Christian Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 I now have two older computers to dispose of. Some years back I used a software program to destroy the Windows OS on one of my computers I gave to charity. I plan to give both of these to Goodwill but am uncertain if a software solution is the way to go. I am not knowledgeable enough to remove the hard drive and destroy it. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee B Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 I don't know how to either. What I have always done is have someone pull the hard drive for me and kept it or physically destroyed it. It only takes a minute or two and no one has every charged me to do it. Surely you have a client or a relative who knows how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max W Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 First, delete, or move to a backup all files. Even though files are deleted, or moved, they can still be recovered. So, the next step is to bleach the disc with software that overwrites the disc with zeros. www.killdisc.com or anyother bleach software does this. There free versions. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberts Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 1 hour ago, cbslee said: I don't know how to either. What I have always done is have someone pull the hard drive for me and kept it or physically destroyed it. It only takes a minute or two and no one has every charged me to do it. Surely you have a client or a relative who knows how. It takes me about 3 minutes on a laptop. Reality is though without a working hard drive to boot it - may as well toss it in the recycle bin. I have a 17 year old Sony laptop I still play old 32 bit games on occasionally. Makes me wonder why I never bought another Sony laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Roberts said: without a working hard drive to boot it - may as well toss it in the recycle bin If I bought a used computer, the first thing I'd do is put in a new SSD and install whichever OS I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted August 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 I think I used killdisc on one some years back. It completely destroyed the OS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted August 9, 2019 Report Share Posted August 9, 2019 Giving a used computer to Goodwill, is the same as giving them a can of trash. It will have no value to anyone, and will cost Goodwill to have it disposed of. Remove the HD, take a ball peen hammer to it thoroughly, then dispose of it. and the rest of the computer at an electronics recycling center. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBerg Posted August 9, 2019 Report Share Posted August 9, 2019 This article has some software recommendations and other techniques you can use https://datadestruction.com/how-to-dispose-of-hard-drives/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FDNY Posted August 10, 2019 Report Share Posted August 10, 2019 On 8/8/2019 at 11:47 PM, Jack from Ohio said: Giving a used computer to Goodwill, is the same as giving them a can of trash. It will have no value to anyone, and will cost Goodwill to have it disposed of. Remove the HD, take a ball peen hammer to it thoroughly, then dispose of it. and the rest of the computer at an electronics recycling center. I remove the hard drive, put it in a vise and drill holes through it, a lot of holes and the process feels like therapy because I feel good that I have moved on to a new computer. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted August 12, 2019 Report Share Posted August 12, 2019 On 8/10/2019 at 5:13 PM, FDNY said: I remove the hard drive, put it in a vise and drill holes through it, a lot of holes and the process feels like therapy because I feel good that I have moved on to a new computer. Perfect! They also make good stress relivers, when me and my 9mm need relief. Nice targets at 15', and you should see them spin as they take flight.... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.