What do I do with an old computer?

For years I’ve been collecting computers and donating them to people and organizations that can use them.

There’s nothing I’d rather tell you than, “reformat, reinstall, and do various things to clear your hard drive before giving your computer to someone really needing the system" But from a small business and even a personal computer standpoint, I just can’t do it, Frankly because it's bad advice.

The steps required to properly dispose of all of the information on your computer properly are lengthy, sometimes complicated and mistakes can be made that put your personal and professional information at risk.

How many systems have I received from people that say their hard drive is clear and empty only to find that’s not the case? Way too many!

There’s just too much opportunity to do it incorrectly or partially and the risk can be huge.

My suggestion is to remove the hard drive from the system, then dismantle and destroy it.

It’s not what I would like to suggest, but it’s what I do with my recycled systems. It costs a little but buy a completely new hard drive.

The cost is nothing near what it could be if customer information got into the wrong hands.

Never ever give your hard drive away. Remove it, dismantle it, and destroy it.

If you're not sure how to remove, dismantle and destroy a hard drive drop us a line, we can walk you through the process or if you prefer the technology coach can properly dismantle and dispose of the system for you.