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[Technology] Computer disposal question



southstandandy

southstandandy

WEST STAND ANDY
Jul 9, 2003
6,276
Over the years when my PC has slowed beyond any reasonable use or just crapped out I've put the boxes in my garage wondering what to do with them.

Clearing out the garage at the weekend I found 2 boxes and an old laptop which had become defunct.

What is the best way of disposing or recycling such devices?

I'm reluctant to just put them in the tip, in case any clever sod can patch it up and get any personal data from the boxes, and I'm loathe to take them to someone claiming to be an PC expert who can wipe all the drives (will that really be the case?). Bar taking a hammer to them how else do the good of NSC get rid of old PC hardware?

Any as you may have gathered I'm NO expert - so saying remove the hard drive - I wouldn't know where to start.

Any ideas?
 




Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
58,339
Faversham
Remove the h......

Oh.

In all seriousness this is easy enough.
Then your local council tip/recycle point can deal with the rest.
In fact they may have an intact PC recycle point.
We do in Fav.

The next problem is what to do with the HD. I have about 8 of them :facepalm:
 


Anger

Anger

Well-known member
Jul 21, 2017
841
Before you do anything, ask yourself whether or not you have any bitcoin on them.

It might save you in the future having to buy from the council the tip you took it to in a vain attempt to retrieve it.
 


Blues Guitarist

Blues Guitarist

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2020
741
St Johann in Tirol
To protect yourself, the hard drives should be destroyed. Ask around - you probably have a friend who can do it. Don't just wipe the drives (data can still be recovered). Remove the drives and smash them with a hammer.
 


southstandandy

southstandandy

WEST STAND ANDY
Jul 9, 2003
6,276
Blues Guitarist said:
To protect yourself, the hard drives should be destroyed. Ask around - you probably have a friend who can do it. Don't just wipe the drives (data can still be recovered). Remove the drives and smash them with a hammer.
Click to expand...
This sounds to me, the best option. I assume when I open the boxes up the hard drives are fairly obvious? Sorry if I sound vague, but as said I'm not sure what to look for.
 






beorhthelm

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
36,229
the expert grade way to do it is some nifty NSA grade disk erasing software. the intermediate grade is reinstalling an OS with format which would be good enough. however both require a bit of mucking about getting the machines running, downloading software etc.

that leaves the novice and imo more satisfying option of removing the HD and getting medieval with hammer and drills. removing the HD is really very easy, couple of screws and yank them out. youtube will assist if stuck.
 






Is it PotG?

Is it PotG?

Thrifty non-licker
Feb 20, 2017
26,325
Sussex by the Sea
Take the Hard Drives out (2 mins job)....get a £5 lead from Amazon and reformat them to use as storage.
Then take the remnants to the tip,.nowt to be gained once the hard drive is gone.

1000010561.png
 




Cheshire Cat

Cheshire Cat

The most curious thing..
Nov 4, 2006
12,026
Sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off...
Hit them very hard with a very large hammer several times until they break. And then dispose of the body parts separately.
 






SouthSaxon

SouthSaxon

Stand or fall
NSC Patron
Jan 25, 2025
93
Anger said:
Before you do anything, ask yourself whether or not you have any bitcoin on them.

It might save you in the future having to buy from the council the tip you took it to in a vain attempt to retrieve it.
Click to expand...
Does anyone else think the reason that council is so determined to stop the bloke going in to hunt for it is because they’ve already found it and wasted it (probably on consultants)?
 


Official Old Man

Official Old Man

Uckfield Seagull
Aug 27, 2011
9,396
Brighton
All the above but rather than format the disk, have a look what's on it. Forget the files and stuff but look for photos and videos that you forgot you took.
Copy them then format the disc.
 






Herr Tubthumper

Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
63,889
The Fatherland
southstandandy said:
Over the years when my PC has slowed beyond any reasonable use or just crapped out I've put the boxes in my garage wondering what to do with them.

Clearing out the garage at the weekend I found 2 boxes and an old laptop which had become defunct.

What is the best way of disposing or recycling such devices?

I'm reluctant to just put them in the tip, in case any clever sod can patch it up and get any personal data from the boxes, and I'm loathe to take them to someone claiming to be an PC expert who can wipe all the drives (will that really be the case?). Bar taking a hammer to them how else do the good of NSC get rid of old PC hardware?

Any as you may have gathered I'm NO expert - so saying remove the hard drive - I wouldn't know where to start.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Best to take a hammer to the hard drive imho. Wiping the drive won’t work, the police are quite sophisticated these days and are still be able to find the photos ever after you think you’ve deleted them.
 


A

A mex eyecan

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2011
4,101
Get some titanium drill bits and make loads of holes in them. Then the use of a decent club hammer to smash them into all sorts of weird shapes.
 


G

Gary1

Active member
Oct 25, 2013
279
Just smash f*** out of them with a hammer & then leave out in the rain for a few days (if no rain due just chuck a couple of buckets of water over). Everything will cease or rust up & then chuck them in your wheelie bin. Job done!!!
 








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