Throwing out old computer

Which is the best way to eliminate everything from the hard drive of my old
computer?

"najal" wrote in message
...
Which is the best way to eliminate everything from the hard drive of my
old
computer?

Smash, and then burn the broken hard drive parts, is the surest method, and
it costs nothing.

I would suggest downloading the free 30 day trial version
of Iolo's excellent DriveScrubber and using it:
http://www.iolo.com/ds/index.cÂ*fm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...xp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"najal" wrote:

| Which is the best way to eliminate everything from the hard drive of my old
| computer?

But he said he was "Throwing out old computer" in the subject line.
Therefore, to be very sure, literally destroying the drive is the best way.
Even drive erasers that you recommend, are not full proof.

"Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote in message
...
I would suggest downloading the free 30 day trial version
of Iolo's excellent DriveScrubber and using it:
http://www.iolo.com/ds/index.c*fm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...xp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"najal" wrote:

| Which is the best way to eliminate everything from the hard drive of my
old
| computer?

Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your safety
glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the daylights out of it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a scrubber, but is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off for this
years taxes.

"najal" wrote:

Which is the best way to eliminate everything from the hard drive of my old
computer?

Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your safety
glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the daylights out of
it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a scrubber, but
is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off for this
years taxes.

"shakey" wrote in message
...
Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your safety
glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the daylights out of
it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a scrubber, but
is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off for this
years taxes.
charities may not want but what about grand child,niece ,nephew, or a
neighbors
child.I take great pleasure in passing my old puters on I also collect and
repair
old pc's to pass on. a young child does not care that computer is old and
slow
(to them it is fast and new) if it is good enough to play a few games it
will give them
years of enjoyment scrub drive and pass on

"mo" wrote in message
...

"shakey" wrote in message
...
Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your safety
glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the daylights out
of it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a scrubber, but
is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off for
this
years taxes.
charities may not want but what about grand child,niece ,nephew, or a
neighbors
child.I take great pleasure in passing my old puters on I also collect and
repair
old pc's to pass on. a young child does not care that computer is old and
slow
(to them it is fast and new) if it is good enough to play a few games it
will give them
years of enjoyment scrub drive and pass on


If somebody wants to give the computer to someone else, they're really
better of formatting the drive and giving it away with the OS included. (and
the drive, and the disks themselves) Otherwise the cost of a hard drive and
then trying to find an OS that will work with the machine will be more cost
and trouble than the computer is worth.

I know many, many charities that will take 600mhz system.

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"shakey" wrote in message
...
Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your safety
glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the daylights out
of
it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a scrubber, but
is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off for
this
years taxes.

I'm using an old 233mhz in my office for my accounts, and it's on my LAN
and works ok!

--
Kath Adams
MS MVP - Windows (IE/OE)
In memory of Alex Nichol

Harry Ohrn wrote:
I know many, many charities that will take 600mhz system.


"shakey" wrote in message
...
Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your
safety glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the
daylights out of it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a
scrubber, but is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off
for this years taxes.

I keep a couple of old boxes around just so my wife loses count and I can
get away with a new computer for months before she catches on. bg

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)
"Kath Adams" wrote in message
...
I'm using an old 233mhz in my office for my accounts, and it's on my LAN
and works ok!

--
Kath Adams
MS MVP - Windows (IE/OE)
In memory of Alex Nichol

Harry Ohrn wrote:
I know many, many charities that will take 600mhz system.


"shakey" wrote in message
...
Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your
safety glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the
daylights out of it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a
scrubber, but is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off
for this years taxes.

In ,
Harry Ohrn typed:

I know many, many charities that will take 600mhz system.


Not to mention individuals. My wife runs on a 400MHz machine, so
a 600MHz would be a step up for her.


--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


"shakey" wrote in message
...
Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a
win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in
message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and
replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on
your
safety glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack
the
daylights out of it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a
scrubber, but is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the
chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write
off
for this years taxes.

Ken, here is an item everyone must have in his computer room.
http://dvdrewinder.com/index.php?mai...roducts_ id=1

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)
"Ken Blake" wrote in message
...
In ,
Harry Ohrn typed:

I know many, many charities that will take 600mhz system.


Not to mention individuals. My wife runs on a 400MHz machine, so a 600MHz
would be a step up for her.


--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


"shakey" wrote in message
...
Best to toss it after that, Charities do not want it. I have a win 95
machine and a Win98 - 600mhz chine and no one will take.
SG
"Hunter B" wrote in message
...
Open up the case and remove the hard drive. Close case and replace
screws.
Place hard drive on hard surface (outside is best). Put on your
safety glasses and grab your 20 lb sledge hammer. Now wack the
daylights out of it
so nothing is left. That is the best way. You can try a
scrubber, but is
your data really gone? Do you really want to take the chance? I
wouldn't.
Now donate your old computer to a good cause and get a write off
for this years taxes.

If you are going to donate or sell your computer all you need to do is
wipe the disk. Eraser by Sami Tolvanen is one of the best of these
programs and it's free: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

In essence what these wipe utilities do is write a series of zeros and
ones over all the free space on your disk. The wiping program can be
set to do the same operation more than once, that's called a "pass". A
3 pass wipe is usually more than enough. US Department of Defense
specifies a series of 3 wipes 7 times. One of the most secure wipe is
the Gutmann shredding sequence, 35 passes. You should be aware that
wiping a drive is a time consuming process, the bigger the drive and the
greater the number of passes the more time it will take.

I can assure you that with a 3 pass wipe no one will be able to retrieve
anything from your drive unless they hire data recovery specialists and
spend thousands of dollars, and even then they may recover nothing. I
can further assure you that with a DOD or Gutmann wipe no one will be
able to retrieve anything unless they spend tens of thousands of dollars
and even then they may be left empty handed with empty pockets! Unless
you work for the CIA or MI5 and have state secrets on your drive no one
would bother spending that kind of money trying to retrieve anything
that might turn out to be nothing more than emails to Grandma and a list
of your favorite recipes, if they indeed can recover anything.

Of course, if you're in the paranoia crowd then get out your sledge
hammer and don't forget to completely burn the pieces after you're
finished smashing, because these bits and pieces of drives can be
inspected with special microscopes and data can be revealed, best to be
thorough with this. If you're going to be paranoid you best be
completely paranoid.

John

najal wrote:

Which is the best way to eliminate everything from the hard drive of my old
computer?

""John John" wrote in message
Unless you work for the CIA or MI5 and have state secrets on your drive no
one
would bother spending that kind of money trying to retrieve anything
that might turn out to be nothing more than emails to Grandma and a list
of your favorite recipes, if they indeed can recover anything."

Are you implying that my recipes are not priceless? Lol
SG