server, just do a new installation; it's the equivalent of a factory reset. Or pull the drives, erase them securely, and do a new installation.
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, October 16, 2009 3:22 PM
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    Hi Ken

    I have a ready out of the box system fujitsu siemens home server with 2 500 gb hdd

     PR: wait...  I: wait...  L: wait...  LD: wait...  I: wait... wait...  Rank: wait...  Traffic: wait...  Price: wait...  C: wait...
    Friday, October 16, 2009 3:33 PM
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    Then as I said, factory reset will wipe the server beyond the casual end user's ability to recover. And it doesn't require you to remove any disks from your server to connect them elsewhere.
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, October 16, 2009 3:38 PM
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    i'm going to try... is that the part that you press the reset button at the back while pressing the on/off button for 10 secs and have disc 3 in the pc to reboot?
     PR: wait...  I: wait...  L: wait...  LD: wait...  I: wait... wait...  Rank: wait...  Traffic: wait...  Price: wait...  C: wait...
    Friday, October 16, 2009 4:30 PM
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    Yes, this is the process.
    But the PC does not need to get booted. Uninstall the connector software on it, and copy the content of the server installation CD to a local drive on that PC (some early builds of the CD have been nagging about the system not being a Fujitsu system, if the installation batch was started from the CD).
    Try to avoid upgrades being instantly applied, do so after the initial configuration is completed.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    • Marked as answer by delplumo Friday, October 16, 2009 7:08 PM
    Friday, October 16, 2009 5:13 PM
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    Yes. Don't bother with anything after the actual factory reset, where you would normally take your server through the "Out of box experience" (OOBE). You said you're going to be selling it, and you will want to deliver it in as close to the factory state as possible.

    On a side note, could you please remove the nonfunctional toolbar from your sig? Thanks!
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    • Marked as answer by delplumo Friday, October 16, 2009 7:08 PM
    Friday, October 16, 2009 6:43 PM
    Moderator