Eraser - failed

[porky2j]

Hi I am running eraser 5.8.8 on windows XP to overwrite all unused disk space, however it is coming up with task failed.

I have a feeling I may know the problem ..... just need soem help. The process I was told to take before sellign my laptop was:
1) delete any unwanted files & programmes
2) delete my user profile by creating a new user
3) run eraser to overwrite all unused disk space to prevent any file recovery

Is the problem here that I am now logged into the new user account and am trying to overwrite space that was originally created from another profile?

If so, is there anyway around this or do I have to restore the old user profile?

Many thanks

 

[DavidHB]

Firstly, a reminder that Version 5 is no longer supported, and the help we can offer here may be limited.

What you may have done is created a new user profile without administrative privileges. For some reason, Windows insists that a free space erase must be run by an administrative user. The original account you create when you install XP will normally have administrative privileges; subsequent accounts, if memory serves, must be specifically set up that way.

To be honest, I don't think that the advice you were given was all that good. Almost all laptops have either a recovery disk, or a recovery partition and associated utility, to restore the machine to factory condition. That will format the hard drive, reinstall Windows, drivers and whatever software the machine came with, and create a new administrative user account. From there, you can reinstall Eraser and run a free space erase. The machine is then in a clean and tidy state for selling on or whatever.

David