IT Equipment Disposal

[neversay]

I could really use your help on the best way to dispose of old IT kit that has piled up in my garage. It wasn't my intention to be a hoarder but a mixture of old laptops, phones and tablets has accumulated over the years because I don't know the best way to safely get rid of it (particularly if I strip out hard-drives for security). Here's the list:

Sony Vaio Pcg-51113m vpcs12v9e - https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/supp ... ifications
Sony Vaio Pcg-9131m. Vgn-bz21xn - https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/supp ... ficfations
Sony Vaio Pcg-5t2m. Vgn-sr59xg - https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/supp ... ifications
Sony pcg-4h1m vgn-tx3xp - https://icecat.co.uk/en/p/sony/vgn-tx3x ... 77281.html
Sony Vaio Pcg-6c1m
Asus transformer prime tf201 - https://www.asus.com/Tablets/Eee_Pad_Tr ... ime_TF201/
iPad 1 16gb
Samsung Note 4
Nokia e63
Lg Nexus (cracked screen)

If there's some money to be raised then it can go in the kids' piggy banks, but if the effort outweighs the cost then I'd be very happy donate to a good cause. In future, I realise I need to be more strict about letting go as this has gone on too long...

Thanks.

N.

[Breelander]

If there's some money to be raised then it can go in the kids' piggy banks, but if the effort outweighs the cost then I'd be very happy donate to a good cause. In future, I realise I need to be more strict about letting go as this has gone on too long...

The Windows 7 machines could probably have their resale value increased a biy by upgrading them to Windows 10. It's still free to upgrade to Windows 10. After a successfully upgrade they will have a digital licence for Windows 10. You could then wipe the hard drives and clean-install Windows 10, that should take care of the privacy.

[neversay]

If there's some money to be raised then it can go in the kids' piggy banks, but if the effort outweighs the cost then I'd be very happy donate to a good cause. In future, I realise I need to be more strict about letting go as this has gone on too long...

The Windows 7 machines could probably have their resale value increased a biy by upgrading them to Windows 10. It's still free to upgrade to Windows 10. After a successfully upgrade they will have a digital licence for Windows 10. You could then wipe the hard drives and clean-install Windows 10, that should take care of the privacy.

Thanks Breelander. Do you happen to know if old laptops like these still fetch anything on ebay?

I'm concerned that I'll spend hours installing etc then find that the laptop is worth peanuts. I'm still not sure why I've had so much trouble letting go of this old tech in the past.

[Breelander]

Thanks Breelander. Do you happen to know if old laptops like these still fetch anything on ebay?

I don't see the VPCS12V9E on ebay, only dismantled for parts: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... PC-S12V9E+

There is an ongoing auction for a VGN-SR59XG/Windows 10 with two days to go: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Vaio-VG ... SwsEdfCcX3

Previuos acctions have ended at about £90: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw= ... 0&_fosrp=1


You would probably get less than half that for a working W10 machine from the likes of CashConverters, though that is an easier way to 'sell'.

[neversay]

Thanks Breelander. Do you happen to know if old laptops like these still fetch anything on ebay?

I don't see the VPCS12V9E on ebay, only dismantled for parts: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... PC-S12V9E+

There is an ongoing auction for a VGN-SR59XG/Windows 10 with two days to go: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Vaio-VG ... SwsEdfCcX3

Previuos acctions have ended at about £90: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw= ... 0&_fosrp=1


You would probably get less than half that for a working W10 machine from the likes of CashConverters, though that is an easier way to 'sell'.

Thanks @Breelander. I forgot you could do a past sales look-up on ebay. Sony has me confused with their model numbering methods though.

I'll try firing them up one evening while continuing to burn my way through the Sopranos. I'm late to the party on that one!

[bungeejumper]

I'm still not sure why I've had so much trouble letting go of this old tech in the past.

