Getting rid of an old PC

[Chesty Morgan]

Morning,

Sadly my old PC is on its last legs and I don't really use it anymore. It's not worth anything to anybody (probably) so I'm just going to bin it.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that launching it into the nearest tip is not the best way to deal with it as it must have private and personal information stored on it...somewhere.

What is the safest and most secure way of getting rid of it?

Cheers

[srobarts]

Assuming that you can still boot the PC there are a variety of programmes that will securely erase the hard disk. I use Active@ Killdisk (http://www.killdisk.com) but there are others too. Don't forget to take cd/dvds out of the cd/dvd drive too! There are some organistions that refurb old PCs for use in Africa etc it might find a useful home in one of these. ComputerAid (http://www.computeraid.org) are one of the organistions that do this

[Saab Dastard]

The best - and certainly the most enjoyable - way of securely erasing the hard disk is to remove it from the PC and beat it to a pulp with a club hammer.

Vent the frustrations the PC has caused you over the years in a frenzied assault on the hard disk.

Of course, it is not possible to re-format it afterwards, at least not in the conventional sense! And no defragmenter will be able to defragment it ever again.

For the more technically curious, see how much you can open it up and dismantle it before the percussive formatting mentioned above.

SD

Oh - almost forgot, your local council tip probably has an area for electrical / electronic stuff that you can leave it (sans hard disk).

[Keef]

I echo SD's "cathartic deconstruction" suggestion.

Actually, I keep the old HDs. Mostly they go in the last-but-one PC that I use as a Linux plaything. There are four in there, and three in the "new" desktop, plus three in USB cases plugged in externally. I really should have a good clear-out :(

[Avtrician]

Remove the hard drive/drives. open them up, remove the disc plater and mash. that will kill any data on there. Remove the little magnets from the head mechanism, carefully (they are strong and can bite) The magnets are good for things like sticking on your oil filter / fuel filter to catch any metal particles.

[Bushfiva]

Re "open it up", most modern platters are glass. When you it it wiv an ammer, be prepared for a lot of scarily sharp bits flying around. I would tend not to open drives these days, simply whack them mightily.

[Saab Dastard]

Bushfiva is absolutely right - if you do dismantle, place platters in stout bag before errr... "repartitioning" and "fragmenting"!

SD

[boguing]

I've heard this glass theory - but never met one, all of the 20 or 30 that I've stripped have been metal.

The discs make the very best shaving mirrors. Shinier than a very shiny thing.

My current one is 20Gb. Room for loads of whiskers.

The read/write head carriers make very cool hinges for wacky projects.

[mad_jock]

Have none of you peeps heard of the "shred" command in linux?

Just boot with a liveOS and shred the disk. I know there is a very small possibility if MI6 want to get data off it they might manage but for none international crimminals it should be enough if you want to flog it on ebay.

[Saab Dastard]

MJ,

I have only twice had the opportunity to smash a hard disk, and it was so enjoyable I feel I should recommend it as a therapy, in addition to the undoubted efficacy in deleting data.

I have used a variety of "secure erasing" programs, copying random data patterns, all zeros etc. in multiple passes. it's just no fun - although I admit that you can re-use the hard disk afterwards.

SD

[OFSO]

Things not to do with an old Drive:

I was told of a chap who worked in a hospital in the Magnetic Resonance Scanner department. Knowing that these generate a fairly awsome field, he took his unwanted old drive into the room to make sure it was wiped and placed it nearby. When the MRS was turned on, the drive flew across the room, did quite a lot of expensive damage. It did wipe it, though.

[mad_jock]

Once got to smash an old vax disk platter it was bigger than an old LP. and it took some doing.

Had the heat output of my house boiler.

And proberly cost the same as my current salary.

But your point on satisfaction of lamping said disk is taken onboard compared to watching paint dry (aka shred doing 10 passes on a 100G disk)

[Chesty Morgan]

Thanks chaps, much obliged. I'm off to the hammer shop.

[Forkandles]

... The magnets are good for things like sticking on your oil filter / fuel filter to catch any metal particles.

I'm liking the sound of that.
Could you please clarify the procedure of attaching said magnets to the filters? You will, of course, be conversing with a dumbass, so keep it simple.

Cheers. :ok:

[frostbite]

Simply stick the magnet on the outer metal casing.

You can also attach one to the sump, by the drain plug, and then remove it at the same time as the plug is removed for an oil change.

[Forkandles]

Cheers Frosty! :ok:

I thought as much, but as I'm now living in Malta, with it's collection of highly pot-holed roads, I'm wondering if they're likely to stay attached for very long.
Probably be okay, although I reckon I should be more worried about the suicidal drivers... :sad:

[Ancient Observer]

I'm with SD on this, - a bit of heavy hammer therapy, in exchange for all the MS induced frustration that pc s give.

[Avtrician]

I have two of the magnets on the oil filter pf my 4x4, they are still there after off road excursions. The magnets are very strong and dont move easily.