The problematic end of Windows 10
It has been announced that Windows 10 is out of support on the 14th of October this year (2025)!
This presents a few problems. The following article gives more detail:
The gist of it, is a drive towards Windows 11. However this is not as simple as it seems. Many modern devices are not compatible with Windows 11. If your computer is not compatible then it boils down to either;
Forcing the upgrade yourself. This may or may not work and could result in further issues.
Purchasing (of course) an extra year of Windows 10 support.
Switching to a new operating system.
Upgrading to a compatible device.
The last option is likely to be the way forward for most individuals and organisations. However what do you do with the old devices? Contact us if you need any help. At DataOff we can erase your old data and facilitate sale of your device.
Importance of Data Removal under GDPR
Data under GDPR
Selling hard drives with personal data is legal, right?
No. Under the 2018 Data Protection Act stipulated by GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), “selling devices containing personal data without complying with data protection principles” is illegal.
Don’t put yourself at risk. Contact us and rest assured you are taking the right steps to safe data erasure.
What’s that?
Newer drives causing problems
A hidden problem for auctioneers & liquidators?
Recently we picked up a few desktop computers from auction, all listed “hard drive removed” well i’m not so sure about that. At a closer look you can see these devices are fitted with more modern hard drives, difficult to recognize and more awkward to remove.
Empty for a reason.
Looking at the empty space above, in the past this is where you would have expected the main hard drive. However this is for an additional drive and the main drive (smaller these days) is below, slotted into the main board. This is how these are fitted from new, unfortunately in this case it lured this auctioneer into a false sense of security that the devices were safe for sale.
Luckily enough for them that we picked these devices up and can erase the data safely! Avoiding a potential data breach, phew.
The Future - As technology advances this will only become a more common problem, some new drives cannot be removed from the motherboard at all! This shows the importance of contacting the experts.
