Tablet, Huawei, memory full

[ditchcrawler]

13 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

At the risk of high jacking this thread, for which I apologise, my wife has an elderly Packard Bell sort of mini laptop notepad thing, running on Windows 7.

She wants to throw it away but first to wipe the memory / hard drive. Anyone know how?

Just found this as I have some to do How Do I Permanently Delete Files From My Hard Disk? (pcworld.com)

[Rob-M]

13 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

At the risk of high jacking this thread, for which I apologise, my wife has an elderly Packard Bell sort of mini laptop notepad thing, running on Windows 7.

She wants to throw it away but first to wipe the memory / hard drive. Anyone know how?

Physically remove it and smash it with a big hammer.

At work we put old hard drives through a commercial shredder.

[Alan de Enfield]

23 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

At the risk of high jacking this thread, for which I apologise, my wife has an elderly Packard Bell sort of mini laptop notepad thing, running on Windows 7.

She wants to throw it away but first to wipe the memory / hard drive. Anyone know how?

 

I opened mine up, took out the hard drive, smashed it with a hammer and dropped it in the middle of the river.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, doratheexplorer said:

I didn't suggest that.  I suggested my 10 year old ipad still worked fine.  Nothing more.

 

 

There is no point in it 'working' if you can't run up to date apps.

 

Which is the point I was making.

 

And running an out of date version of iOS is not a good idea from a security perspective.

[doratheexplorer]

47 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

There is no point in it 'working' if you can't run up to date apps.

 

Which is the point I was making.

 

And running an out of date version of iOS is not a good idea from a security perspective.

It all depends what you're using it for.

[Ronaldo47]

At work, the hard drives of redundant PCs that had processed sensitive information were removed and destroyed using a heavy hammer. Simply deleting files does not normally destroy the data, it only disables the addresses of the files in the directory by changing the state of a bit in the file's  address data. Using a data recovery program (such as "Directory Snoop" which I got free on a computer magazine cover disc: other programs are available!) allows you to recover deleted files by resetting this bit, unless the data has been over-written. Programs are available that do actually erase files by writing over them,  but I have not had to use them. 

 

Regarding the original topic, I had the same problem with my first smart phone (an Alcatel Pixi 4) which soon  became so bloated by updates that there was no room for any apps. I had to do a factory reset and not allow any updates to make it useable until I got a newer model with vastly more memory.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Ronaldo47
typos

[Hudds Lad]

2 hours ago, Stilllearning said:

At the risk of high jacking this thread, for which I apologise, my wife has an elderly Packard Bell sort of mini laptop notepad thing, running on Windows 7.

She wants to throw it away but first to wipe the memory / hard drive. Anyone know how?

Remove the drive, put a couple of 10mm holes through the platters with a suitable drill, job done  

[Stilllearning]

1 minute ago, Hudds Lad said:

Remove the drive, put a couple of 10mm holes through the platters with a suitable drill, job done  

I agree with this, she is convinced she can just delete everything though, and who am I to disagree?

[Guest]

46 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

It all depends what you're using it for.

 

Paperweight?

[Ronaldo47]

In theory you could:

* delete all sensitive files

* defragment the drive

* Fill the drive with new files: videos, pictures or whatever non-sensitive files are to hand until you get a drive full message

* delete these files.

Even this  will not necessarily guarantee complete deletion as  sometimes computers have hidden sections for data recovery which contain back-up copies of files  

 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Ronaldo47

[Rob-M]

13 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:

In theory you could:

* delete all sensitive files

* defragment the drive

* Fill the drive with new files: videos, pictures or whatever non-sensitive files are to hand until you get a drive full message

* delete these files.

Even this  will not necessarily guarantee complete deletion as  sometimes computers have hidden sections for data recovery which contain back-up copies of files  

 

 

I've seen demonstrations of recovering data where files have been deleted\overwritten 10 times.  The magnetic structure of the disk platters was analyzed and the contents reconstructed.

[Arthur Marshall]

3 hours ago, Stilllearning said:

At the risk of high jacking this thread, for which I apologise, my wife has an elderly Packard Bell sort of mini laptop notepad thing, running on Windows 7.

