Can you help?

1. you can start by emptying the cache on your browser. Go to options and snoop for cache - the help file might tell you how, depending on version of browser and windows.

2. Open windows explorer and go down alphabetically and see if there is a "temp" directory. If there is empty it. Also go to the windows directory and see if there is a "temp" directory there - if there is empty it.

Run your search and see if they are still there. If they are you could do a search for the following and it should find the pics.

*.jpeg
*.jpg
*.gif
*.bmp

that might find the pics, you can then delete them.

Probably the easiest if you have the restore disks is to restore the hard drive - be sure to format it first. This will get rid of some of it at least. You can get free disk wipe programs that could wipe everything before you reinstall. If you don't have the restore disks if you have a spare version of windows wipe and install.

Possibly others can tell you about removal tools.

 

Without some idea of the date purchased or some specs on your computer it hard for me to make an iron clad recommendation for you but here goes my best effort.

I am a former Windows Beta Tester that has abandoned the sinking ship, the USS MicroSoft, and Iḿ very busy recovering old computers and giving them away to students for their school work, at no cost to them. Since I left MS in ´07 I ran for 24 months without so much as a firewall and never found one virus. worm, trojan, root kit or porn-ware on my ´puter. I am running the fastest growing OS in the world, Ubuntu/Linux, that has this year become the number 2 most popular system.

if your computer is old enough that it has, say, a 7 gig harddrive, you can run Puppy Linux and it will run like a modernday quad core with 4 gig of memory... very impressive and it is a clone of Ubuntu for old and small computers. If your unit is newer than that, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Long Term Support) goes from push the button to complete rest at the Desk Top in 40 seconds and you might even co0nsider the just released Natty Narwhal v. 11.04 with the ultra user friendly Desk Top that I am using right now. Iḿ better than 4 years into this and it has been a very pleasing experience. Puppy can be found by googeling ¨Puppy Linux¨ and Ubuntu can be found at www.ubuntu.com. If you go with the Ubuntu you will be very pleased because when you do the install the default choice is to install it beside your Windows, insuring that you are not trapped if you happen to dislike the system. Thus far I have only had one convert back out on me and that is my daughter and she did not even give it two hours testing.

Cod bless and if you need help I am always available because I am a 100% disabled Vet.

 

Don't forget video files: .mov, .wmv, etc.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any free, easy programs that will do this. And for the life of me, I can't figure out the claims of some of these programs; how, for example, do these programs figure out that a file with extension .jpg is pornographic vice one that is a family photo?

Seems to me the best thing you could do is not load any of *your* stuff on this computer; use Revo Uninstaller and uninstall all programs you don't need, or aren't familiar with; use MalwareBytes to check for spyware; and use CCleaner, GlaryUtilities, or something similar to clean up the registry. After that, you'll still have to delete temporary internet files, temp folders, and go through the directories to see what's still there that could be deleted in order to clean this thing up.

Bill's recommendation to install Linux might be the easiest way to go....

 

Relating to Linux: If you format and put linux on does that wipe the drive or just format it like windows does. If it does not wipe the drive the pics are still there if you are worried about someone finding them someday future.

The video card: On some motherboards you have to shut the internal video off with a little jumper. Only then will the new one work. You would need the motherboard/computer book/manual. You might find it on the manufacturer site if you don't have it.

I ask about the formatting as I do not know how Linux does formatting. In windows you can format and the files are there, you just can't get to them without special software - like law enforcement uses.

Question: Why do you think the bad files are buried somewhere? I don't know why they would unless the previous owner "hid" them. If just downloaded from the net they would go to the cache unless they were "saved" somewhere else which might have gotten them "hidden."

 

Only the hard drive/s can retain information once the power is off.

There are programs that lay down information (garbage) on the entire drive, then do it again and then again which pretty much destroys anything on the drive, but the program only works on the entire drive so you lose the operating system/programs you want, that is why you need the restore disks or a windows disk.

If you can't find the manual for the video problem unit post its make and model number, someone might accidentally know how or if you need to shut off the onboard video.