native_Houstonian Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Just purchased a new desktop, so now I have 2 old PCs, 2 monitors, keyboards, speakers, etc. that I need to dispose. One PC works, the other one crashed on me, but since I am not computer savvy, it's possible that it could be fixed. I hate to just throw them away, esp. because I don't want anyone to get any personal info that may be in the one that crashed. Is there anyplace that I can take them that would erase any personal info and maybe donate them to charity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/westpark.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Just purchased a new desktop, so now I have 2 old PCs, 2 monitors, keyboards, speakers, etc. that I need to dispose. One PC works, the other one crashed on me, but since I am not computer savvy, it's possible that it could be fixed. I hate to just throw them away, esp. because I don't want anyone to get any personal info that may be in the one that crashed. Is there anyplace that I can take them that would erase any personal info and maybe donate them to charity?i wouldn't trust anyone to remove my personal info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Just purchased a new desktop, so now I have 2 old PCs, 2 monitors, keyboards, speakers, etc. that I need to dispose. One PC works, the other one crashed on me, but since I am not computer savvy, it's possible that it could be fixed. I hate to just throw them away, esp. because I don't want anyone to get any personal info that may be in the one that crashed. Is there anyplace that I can take them that would erase any personal info and maybe donate them to charity?Reformat the hard drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Reformat the hard drives.You can still get the data.Smash the drives into little pieces with a sledgehammer, or just keep them in a drawer somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 You can still get the data.Smash the drives into little pieces with a sledgehammer, or just keep them in a drawer somewhere.Yeah, but most tech-savy folks don't bother hanging out at Salvation Army or Goodwill. The risk is negligible....having said that, I've always run a large speaker magnet over mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 If you take a drive all the way back to zeros (I always rewrite a drive to zeros, as in "Government Wipe") even a data forensics expert can't get anything off of them. This removes any hidden partitions and finds any bad sectors, if any exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasArchitect Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Just purchased a new desktop, so now I have 2 old PCs, 2 monitors, keyboards, speakers, etc. that I need to dispose. One PC works, the other one crashed on me, but since I am not computer savvy, it's possible that it could be fixed. I hate to just throw them away, esp. because I don't want anyone to get any personal info that may be in the one that crashed. Is there anyplace that I can take them that would erase any personal info and maybe donate them to charity?hi native houstonian, lets see to answer ur questions:depending on the crash it may be fixable. if u had a software crash then yup should be an easy fix. if u had a hardware crash then that could be a lil bit tough.definately re-format ur hard drive so that ur personal info can be deleted. u can do that using the start up disk. or u can use a strong magnet and run it over the hard drive to erase all info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 If you take a drive all the way back to zeros (I always rewrite a drive to zeros, as in "Government Wipe") even a data forensics expert can't get anything off of them. This removes any hidden partitions and finds any bad sectors, if any exists.Oh yes you can...there's still residue of the original data between the tracks.The only way to be completely sure is to destroy the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I'm not going to get into a long debate on formatting, but when you return all sectors to "zeros" there is nothing usable left. This residue you speak of is of no use to anyone, some people refer to this as digital warrens, with in most instances really only exists in partition slack, which is null and void once all sectors are returned to zero and all hidden partitions are removed. It removes all partitions, data, programs, master boot records--everything--from every brand and capacity of disk. In a Linux environment even a command of: (dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda bs=1024 count=1024) will sufficiently wipe it enough to make even the best thieves pull their hair out trying to recover something usable. In windows the is a fine little prog called "DBAN" that is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction. DBAN is a means of ensuring due diligence in computer recycling, a way of preventing identity theft if you want to sell a computer, and a good way to totally clean a Microsoft Windows installation of viruses and spy-ware. DBAN prevents or thoroughly hinders all known techniques of hard disk forensic analysis. There are way too many easy prey out there the will simply hand over their info intact, without all the extra work. Less you forget a thief is lazy and doesn't want to work to begin with, they prey on the weak and susceptible. Hey burn the thing if you really feel you have to, but there are many charities that take in old PCs and clean them up and get them to less fortunate kids that would have nothing otherwise. Check around town I am sure there is a community center or something that could use the PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 There is simply no need to put your data at risk. While smearing zeros (or random jibberish) across the entire drive will deter most people, it won't deter everyone, and there's no telling what the future might hold in terms of new tools and techniques to ease the recovery of previously unrecoverable data. Smashing the drive to pieces is forever.Moreover, any idiot with a hammer can physically destroy a hard drive. Not everyone has the technical werewithal to properly carry out wiping techniques. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Keep the monitors. One computer running 2 or 3 monitors is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmancuso Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 i'll take them. i fix old PC's and give them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted June 2, 2007 Share Posted June 2, 2007 Lookie what I ran across just a minute ago:http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/tec...00&fsrc=nwlFrom the article:Experts say there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmancuso Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 unless the computer has top secret government files or access to financial assets, you don't have to worry about anyone going to any lengths to recover data of an old hard-drive. a simple deletion of the partition, creating a new one and then installing a fresh copy of windows is perfectly fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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