We have an older MAC, probably around 1999-2000, not sure. I replaced it 4 years ago with a large MAC and my wife has ordered a new non-MAC Laptop which will live where the old Mac currently resides.

So, I wanna get rid of the oldest one. I was gonna beat it to pieces with a hammer, stuff it in a garbage bag and .... But as I understand it, it's illegal to do so. Haven't actually checked that out yet.

So, there's places around here that want to recycle my electronics. But, what about the date I've slopppily left all over that old thing. Still got the same bank account, same passwords, same everything.

Okay, I read on the internet (yeah, I know, it's gotta be true) that all I need to do is erase, disconnect, back out and/or close out anything like bank info, passwords and other stuff then look for a place on the thing to restore factory setting, if there is one.)

Plus, I'm ignorant about computer stuff and just don't have the knack, talent or sense when it comes to that stuff. It almost always goes south when I touch it if it's electronic.

So-what do you think I should do with this old computer? I no longer have a boat, so a trip out in the Gulf is out, and they won't let me take it to the range and shoot it full of holes.

I'd love to recycle it and the Salvation Army says they'd take it, but the data on it causes me concern.

Bob

Why would it be illegal to destroy it? I would destroy it personally. You live near Tampa Bay, if you have access to saltwater, just submerge it for an hour, then throw it out, that should killify everything in it (hard drive). Or just remove the hard drive and give the rest of it away.

Personally with my old equipment, I remove and destroy the hard drive (obviously after making copies and moving everything off of it), and sometimes (while I'm already in there) drive a scratch awl through the CPU. At that point the PC is truly worthless for anything other than scrap, so I drop it off at one of the local recyclers.

Not illegal to destroy it, illegal to put it in the garbage. Kind of conflicting info on the county's gargage site, so gotta call'em tomorrow.

Take the hard drive out and sell the rest as a parts mac?

I usually just stack my old hard drives in the closet and if I ever need anything, i go digging.

Pull the hard drive, and destroy it. Donate the rest if the computer, or put a fresh drive in it and give it to someone.

You would be amazed at what can be recovered even after a fresh install of the operating system.

Run a thorough drive wiping program like DBan to completely wipe and overwrite all the data on the hard drive, then take everything to the donation/recycling/disposal place. https://dban.org/ In order to do this, you'll need to download Dban, and then use an ISO burning program to create a boot disk or thumb drive with DBan on it: https://www.lifewire.com/how-t...e-using-dban-2619148

Or, if you don't want to do that (or aren't computer savvy enough to do that), you can pull the hard drive out and physically destroy it, using bullets or a drill to poke large holes in the platter, throw away the hard drive remnants, and take everything else to the donation/recycling/disposal place.

Just put it in your spare bedroom and let your heirs deal with it when you die.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
Pull the hard drive, and destroy it. Donate the rest if the computer, or put a fresh drive in it and give it to someone.

You would be amazed at what can be recovered even after a fresh install of the operating system.

There's a data protection service I know of that turns old HDs into powder. Just about the only way to keep people from lookin at yer bits.

No, physical destruction isn't the only way.

There are programs out there (like the aforementioned Dban) that repeatedly wipe and randomly overwrite the hard drive, rendering any prior data completely unrecoverable.

Hard drive data that is simply "deleted" is recoverable. But data that is deleted and then the 1s and 0s are overwritten (especially several times) is not recoverable.

I pull the hard drive and put a few 9mm rounds through it. Works for me.

I remove the hard drive then drop the rest of the chassis at the local electronic recycling place so they can recover the metals.

sometime ago I was presented with a desk top w/tower/monitor that a friend had purchased from a local government surplus auction. He had purchased a pallet stacked full. he planned to scrap/recycle and while doing it he made one operational and gave it to me. Now I knew nothing and I mean nothing about computers but someone forgot about stored data that I somehow found of juvenile court records and immedately had friend come and remove that computer from my possesion. Supposidly they were cleaned prior to putting up for auction. .................. drill sgt.

Remove the hard drive to be destroyed, then put it back together and leave it in the back of the truck overnight. It will be "gone" by morning.

Thanks for the info. Not sure I understood it all, but digesting it.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK

Hard drive data that is simply "deleted" is recoverable. But data that is deleted and then the 1s and 0s are overwritten (especially several times) is not recoverable.

The key to that is the overwritten part. That’s where it becomes impossible.

remove the hard drive. Destroy it. If I'm not pressed for time I normally shoot them (this is after all sigforum) but a couple of holes drilled in it is fine. The NSA is not going to tackle recovering it so an overwrite is just a PIA that's unneeded if you have physically made it unusable. recycle the rest.

If the computer is running and you have the patience to wait for the computer to wipe itself, then running DBAN from a USB stick would erase the drive irrecoverably.

If the computer is not running, pull the hard drive from the chassis and physically destroy the platters in the drive. Putting some dents into the housing of the drive with a hammer is insufficient. Find an appropriately sized screwdriver and dissemble down to the platter, and destroy the platter. I favor a torch and hammer.

Pull the hard drive and then do whatever you want with the computer.

Drill a few holes in the HD or just smash it.

What model old Mac? Is it in working order. You’d be surprised what old Macs can bring on the used market.