How to Clean Your Computer to Sell

If you would like to sell your computer, you want to make sure that it's going to be appealing to a new buyer. Cleaning it to sell it isn't the same as refurbishing your computer, but many of the steps for the computer itself might be similar.

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 Steps


    What are you selling? Know what you're going to include with your computer. It's important to know, as you'll be cleaning all of these things.

 Laptops

    1
    Spray it with compressed air. Find the fan, and spray it with compressed air. Vents, do the same. The keyboard may also be sprayed with compressed air. If the laptop is really old (more than just a couple of years), you want to do a thorough cleaning job, and you feel comfortable doing this, find a specific manual for the laptop online that shows you how to take it apart (most laptops are different), and spray each component individually. If you do this, you want to make sure you clean certain parts, specifically, the heat sync (fan on the CPU, look for a fan on a chip on the motherboard).
    2
    Clean the screen. Buy some screen cleaner and use a microfiber cloth to clean the screen. Do not spray directly on screen, spray on cloth then wipe til' there isn't anymore solution on the screen.
    3
    Wipe down the laptop with a microfiber cloth (no alcohol solution). Be sure to wipe the whole case to make it more appealing.
    4
    Include a working power supply. This isn't necessary, but it's a good idea. No one wants to buy a laptop without a power supply.

Desktops

    1
    Spray it with compressed air. Spray external fans and vents with compressed air. Then open the case, and spray. Specifically, spray cards that are covered in dust, the heat sync, and any other dust you can see. Be careful not to damage the computer while doing this. Fans are vulnerable to damage if sprayed with compressed air.
    2
    If you're including a screen, clean it. Use a basic solution of rubbing alcohol and water, with for every unit of rubbing alcohol, there are two units of water. Use a microfiber cloth to clean the screen with the solution.
    3
    Clean anything else you are including. Most items you are including will either be clean or be difficult to clean, but depending on what it is, you can use compressed air or just a microfiber cloth (no rubbing alcohol) to clean most parts.

 Universal Work

    1
    Clean the registry. Use a registry cleaner such as CCLEANER, or just clean it manually.
    2
    Remove all personal information. The best way to do this is to use a selective file wipe method. After erasing everything that you don't want someone to find on your computer (documents, programs that you had installed, visited websites, etc.), use one of these programs to wipe the data permanently. It may be wise to completely format your disk and re-install the operating system to make sure it's impossible to miss anything.
    3
    Defragment the hard disk.

Warnings

    Be careful when using the rubbing alcohol solution. Spilling it on the monitor or computer or any other components may damage them.
    Be sure that you are using the correct solution. If you choose,you may have less alcohol, but not more, than for every one unit of alcohol, there are two units of water (e.g.: you could have half a unit of alcohol for every two units of water).