She wants to throw it away but first to wipe the memory / hard drive. Anyone know how?

Format the drive? That should do it. Or take the back off and take the drive out and hit it with a hammer. That usually works.

[Stilllearning]

17 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Format the drive? That should do it. Or take the back off and take the drive out and hit it with a hammer. That usually works.

Excellent ideas, but unfortunately I’m not in charge of the operation.

Update: there has been an executive decision taken, and both the 

Packard Bell and the elderly Dell laptop that hasn’t worked in years are permitted to be taken to the recycling centre.....that we were at 45 minutes ago. And so it goes.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Stilllearning

[Ronaldo47]

1 hour ago, Rob-M said:

I've seen demonstrations of recovering data where files have been deleted\overwritten 10 times.  The magnetic structure of the disk platters was analyzed and the contents reconstructed.

I can see how that would be possible if data is simply over-written with all-ones or all-zeros. Over-writing multiple times with essentially uncorrelated random data ought to make differentiating original from later data problematic. 

[ditchcrawler]

8 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:

I can see how that would be possible if data is simply over-written with all-ones or all-zeros. Over-writing multiple times with essentially uncorrelated random data ought to make differentiating original from later data problematic. 

Which is suppose to happen with the link I posted.

 

Step-by-Step: Using Eraser

To make sure a file is truly gone, a number of tools are available. Eraser is a free and easy-to-use solution that will overwrite your private information with random patterns until the data is no longer recoverable. It works with nearly every version of Windows and offers a number of methods of overwriting your data, including methods approved by the Department of Defense.

Once installed, Eraser integrates nicely into Windows. Whenever you want to securely erase your data, follow these steps.

[Hudds Lad]

The problem with random write erasing software is the time involved, larger drives and the times are hours and hours to ensure it's mostly unrecoverable.

 

All i'm saying is, drill, 2mins  

 

Also, pulling the drives apart can sometimes yield some useful and quite powerful magnets  Then chuck the bits in the bin over a few weeks, hard to recover data from a platter if you don't know which drive shell and board to marry it up with.

[GUMPY]

5 hours ago, Stilllearning said:

At the risk of high jacking this thread, for which I apologise, my wife has an elderly Packard Bell sort of mini laptop notepad thing, running on Windows 7.

She wants to throw it away but first to wipe the memory / hard drive. Anyone know how?

https://www.diskgenius.com/how-to/how-to-completely-wipe-a-hard-drive.php

 

I have used other software in the past but this looks like it will do the job.

 

I can't remember the name of the software I used to use.

If you destroy the hardware then there is no value left.

If you do it via software you might well have to leave it running  overnight but you will have an Item that's saleable especially if you reinstall the OS.

 

[alias]

1 hour ago, Loddon said:

If you destroy the hardware then there is no value left.

 

I agree. I generally remove working hard disks from otherwise end-of-like kit and put them in disk caddies to use for backups, or to plug into a smart tv to allow recording of programmes.

[LadyG]

Hmmm, I'll have to get a magnifying glass, or just poke about near the slot and see what happens, I've got something small and thin with flat gold bars, looks like something modern, but I've no idea if it is the right memory thing. 

For those that tell me it's not a great tablet, it was free, in a way, with my three Three contracts from a Three shop, so it's been OK for 20 months, just having probs now, I suspect a cunning plan to get me to buy a better one. 

Edited March 25, 2022 by LadyG

[Ianws]

If you do get a new one don't go for the minimum internal storage or you will be back in the same place again. Pay a bit more for extra. It becomes impossible when the operating system takes most of it up and it's only likely they will get bigger in future. 

[LadyG]

10 hours ago, Ianws said:

If you do get a new one don't go for the minimum internal storage or you will be back in the same place again. Pay a bit more for extra. It becomes impossible when the operating system takes most of it up and it's only likely they will get bigger in future. 

Easy to say, but I think I will find myself buying from a sixth former who does not know a gigabyte from an mb, it is rare to find a competent person face to face. They are trained to sell me what they have, not necesarily what I need or want. 