Nor am I. A quick mental round-up recalled the names of 18 computers that I've owned in the 37 years since I bought my first one. And a quick rummage revealed that I still have eleven of them. (Of which I'm using four.) And all my mobile phones, and a few dead satnavs.......

Okay, a couple of the early computers are museum-worthy antiques, and one of them is really rather rare. But the reason I've hung onto so many others is not so much that I'm too lazy to shift them - though I am - or even that I hope to salvage useful bits of them. (A forlorn hope these days.)

I think it's that I have a sort of veneration for these infuriating magic boxes that's almost pious. They're old friends, dammit, and they've seen me through thick and thin for 37 years of my life, and it just wouldn't be right to turn them into baked bean cans. Would it now?

Maybe I'll make an exception for the Zenith laptop (circa 1998) which burst into flames on the fourth floor of a client's offices, and which had to be thrown out of the window. Matter of fact, I still have the hard disk from that one, which survived the drop with all its data intact. See, I'm still dining out on the story now?

BJ

[neversay]

I'm still not sure why I've had so much trouble letting go of this old tech in the past.

Nor am I. A quick mental round-up recalled the names of 18 computers that I've owned in the 37 years since I bought my first one. And a quick rummage revealed that I still have eleven of them. (Of which I'm using four.) And all my mobile phones, and a few dead satnavs.......

Okay, a couple of the early computers are museum-worthy antiques, and one of them is really rather rare. But the reason I've hung onto so many others is not so much that I'm too lazy to shift them - though I am - or even that I hope to salvage useful bits of them. (A forlorn hope these days.)

I think it's that I have a sort of veneration for these infuriating magic boxes that's almost pious. They're old friends, dammit, and they've seen me through thick and thin for 37 years of my life, and it just wouldn't be right to turn them into baked bean cans. Would it now?

Maybe I'll make an exception for the Zenith laptop (circa 1998) which burst into flames on the fourth floor of a client's offices, and which had to be thrown out of the window. Matter of fact, I still have the hard disk from that one, which survived the drop with all its data intact. See, I'm still dining out on the story now?

BJ

I feel your pain. Somehow I thought I would use the kit as a backup or come up with a project like a linux server that warranted having it on-hand. Sadly I keep buying bleeding-edge tech on the front-end that is destined to become tomorrow's junk in the garage.

[didds]

i have usually had a pile of old kit lieing around. revently I took several old desktops off to the recyckling centre because I found i couldt even sell them for twenty quid (litreally to cover my time reinstalling windows etc ) and they had become so "old" they were effectively useless.

Im now oleft with about 4 laptops and one desktop - that's running Mint as a sort of occassional desktop. The laptops are reasonablwe specs and running win7 or 10 (and I CBA to upgrade the 7... yet).

Ive also got what must be about 20 to 30 old hard drives from 800 MB (!!) to 120 GB, with a couple over 350Gb so potentially useful as external drives ... one day... maybe... A mixed bunch of laptop HDs of similar sizes, max about 120 Gb though. Ditto external HDs thougbh with such a klimited max size maybe not given its possible to get a 2Tb usb drive for well under £30 anyway.

Ive also recently disposed of shedloads of memory sticks.

It just all becomes a pile of rubbish using shed space evenyually, sad though that maybe on many levels.

[Breelander]

...Sony has me confused with their model numbering methods though.

You, and many others - so much so that Sony had to put up a page explaining that NO, the PCG number is NOT the model number, more like the name of a family of models.

Sony UK | Why can't I find my Sony VAIO PCG-#####X product page?

[neversay]

...Sony has me confused with their model numbering methods though.

You, and many others - so much so that Sony had to put up a page explaining that NO, the PCG number is NOT the model number, more like the name of a family of models.

Sony UK | Why can't I find my Sony VAIO PCG-#####X product page?

Wow, that's one of the most useful pages on the internet. That had me perplexed for 20 years.

