Safest way to dispose of non-bootable laptops?
 

What is the safest way to dispose of non-working laptops that may contain financial data on hard drives? Can computers shops be trusted? Don't want to get in a situation like a "certain politician's" son did.:smiley: When I was working, I would remove the drives and put them in one of the hydraulic presses at work.:smiley:

Wiping your hard drive on a Windows machine:

1) Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset PC.
2) Select Remove everything, and then Remove files and clean the drive.
3) Click Next, Reset, and then Continue.

As long as you select the "clean the drive" option there will be nothing recoverable left on the drive. It takes a while, but it overwrites all data portions of the drive.

No need to physically destroy the drive, and it can be reused.

The safest way is with a sledge hammer.

However, the OP titled the thread "Safest way to dispose of non-bootable laptops?"

Remove the drive and physically destroy it, the easiest method is an old flat blade screwdriver and hammer. Just drive it through the very thin cover and into the discs (not in the center where the motor is).

Drill a couple of holes in the hard drive.

Get an old cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 350. Put laptop on cookie sheet lined with tin foil for 45 mins. Tried and true recipe.

That’s exactly what I would do, then bag the pieces and toss it out with the trash.

install Linux Mint on it.
Just dl the iso. Install, wipes hard drive. Then you have a new secure PC
Easy to do, take you a half hour. Many YouTube install videos.

How do you do that when the laptop is non-bootable and non-working?

Kinda really means by non-working. If it turns on you can use my solution. If not, pull the drive and wait till garbage day and have the truck run over it.

Another poorly written original post that does not really explain the issue.

oh well....

Hard drives are easy to remove and destroy. Hope you have a backup for your info

There's a computer guy on 441 in the strip mall with Francesco's where I've taken some old laptops to get rid of. I think it is Troy's Computers. He said he'd remove the hard drives and destroy them but I had already removed them and taken care of it. Personally, I've helped several friends by bringing my toolkit over and taking their hard drives out for them to dispose of.

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You can do this and even format the drive, I will be able to pull all your data back. You can even wipe out the partition, I can pull back the data.

Only way is to physically damage the HD. Put a Nail thru it.

The OP said that he wants to dispose of the laptop. There is no need to remove the hard drive. Just smash the laptop a few times with a hammer, making sure the hard drive is bent and can no longer be used. Then, throw it in the trash. To me, that is a lot safer than turning the computer over to a stranger who could steal the data, or installing a software program that may not work.

I only have a few "critical" files which I routinely back up to an external drive.

The first one I opened had a solid-state drive which was easy to disable. I used to build desktops a few decades ago and remember that the drives back then were physically strong.

I would not want the toxic fumes in my oven. Use a grill maybe? Better yet, drill several holes through it.

OR ... Take the drive apart and remove the platter. Makes a great mirror. Boy Scouts are taught how to use it to signal for help when lost.

The magnets in it are also very strong. Nice to have on hand.

I convert old laptops to Linux. I can remove your old drive and put in an old drive with Linux. I'll show you how it works and show you how it works, that way you can keep your old laptop. Then I'll erase everything on your drive (and show that everything is gone) so I can use your drive on someone else's laptop. JoelJohnson530@gmail.com

My advice would be physically destroy the drive.

In my former life I managed data centers for a big insurance company, part of that work was to see that the old servers were destroyed and recycled. There was a pretty robust process to ensure we didn't destroy a drive accidentally, well one got through and made it's way into the press that bends the disc so it couldn't be read. The systems department realized their error in sending it to us and and asked for it back. I took it myself to their head, it was very bent up from the press. They took that drive to a magician and he retreaved the data. I would have bet anything that was impossible but they did it.

From that point on our presses were outfitted with a spike that went all the way through the drive so it have a big hole poked through it in addition to being bent up. A couple of years later I bought a big grinder and we sent them out as little pieces.

Obviously most places don't have those kind of resources but never say never.

cook
 

put drive in charcoal grill

After removing the drive and destroying it drop the laptop off at a recycling center. Look up on google the centers or stores in your area. Laptops contain dangerous materials - lead, mercury, etc.

I actually take my old hard drives apart and recover the battery that's in it. They'll pick up lots of stuff!! Then just take apart the housing and trash it. Of course, take the parts to the proper drop offs.

I have a very strong magnet that I move over the hard drive after I take it out.

This is incorrect. I was in IT for 40 years. As long as the wipe process OVERWRITES all date, there is no way to pull that data back.

Neither formatting or deleting a partition remove data so yes, in this case, data could be retrieved. If you wipe with full overwrite, it's impossible as the original data is no longer there.

One of my booger eater buddies told me a 'delete' or 'erase' just changed the first character of a packet with a wild card, if you go put the correct character back the data could be recovered. Is that accurate, or at least directionally correct?

Destroy the hard drive then put the laptop on the curb. Someone will pick it up. No longer your problem.

I remove the hard drive and then take laptop to recycle center like Best Buy. I purchase a SATA to USB case and use the hard drive as an external usb drive. About $12 on Amazon.

Once set up as usb drive you can easily wipe the drive completely clean.

Best answer IMHO. Take it apart. Remove the disc. Destroy the disc

Take the hard drive out. Take it to the shooting range as a target.

Theres gold in that laptop. I'll take it if you don't want it, minus the hard drive.

Wow, thank you for this. I've wondered the same thing that the OP did but had no idea what to do. Thank you!!

I've thought the same thing.

How long does it need to cool before slicing?

Hard drive should be copied that has all your Info on it. I have taken mine to Best Buy. I'm pretty sure Staples does that also.

The OP seem pretty clear to most...

Yes, a simple delete or erase doesn't actually delete the data, it just changes the header for the data so that the file doesn't show up to the OS, and the space on the drive is available for use. If the OS allocates that space and writes data, then the previous data is unrecoverable.

That is why I clear state that you need to do a full wipe which includes overwriting the entire drive with random 1's and 0's.

A normal format does not overwrite the data, a wipe does.

I shoot mine. 😎

I put my old laptop in a tub full of water & let it soak for two days (it wouldn’t turn on afterwards.). I like the hammer idea better, but I’d probably never damage the hard drive, just the casing.

I am a computer guy. There is one way. Hammer then fire.

Electronic equipment should never be tossed in the trash. On Sumter County hazardous waste collection days, they also collect computers and TV’s for safe recycling.