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Attempting to wipe the hard drive on my Windows 10 desktop so I can ship it to Dell for recycle. Deleted all data files and emptied the recycle bin first. Then I followed Windows instructions to wipe the drive. Process taking over 4 hours, then I encountered an odd, convoluted message "Windows could not parse or process unattend answer file [C:WINDOWS:\Panther\unattend.xml] for pass [auditUser]. The settings specified in the answer file cannot be applied. The error was detected while processing settings for component [Microsoft-WIndows-Deployment]. MS webpage I consulted contained a bunch of convoluted guidance using command prompt. Cannot believe the average user has to deal with this. Question: How do I know the computer has been "wiped" so I'm not returning a computer containing personal data?
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Hi, good day!
I recommend creating a USB Installation media and booting from it as if you were doing a Clean Install of Windows.
Under Windows Setup, select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)
Select each Partition in the list then click Delete until it shows Unallocated Space
Once Done, turn it off then ship it to Dell for recycle
I look forward to receiving your update and I'm willing to collaborate with you till we resolve the issue. Do keep me informed.
John, after reading your reply I watched a video to learn how to create USB installation media. Inserted the flash drive. powered up, and hit F12 until I got a Boot Mode screen showing 3 UEFI options. Cannot figure out which one to select to read the flash drive.
Can you take a picture of the 3 UEFI options and post it in your next response?
I attached a screen shot previously - hope you can see it this time.
After creating and using the USB installation media and reaching the attached screen several hours later, I noted it didn't specifically offer options on Windows install. After a couple unsuccessful tries, I scrolled to SupportAssist OS Recovery (bottom of list) so Dell's tools could reset Windows. Took several hours before Cortana prompted me to set up Windows 10 from scratch. At that point, I was satisfied personal data was purged, so I powered down the device and shipped it to Dell for recycle.
Thank you for updating me with that information. Glad to hear the issue has been resolved.
Stay safe and have a great day.
