I want to donate my PC, so I have completed a Smart System Restore, using the recovery disk and 2 master cd's from Packard Bell. This says in the hand book that this will restore the pc to exactly the same as it was when it left the factory. Does this mean that it wipes the hard drive clean? As I had stuff on there I didn't want anyone to be able to retrieve.

Yes, almost always, this process will format the hard drive (wiping everything off of it) and install everything that was on the PC when it left the factory but nothing else.

To be really sure, you could check by doing this:

1. Click the Start Menu > Find > Files Or Folders.
2. In the file name field, type *.doc (assuming you've written a Word document on this PC within the last year).
3. Find the option to specify a date range to look for - it will say something like "Files Or Folders Created Or Modified During The Last ....... (x) days". Set this to look for files created or modified during the last 12 months (or 365 days).
4. Click 'Find Now'.

Because your Packard Bell system is almost certainly more than a year old, any files that it finds that were created during the last year will be yours. It should, therefore, find none at all.

ok, so if it restores the PC back to factory settings and wipes the hard drive clean, can anyone retrieve info from it using a data recovery programme? or is it wiped clean 100% as per the handbook states.

The chances are that, because so much stuff is being written back onto the hard disk (i.e. your whole operating system and any factory-installed applications), you'll probably find that much of your data is overwritten or, at least, damaged beyond retrieval

I think the professional data recovery services charge about £500 ($700 US) upwards. I presume that they would have a higher chance of getting your stuff back than the many utilities that you can download off the 'net.

So the hdd is not wiped completely clean then as it says in the handbook! so its not restored to as it was when it left the factory.
Can overwritten data/images be retrieved by data recovery?

It's hard to say. Your original files have definitely been made "inaccessible" somehow but there's a couple of ways that that might have been done:

1. Standard format / wiping the File Allocation Table - the quickest way of doing it. Your files are actually still in tact but Windows can't see them. This has the highest chance of recovery.

2. Low-level format. Every bit of your hard disk has been physically overwritten and none of your data is there. I've got a feeling however that some of the specialist recovery services claim to be able to still do something with this. It is not likely that this method was used to wipe your disk but it is possible so it can't be ruled out.

Bear in mind that any cheap recovery software or expensive recovery services will claim to be able to recover bits of some of your files, maybe complete files in some cases, but they'll never be able to claim to be able to recover everything that you had on the hard disk before it was wiped. Some areas of the hard disk have already been overwritten with the "factory" files that the restore CD put back on there - those areas have gone for good.

I would recommend doing a web search on "hard disk data recovery services" to find professional services in your area who could help if the data is REALLY important to you. Do take their advice and get their quotes before making a decision of whether you want to buy some software to do a similar job. Running data recovery software on a hard disk will sometimes affect your hard disk so much that you couldn't subsequently pay anyone else to do anything with the resulting mess that you've ended up with.

Hope that helps

just one more thing as you know what you are on about, you may or may not know this, if you chat on Yahoo they are .DAT files and cannot be retreived unless you have saved them, if you have traded pics via Yahoo can anyone tell if images have been uploaded and sent? as you may becoming aware I am very paronoid and wary of what others may be able to find.
thanks for your help

Blimey, I've got no idea about that, sorry. Try posting a message for that question in the "Other Software" section of the forum and someone in there may know more about it

If your that concerned about someone retrieving the data pull the hard drive and smash it with a few good hits from a sledge hammer. The hard drive can be replaced by whomever you donate the computer to. Just my 2 ¢

I work for Dixons stores group international LTD and if we sell a reconditioned computer we destroy the HDD and fit a new one as we are not comfortable that data on it can completley be erased and you all must know the rep of our company at the mo!