Disposing of old PCs

[Dod101]

I know this has been dealt with in the past but the new thread on how often we change our PCs has reminded me that I have an old PC in my garage, It still works but the OS is I think XP. It was thoroughly reliable but is of course well out of date. I think I had better get rid of it but will check first to see if there is anything I want from it. The advice seems to be that I should extract the hard disk first and smash it up. How do I recognise it once I open up the box? Any help would be appreciated.

Dod

[gryffron]

Lets see if this works:

About 6" x 4" x 1".

In most standard cases it is at the front underneath the removable drives (CD?/DVD?). Though in a compact case/laptop it could be crammed in anywhere.

Secured by screws mounted on the sides. You can see the screwholes along the bottom of the image.

Gryff

[xeny]

Rectangular, with a black main body and a silvery top, cables at one end, approximately 4" by 6" by .75"

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hard+drive&va ... &ia=images has some examples, although many have had their silver lids removed to show the internal platter.

common label would be Seagate, Maxtor, Hitachi, Western Digital.

There are software tools that can securely wipe the drive, which is a little more elegant, and to my mind less work.

[Adamski]

I find the quickest and safest way to destroy a hard drive is a good whack with a claw hammer. But best to have some eye protection as bits will fly off.

Could then donate to a local pc shop if they want it. If cannot get to the hard drive easily, like an apple laptop, the PC shop should be able to take out for you.

[bungeejumper]

For an old machine like yours, there are usually two edge connectors - one wide one for data, and one narrow one for power (black/yellow/red wires). More modern computers or laptops might use narrow cables and plugs. (It's been a while since I've looked inside mine!)

I usually like to slice into my old disks with an angle grinder, but a few good thumps with a big hammer or a heavy rock will bend it enough to put it beyond use. Do not microwave it, unless you fancy a new microwave.

BJ

[servodude]

Dod,

If you can tell us what the PC is (make/model as much you can) I'm sure we could find you instructions with pictures of what to destroy

-sd

[Infrasonic]

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/how-to-w ... ard-drive/

[Breelander]

Whatever you do, don't attempt the Sir Terry Pratchett method of disposal.

Apart from the fact that: "It's surprisingly difficult to find somebody to run over a hard drive with a steamroller", it's also not as effective as you may think.

Richard Henry, curator of Salisbury Museum, said: "The steamroller totally annihilated the stone blocks underneath but the hard drive survived better than expected so we put it in a stone crusher afterwards which I think probably finally did it in".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-41093066

Violence is unnecessary. To make a drive unreadable it's usually sufficient to unscrew the lid and just let the air in, the dust will do the job. To be sure, you could pour some sand in and rub it over the shiny platter you'll find inside.

[Lootman]

One of my PCs had two hard drives, so something to look out for.

I use a lump hammer to crush them.

[Urbandreamer]

Expunging a HD can be easy or difficult, depending upon how paranoid you are.

Breelander's method is useless for the truely paranoid. To recover the data simply clean the platter in a ventilated clean room using cleaned compressed air. Reassemble, possibly with new control boards. Then copy the data off it.

Or at least that's how I understand data recovery companies do it.

Using a write/rewrite method works quite well, but I understand forensic analysis can still recover data. They may need to use very special equipment though.
Chopping the disk up of bashing it about only damages some parts. The same forensic analysis may still yield info.

For best results put £1mill/£1bill of bitcoin on it. Ignore advice about safe E-waste disposal and drop it in the bin. It'll never come to light again.

Personally I recommend what you find easiest and cheapest.

[Dod101]

Dod,

If you can tell us what the PC is (make/model as much you can) I'm sure we could find you instructions with pictures of what to destroy

-sd

The PC is a Dell Optiplex330 or at least that is what it says on the case. Before I do anything dramatic with it I will be taking a look to see if there is anything that I want to retain/recover. I am not particularly paranoid abut it but I just want to make sure that there is nothing on it that I am bothered about others finding. This is part of a task that I have set myself to try to tidy up/clear my garage before Christmas.

Thanks for the advice so far.

Dod

[AleisterCrowley]

Whatever you do, don't attempt the Sir Terry Pratchett method of disposal.