[neversay]

i have usually had a pile of old kit lieing around. revently I took several old desktops off to the recyckling centre because I found i couldt even sell them for twenty quid (litreally to cover my time reinstalling windows etc ) and they had become so "old" they were effectively useless.

Im now oleft with about 4 laptops and one desktop - that's running Mint as a sort of occassional desktop. The laptops are reasonablwe specs and running win7 or 10 (and I CBA to upgrade the 7... yet).

Ive also got what must be about 20 to 30 old hard drives from 800 MB (!!) to 120 GB, with a couple over 350Gb so potentially useful as external drives ... one day... maybe... A mixed bunch of laptop HDs of similar sizes, max about 120 Gb though. Ditto external HDs thougbh with such a klimited max size maybe not given its possible to get a 2Tb usb drive for well under £30 anyway.

Ive also recently disposed of shedloads of memory sticks.

It just all becomes a pile of rubbish using shed space eventually, sad though that may be on many levels.

@Didds now you'll get me started. I haven't even begun with the old hard drives, CDs, memory sticks and even external backup drives with part copies of files. I'm close to declaring digital bankruptcy and starting afresh, safe in the knowledge that I don't need to recall an email from decades ago.

There's also two Synology NAS drives, one with RAID that had Synology eventually conceded had a controller problem that has bricked the device and three 2tb WD Red Drives. I'm months into a support request with them to figure out how to reconstruct the file system using the other Synology NAS. I just want my files back but don't have the time or energy right now to go through the pain of their IT support.

There's a further stack of phones and tablets that I dread to let go in case there's personal information on-board but I can't charge them to do a hard reset.

Last but not least are some cassette tapes and slides that I inherited from my father but can't let go of them until I have checked their contents. The slide scanner I purchased from Maplin years ago doesn't seem to have drivers for windows (although I'll try yet again) and I will have to borrow a tape deck from someone.

Time for a major cull I think.

[servodude]

Time for a major cull I think.

I've kept one Vaio laptop (running, ahem, vista) that gets daily use as the sacrificial box for downloading stuff from the intertubes
- it's the only thing I have that features an i.Link (IEE 1394) port (basically Firewire by Sony) and this is the only way to get data off from a Sony Handycam that we have (and use once a year for the stop motion putting up of the xmas tree)

just worth making sure that there's no babies hiding in the bath water

- sd

[didds]

@Didds now you'll get me started.

I've also got...

* a few keyboards and mice
* multiple kettle leads
* a nest of usb, serial, scsi cables
* a box of cat5 ethernet cables
* a few usb wifi dongles
* a few old routers, typcially netgears cos you can easily use them as wireless access points
* a box full of what must be 50 at least power cables of varying ampages and fittings "just in case" one day i need a replacement for one that dies

Its the last one that I loath to bin especially - because you can guarantee that as soon as I do, something in the house will have its power cable thingy give up. Even though its probably been over three years since it last helped in this manner.

Oh... I suspect i've got some old laptop batteries around somewhere.

Thing is as quickly (?!) as i get rid of old IT equipment, the wife fills the space with bloody camping gear. Well... tents. Goodness knows why we have about half a dozen tents ranging from pop up one person festival types to a 1970s frame tent that takes a day to put up, a week to take down, and can withstand a force ten gale while housing several refugee families. And especially "why?", seeing we own a bloody campervan and use that all the time anyway!

didds

[Mike4]

* a box full of what must be 50 at least power cables of varying ampages and fittings "just in case" one day i need a replacement for one that dies

Its the last one that I loath to bin especially - because you can guarantee that as soon as I do, something in the house will have its power cable thingy give up. Even though its probably been over three years since it last helped in this manner.

Please, current!

Think of your box of cables (I have a large one too) as insurance. While you have it nothing will go wrong. Bin it and every power cable on every appliance you have will melt into oblivion, obviously.

Geddit?

