Advice on preparing a laptop for sale

[fox]

I have a buyer for my Acer laptop, and I have already started to prepare it for sale by removing Linux, fixing the mbr and resizing the drive so that Windows 10 takes up all the space except for the small partitions where they save the Windows 10 emergency files and the mbr itself. I've checked and everything boots ok, but now the question is what I do next since it boots to me as the user. I don't have any data files or pictures on this, but presumably what I want to do is set up a new generic user with a simple password that he can change. The guy I'm selling this to doesn't seem particularly computer-literate, so I would prefer to give him a working computer with no setup required other than to change his password than to give him one where it starts up with nothing set up. How would you recommend that I do this? Is it safe to create a new user and then just delete my account? Or would you do it some other way?

[dougal]

I would set up another acct with admin status then check to make sure that works , if so,then delete your original acct. thus they can start from scratch to establish their own settings/preferences which I"m guessing wouldn't happen if you simply changed the name and pswd.
https://www.intowindows.com/how-to-create-a-new-administrator-account-in-windows-10/

[buster]

I would also set the updates to auto, so he or she doesn't have to figure that out.

Personally, I'd set the virus and other security stuff up with Microsoft's included software. Mostly just the defaults. Then I'd  go to the 'uninstall' in the control centre and uninstall any other 'free for a year' virus checkers, which you may have done years ago. Two virus checkers may conflict with each other.

I'd also check updates and see if there are any.

Computer should then just take care of itself forever.

[fox]

I would set up another acct with admin status then check to make sure that works , if so,then delete your original acct. thus they can start from scratch to establish their own settings/preferences which I"m guessing wouldn't happen if you simply changed the name and pswd.
https://www.intowindows.com/how-to-create-a-new-administrator-account-in-windows-10/

OK, so I did that, and because I didn't set up a Microsoft account or put in an email for him, the new account is referred to a local administrator. Is that just because I haven't set up his accounts? If I now delete my own account, is that sufficient for him to run his computer, including any admin tasks?

[buster]

Don't delete your account yet!!! Log into the new account and do some admin task that requires administrative privileges. Download and install say Firefox, and uninstall it. That should show if it does have privileges.

Check your log in page again. Make sure both of you can get in.

I THINK you can have two admins, but I'm not sure. Maybe read about it.

[fox]

Thanks, Harry. I was able to download Firefox on the account I set up for him, and presently, it is installing a Windows 10 1803 update which was downloaded on his account. Does that mean it is safe to kill my account?

[fox]

....
I THINK you can have two admins, but I'm not sure. Maybe read about it.

Right, but I don't want any trace of me on this computer when I sell it, so I would like to remove my account once I know that the one I set up for him is OK.

[buster]

No. I understand. But I'm not sure what happens if you have no admin.  Sounds like you've solved it.

[buster]

" presently, it is installing a Windows 10 1803 update"

It's quite a ways behind. Mine is at 1903. If it doesn't move up, there might be some hints in here. One suggestion was if the computer works, leave it.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-home-10-update-from-1803-to-1903/4f1de74e-fc2f-45e7-9045-95df927dfde1

[fox]

1803 is taking long enough. We're at 98% installed now, but it has taken about 2 hr. 1803 is billed as a "feature update"; I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

[ssfc72]

After you are done deleting your own user and admin accounts, check your file folders to make sure  your old user and admin folders have been deleted.
I seem to recall on the notebook that I sold, that I had to go in and delete these folders, after I had deleted the old user and admin accounts.

[fox]

....
It's quite a ways behind. Mine is at 1903.
....

Well, I also am updating the older xps at the same time. I'm showing an 1809 feature update on the xps, but nothing yet further. Do new ones appear once the old ones are installed?

Meanwhile, the Acer successfully updated to 1803 and when I checked again for updates it indicated that none were available. On the xps's, the highest I got offered was 1809.

[fox]

After you are done deleting your own user and admin accounts, check your file folders to make sure  your old user and admin folders have been deleted.
I seem to recall on the notebook that I sold, that I had to go in and delete these folders, after I had deleted the old user and admin accounts.

You were right; although my user folder might have been empty. At any rate, I deleted it. Thanks for the advice.

[Jason]

If you really wanted to remove any traces of you on the computer, it's best to have created a fresh install of Windows 10 on the drive and doing a full format of the drive. However, you can also just wipe the free space after you've deleted your user files.

[fox]

Thanks, Jason. I'll remember that next time, as I sold the laptop last night. However, there really wasn't anything on it. I never used the Windows partition for anything but updates. That laptop was my original "try Linux" computer. And with full-size vga and hdmi ports, it was the one I used to make PLUG presentations. I didn't want to get rid of it, but I had too many old laptops sitting around.