Apart from the fact that: "It's surprisingly difficult to find somebody to run over a hard drive with a steamroller", it's also not as effective as you may think.

Richard Henry, curator of Salisbury Museum, said: "The steamroller totally annihilated the stone blocks underneath but the hard drive survived better than expected so we put it in a stone crusher afterwards which I think probably finally did it in".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-41093066

Violence is unnecessary. To make a drive unreadable it's usually sufficient to unscrew the lid and just let the air in, the dust will do the job. To be sure, you could pour some sand in and rub it over the shiny platter you'll find inside.

I've used a combination of grit and Araldite...

[Redmires]

Take the hard disk to pieces. The strong magnets come in handy in the shed and the platters can be used for scaring birds off the veg patch The casing is aluminium which can go in the recycling box.

[Lanark]

Once you have wiped/damaged the drive Dell will collect it for recycling, for free

https://www.dell.com/learn/uk/en/ukcorp ... nsumer-uk1

[Urbandreamer]

Once you have wiped/damaged the drive Dell will collect it for recycling, for free

https://www.dell.com/learn/uk/en/ukcorp ... nsumer-uk1

Ow, err.

My employer recently needed a 3.5 40Gig or less IDE hard drive*. They are not made any more. One was obtained, apparently from RS store room. I say apparently as the user account on it was rsstorreroom.

It wasn't bought from RS. I really do recommend doing the wipe thing first.

*It was to mate with a 25 year old industrial PC and needed the image of the previous disk putting on it. YES we do that where I work.

[Lootman]

Expunging a HD can be easy or difficult, depending upon how paranoid you are.

I am not paranoid but if I were I might destroy it with a lump hammer, then pour acid all over it, then leave it on a bonfire for a couple of hours, then submerge it in my water butt for a few days and then bury it deep in my garden.

[swill453]

I would, and have, taken the disk out of a computer and put it in the household waste bin. At a landfill, in a bin bag along with dirty tissues, food wrapping etc., the chances of it being found and recovered by someone with malicious intent are infinitesimally small.

Scott.

[Infrasonic]

I would, and have, taken the disk out of a computer and put it in the household waste bin. At a landfill, in a bin bag along with dirty tissues, food wrapping etc., the chances of it being found and recovered by someone with malicious intent are infinitesimally small.

Scott.

I may depend on the individuals living circumstances...

I live in a city centre flat development, surrounded by other similar developments.

Bin stores are regularly raided in the early hours in a deliberate manner by professional gangs looking for identifying paperwork (from the paper recycling bins) and left electricals et al - there are regular warnings on GMP Twitter, developments internal comms and local neighbourhood watch groups to make sure people are aware of the risks and not to leave anything out for the binmen that can be used for ID theft/fraud.
I've been cross cut shredding all unwanted identifying paperwork for over twenty five years.

Things like smart TV's / games consoles et al also need a full factory reset as a minimum before dumping.

[moorfield]

I know this has been dealt with in the past but the new thread on how often we change our PCs has reminded me that I have an old PC in my garage, It still works but the OS is I think XP. It was thoroughly reliable but is of course well out of date. I think I had better get rid of it but will check first to see if there is anything I want from it. The advice seems to be that I should extract the hard disk first and smash it up. How do I recognise it once I open up the box? Any help would be appreciated.

Dod

Don't junk it just yet! If it's in decent nick and you are able to reformat the hard drive there are plenty of charities who could make use of it even without the peripherals, you'd be surprised. My nephew recently repurposed an old pc into what is essentially a Chromebook, now donated to a local playgroup.

[Dod101]

I know this has been dealt with in the past but the new thread on how often we change our PCs has reminded me that I have an old PC in my garage, It still works but the OS is I think XP. It was thoroughly reliable but is of course well out of date. I think I had better get rid of it but will check first to see if there is anything I want from it. The advice seems to be that I should extract the hard disk first and smash it up. How do I recognise it once I open up the box? Any help would be appreciated.

Dod

Don't junk it just yet! If it's in decent nick and you are able to reformat the hard drive there are plenty of charities who could make use of it even without the peripherals, you'd be surprised. My nephew recently repurposed an old pc into what is essentially a Chromebook, now donated to a local playgroup.

Thanks. Good thinking. Will try to get a good home for it.

Dod