Selling or donating an old laptop besides being a great way to earn some money with something you no longer want, or by allowing someone else to reuse it for free, be both noble and environmentally conscious. As the old saying goes “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.
Depending on your setup its always a good idea to check if the BIOS or UEFI password is set, and remove it before the passing it on. A computer with limited access to the firmware menu may limit the functionality of the computer for virtualization, log viewing, or even the installation of important firmware updates . If you forgot the BIOS password sometimes by removing the CMOS battery, the BIOS will automatically reset to the factory defaults and remove the password, but results may vary depending on the brand and model of your laptop.
Another good step is to test all the major components, as mentioned in a previous post, using different applications that diagnose RAM, CPU, battery or the hard-drive. This is fundamental to guarantee that the device is in perfect working condition. If something is faulty, you can sell the whole device for parts, tear it down and sell it piece by piece which can be very time consuming.
Another step that ensures piece of mind is a full disk erasure, using applications such as ABAN. Any private data breach can have dire consequences, therefore a full disk deletion is a must.
The final step is to perform a full Windows operating system install, update and activation, and if possible deliver the laptop with all the manufacturer drivers installed to guarantee optimal operation. If the new owner is not very technical they may run into issues with the device.
I hope that these tips will guarantee a safe and easy device transfer.
