What to do with my old computer?

[Harold Mansfield]

Now that I have everything running from my new computer and all of the files are successfully transferred over, I don't log into the old computer anymore at all.

So what to do with it?
I don't want to give it away because it still works and I already have a back up drive on the new computer.
I'm sure there must be something that I can do with it that will be productive in some way.

What do you guys do with your old computers?

[cbscreative]

Test machine...by keeping some older technology around, it makes a great way to test any design or code and see how it looks on a machine other than your own.

[Harold Mansfield]

Test machine...by keeping some older technology around, it makes a great way to test any design or code and see how it looks on a machine other than your own.

Will there really be any difference if both machines are on the same connection, and have the same sized monitors?

[cbscreative]

Hardware and OS can still make a difference. That and keep it running the older browsers as long as it doesn't pose a security risk. Sometimes, it can be surprising what you learn.

[Spider]

You could use it as a door stop when the weather's nice!

[Harold Mansfield]

You could use it as a door stop when the weather's nice!

I already have a netbook that I use for that. Fried the motherboard the first month I had it.

[Steve B]

I'm sure a local school or church might really appreciate it if you can't think of anything.

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm sure a local school or church might really appreciate it if you can't think of anything.

I'm really uneasy giving away a computer that I have used for so many personal and financial transactions.
I know that you can wipe it and revert it back to out of the box status, but I also know that you can recover that information if you really want to or at least enough of it.
The only way a computer of mine will leave my possession is if I remove all memory and destroy the hard drive.

[Steve B]

Can't you just replace the hard drive? Is the Ram really vulnerable for someone to pick up your old data?

I guess I live a boring enough life that I wouldn't really worry that much even if someone was able to restore my whole computer. I don't have anything on it that would cause a real problem.

[Spider]

My understanding is, if you delete data from a disk (harddrive or removable) only the first bit is removed which leaves the remaining data intact until it is overwritten with subsequent data. The first bit is what tells the writing head to stop and go somewhere else or continue writing. That's if you delete.

But, if you re-format and restore to original manufacturers status, the data on the disk is totally removed. It's the re-format that wipes it clean. You might want to check that, but I believe that is correct. I think you have to do a "reformat and restore" combination, otherwise you will have nothing on the disk to drive the computer to do the restore.

Certainly there will be a way to totally remove data from a disk. This isn't the first time someone has thought of donating their old computer to schools, charity or give it to another person.

[Harold Mansfield]

So with a reformat, it will still retain the necessary files to operate though, correct?


Can't you just replace the hard drive? Is the Ram really vulnerable for someone to pick up your old data?

I guess I live a boring enough life that I wouldn't really worry that much even if someone was able to restore my whole computer. I don't have anything on it that would cause a real problem.
Yeah, but I've been doing banking, money transfers...all of my FTP info and passwords have been typed in repeatedly. Credit Card info.
Pretty much everything.

I would need some D.O.D. program to feel somewhat safe in letting someone else tool around on it.
Especially kids. they are a lot more resilient and creative about doing mischievous stuff than I ever was.

I could see donating an office computer if I worked at a company, but not one that I do personal stuff on.

[Steve B]

I guess I'm missing something. If you reformat the drive - thus truly erasing everything (or replace the hard drive with a new one), what are you worried about ... regardless of what was ever typed into the computer in the past.

[Harold Mansfield]

I guess I'm missing something. If you reformat the drive - thus truly erasing everything (or replace the hard drive with a new one), what are you worried about ... regardless of what was ever typed into the computer in the past.

No you aren't. I'm the ignorant one here. I just don't know anything about it. Is a reformat truly erasing everything?
I've never had to do it before.

[Steve B]

That is my understanding - but, I know there are a lot more knowledgeable people than me on this topic. I could be wrong.

[Spider]

So with a reformat, it will still retain the necessary files to operate though, correct?No - I don't think so. That's why you need to reformat AND restore original specs as a single operation.

Why not call Geek Squad or some other Computer repair service and ask them. I'm only going on what I picked up eavesdropping on technical people - and you know what they say about a little knowledge!!!!

There is a way, for sure. And that means someone out there does it as a matter of course and can tell you definitely how to do it. Me? I don't open the hood of my car anymore - not since carburettors were replaced with fuel injection! But somone does.

And whoever you donate your old computer to will be grateful for you taking the time to find out.

[Business Attorney]

Reformatting a hard drive erases the drive's directory that points to the data but NOT the underlying data itself. Reformatting tells the computer that the spaces on the disk are empty and can accept data, but actually the spaces continue to hold the old data. It's similar to when you "erase" a single file; that file still is there. A hard drive does not really have an eraser mechanism. A knowledgeable technician can recover a substantial portion of the data even after the directory has been destroyed.

The only solution (short of taking a hammer and physically destroying the disk) is to overwrite the data with new information. The old 0's and 1's are now different. See Data remanence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_remanence).

There is inexpensive software that can do the overwriting for you.

[Harold Mansfield]

Very helpful. Thanks David.

[Spider]

Excellent! Glad you came along before I led the man too far astray. Not that he was likely to have taken my word for gospel after I warned him about carburettors and fuel injection units!

[bHIP Energy Blend]

Even if you reformat your computer, a PC Wizard could still obtain old information on your hard drive. The only way to erase the information on your hard drive is to magnetize it, that is, sticking a thick magnet against it. I would then shoot it and throw it in a fire...I like to play it safe.

[AaronConway]

So the question remains...what do you do with an old computer you no longer use? I have two old laptops and two old desktops and all work except for one of the laptops. I'm getting tired of these things taking up so much space. I've been deleting files and applications hoping to give them away but after all this talk I just want to bury them in my backyard. How would you safely dispose of an old pc?

Aaron

[billbenson]

Take the hard drives out and destroy them. A shotgun works well. Give the rest away on craigs list.

[Harold Mansfield]

Well at this point I still have the old computer networked with the new one since one of the programs I use just won't transfer the licensing over. I'm still uneasy giving it away to a stranger so I will probably hold on to it and when it's completely done, I'll probably destroy the hard drive and use the rest for parts since both are HP's.

A friend asked for my old one, but I just can't do it.

[Spider]

Either consider them so old the information on them, if read, will not hurt you, or get one of the applications mentioned here and fill the harddrive with 1s and 0s.

Then donate it to the Salvation Army, or any one of the local charities near you.

Or, search for a recycling center that wll break it down for parts.

I always consider them so old to be harmless and donate them to the Salvation Army. Nothing untoward has ever happened. I do use this as an excuse to change all my passwords, though - or at least the important ones.

[cbscreative]

I second what Frederick says (and David since he explained it well enough that I didn't need to comment). It's my understanding that if you use a software program to replace the deleted data with "dummy data" then the old data is actually gone. That's what I learned in tech classes anyway. And it makes sense since deleted data is only held for overwriting until new data it written. Once new data is written in the "space" where old data was deleted, then the old data IS actually gone.

It seems to me that no matter how old a computer is (within reason), someone will always want it. Donating is a good option IMO.

Taking the time to scramble the data on the old drive would be much better than giving a computer away without a hard drive. Chances are, anyone who needs an older computer would be more put out to have to purchase a hard drive. In addition, older computers have IDE (PATA) hard drives which are now harder to find (and often more expensive due to limited supply) because SATA is now the standard.

[billbenson]

When I was a kid my dad bought me a magnet. It was a horseshoe magnet that would lift 250 lbs or something like that. Got a feeling that would erase the HD as well. I used it for fishing for treasures in a lake near us. Pulled up a shopping cart once :)