[servodude]

* a box full of what must be 50 at least power cables of varying ampages and fittings "just in case" one day i need a replacement for one that dies

Its the last one that I loath to bin especially - because you can guarantee that as soon as I do, something in the house will have its power cable thingy give up. Even though its probably been over three years since it last helped in this manner.

Please, current!

Think of your box of cables (I have a large one too) as insurance. While you have it nothing will go wrong. Bin it and every power cable on every appliance you have will melt into oblivion, obviously.

Geddit?

Recently the OED included ampage for amperage
https://public.oed.com/updates/new-word ... ober-2019/
- and I can accept amperage for a rating (requirement or limit - delete as appropriate) on the current in/through/for a piece of equipment
- hopefully there's no current actually going through the cables in a box

Otherwise absolutely agree - every time you get to use a bit from the "bonepile box of shame" it's worth tenfold what it would have cost to buy a new one

- sd

[Mike4]

* a box full of what must be 50 at least power cables of varying ampages and fittings "just in case" one day i need a replacement for one that dies

Its the last one that I loath to bin especially - because you can guarantee that as soon as I do, something in the house will have its power cable thingy give up. Even though its probably been over three years since it last helped in this manner.

Please, current!

Think of your box of cables (I have a large one too) as insurance. While you have it nothing will go wrong. Bin it and every power cable on every appliance you have will melt into oblivion, obviously.

Geddit?

Recently the OED included ampage for amperage
https://public.oed.com/updates/new-word ... ober-2019/
- and I can accept amperage for a rating (requirement or limit - delete as appropriate) on the current in/through/for a piece of equipment
- hopefully there's no current actually going through the cables in a box

Otherwise absolutely agree - every time you get to use a bit from the "bonepile box of shame" it's worth tenfold what it would have cost to buy a new one

- sd

Both "ampage" and "amperage" grate horribly for me.

Dunno why though, as I find "voltage" fine. Who here likes "ohmage" for resistance?

[servodude]

Dunno why though, as I find "voltage" fine

Yeah, especially given its/it's potential

Who here likes "ohmage" for resistance?

as a tribute to Georg Ohm I think it's fine

apologies
-sd

[didds]

[
Think of your box of cables (I have a large one too) as insurance. While you have it nothing will go wrong. Bin it and every power cable on every appliance you have will melt into oblivion, obviously.

Geddit?

absolutely!

apologies for them incorrect term wrt current

didds

[bungeejumper]

the wife fills the space with bloody camping gear. Well... tents. Goodness knows why we have about half a dozen tents ranging from pop up one person festival types to a 1970s frame tent that takes a day to put up, a week to take down, and can withstand a force ten gale while housing several refugee families.

I know the feeling. We used to have six tents, and there were only two of us. (1) The 1970s frame tent (huge and so heavy that you needed to pump up the car's tyres); (2) the huge nylon tunnel tent that we hurriedly bought in France one year after we found that we'd forgotten to bring the poles for (1) ; (3) the second tunnel tent that we bought after the first tent (still excellent) went saggy; (4) the umbrella-style pop-up tent (as used by the SAS, apparently) that could be set up in 25 seconds on a battlefield if necessary; (5) the "overnight pod" that we used for one-night excursions during longer camping trips. And (6) the daughter's precious Glastonbury special, of course.

We sold the frame tent for more money than we'd expected. The second tent went to the Syrian refugee appeal, where we hope it did somebody a favour. Numbers four and five self-destructed after being borrowed by three hen partyers. Number six was eaten by the squirrels in the loft. Leaving number three, which we might get to use one day if we're ever allowed unconditionally back into France.

One out of six ain't a bad bit of decluttering.

On the subject of cables, I still have a couple of 1980s parallel cables, which were always a source of fun. Not least, because some of them had a few pins reversed, depending on whether they were being used for printers or for networking. Oh, how we laughed when we picked up the wrong cable.

Some day I'm going to make a sculpture out of my surplus power leads. Probably a life-sized replica of the Wicker Man....

BJ