When asking about data, I asked a simple Q, ie over what period is this data available,..... blank, I asked again, one day, one week, one month, one year? 

I gave up, and though I don't think I paid for unlimited, whatever that means, and although I used to get data warnings about extra charges, things seem to have smoothed. 

I have to go through all this in a few months, though I think as long as I keep giving them cash, they keep providing a service.

I hear about people who have fantastic service at half the price, but I don't know how they manage to end one contract to get the latest all singing and meaningful wellness via the ether, I seem to get more contracts each time I go in to a Three shop, you know the shop that does not sell physical products, or does it? 

Edited March 26, 2022 by LadyG

[haggis]

5 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Easy to say, but I think I will find myself buying from a sixth former who does not know a gigabyte from an mb, it is rare to find a competent person face to face. They are trained to sell me what they have, not necesarily what I need or want. 

When asking about data, I asked a simple Q, ie over what period is this data available,..... blank, I asked again, one day, one week, one month, one year? 

I gave up, and though I don't think I paid for unlimited, whatever that means, and although I used to get data warnings about extra charges, things seem to have smoothed. 

I have to go through all this in a few months, though I think as long as I keep giving them cash, they keep providing a service.

I hear about people who have fantastic service at half the price, but I don't know how they manage to end one contract to get the latest all singing and meaningful wellness via the ether, I seem to get more contracts each time I go in to a Three shop, you know the shop that does not sell physical products, or does it? 

I think any sixth former will know more about computer technology than you or I ever will 🙂

I don't understand your question over what period is this data available,. When you put data on a device it stays there till you delete it so it is therefore "available" till you no longer want/need it. I must be misunderstanding your question as I am sure you will know that. 

When I visit my EE shop, I often find that I have difficulty explaining what I actually mean and I just put it down to an age thing  but we get there in the end.

[Arthur Marshall]

5 minutes ago, haggis said:

I think any sixth former will know more about computer technology than you or I ever will 🙂

I don't understand your question over what period is this data available,. When you put data on a device it stays there till you delete it so it is therefore "available" till you no longer want/need it. I must be misunderstanding your question as I am sure you will know that. 

When I visit my EE shop, I often find that I have difficulty explaining what I actually mean and I just put it down to an age thing  but we get there in the end.

I think she means how much data download/usage she is allowed per month. I have a Giffgaff sim which gives me a certain amount and an app that tells me when I hit the limit. It's on a monthly renewable contract. On an £8 a month payment I get nowhere near my limit, but then I don't watch films.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Easy to say, but I think I will find myself buying from a sixth former who does not know a gigabyte from an mb, it is rare to find a competent person face to face. They are trained to sell me what they have, not necesarily what I need or want. 

When asking about data, I asked a simple Q, ie over what period is this data available,..... blank, I asked again, one day, one week, one month, one year? 

I gave up, and though I don't think I paid for unlimited, whatever that means, and although I used to get data warnings about extra charges, things seem to have smoothed. 

I have to go through all this in a few months, though I think as long as I keep giving them cash, they keep providing a service.

I hear about people who have fantastic service at half the price, but I don't know how they manage to end one contract to get the latest all singing and meaningful wellness via the ether, I seem to get more contracts each time I go in to a Three shop, you know the shop that does not sell physical products, or does it? 

Why have the phone or tablet on contract, take your tablet into a local computer repair shop and ask them to clean it and supply a suitable memory card then just get a Sim only contract.

[alias]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

I have to go through all this in a few months, though I think as long as I keep giving them cash, they keep providing a service.

I hear about people who have fantastic service at half the price, but I don't know how they manage to end one contract to get the latest all singing and meaningful wellness via the ether, I seem to get more contracts each time I go in to a Three shop, you know the shop that does not sell physical products, or does it? 

 

Some of those describing cheap deals will be talking about "SIM only" deals, that is, you do not receive a device as part of the contract but buy it separately. This usually still works out cheaper overall. The cheapest deals are usually available from MVNOs who resell connections from the four main networks, a current list is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_mobile_virtual_network_operators. Many of these offer contracts as short as a month which makes it easier to change providers without penalty.