How to dispose of old laptops?

[disneysteve]

I have several old laptops that I'm no longer using. What's the best way to clear any personal info and dispose of them in an environmentally-friendly way?

 

[Phroig]

Take them to Best Buy. We take the hard disk out, smash it, and put it in the trash.

 

[easysurfer]

Being the cheapskate that I am, if I'm not keeping the old laptop, can also take out the hard drive and use as external drives. As for the laptops, can take the to a place like Best Buy or Goodwill.

If you aren't paranoid, can also wipe the hard disk out with some wiping software and give that away with the laptops.

 

[Lorenzo]

We have a recycling place near us that takes uncommon items, including electronics of all types. Of course, either remove the hard disk or, if the laptop still works, use a wiping program. Interesting to learn that Best Buy takes them.

 

[disneysteve]

Any suggestions for a wiping program? These are all PCs, not Macs.

 

[jim584672]

If you use Linux:

Securely wipe disk​

Securely wipe disk - ArchWiki

wiki.archlinux.org

 

[cathy63]

Windows has a built in feature that will do a factory reset and one option is to rewrite the entire disk. It's good enough as long as you're not expecting the NSA to be the ones trying to recover your files.

I usually donate our old but working computers to someone who will use them. There's a homeless shelter nearby that has a tech room for people who want to apply for jobs or communicate with their families via email. They're happy to have any working computer.

 

[braumeister]

I've always taken old electronics to Staples for recycling.

 

[disneysteve]

Windows has a built in feature that will do a factory reset and one option is to rewrite the entire disk. It's good enough as long as you're not expecting the NSA to be the ones trying to recover your files.

I'll fire them up and look for that. It's probably been 2 years or so since I last even turned one of them on.

 

[Jerry1]

I'll fire them up and look for that. It's probably been 2 years or so since I last even turned one of them on.

I recommend turning your wifi off. If during startup the machine checks for updates, you might get into an endless update loop on an old machine. Pointless if all you want to do is decommission it. Starting in safe mode would probably accomplish the same thing.

 

[imjustawarrior]

I try to find someone who could use the laptop. I do a factory reset and give it away. I would rather have someone use it than just recycle it.

A few months ago I was able to give a laptop to my DD's friend who just started college and didn't have a laptop. It is a big heavy gaming laptop, but it is fast and still works quite well. Maybe lugging that beast around will help her not put on the freshman 15.

 

[Golden Mean]

We gave the GF's 2015 Macbook Pros (with bulging batteries) to a local Mac/Laptop repair shop. They wouldn't give us anything for them but we hoped they could use the parts for other's laptops.

 

[Texas Proud]

Around here they have 'shred' days where you can take your paper to get shredded... some of them include electronic recycling...

I have taken my stuff there as it is in the neighborhood...

 

[Al18]

After wiping you personal info, reset the operating system and sell the laptops on eBay.

 

[SecondCor521]

Lots of good options mentioned already.

Another one I have used at times is to donate electronic / technical goods to a local K-12 school. My state happens to provide a tax deduction for this as long as it is less than five years old and it is given to an in state school.

 

[big-papa]

I have several old laptops that I'm no longer using. What's the best way to clear any personal info and dispose of them in an environmentally-friendly way?

If the laptop no longer functions:
#1 we take the hard drive out & destroy it.
#2 Rest of the laptop goes to Goodwill.

If the laptop still functions, we do a complete disc wipe first and then send it on to Goodwill.

 

[rk911]

I always physically destroy the hard drive(s) and either give away the remains to anyone who wants it via Freecycle or simply take it to our local electronic recycle center.

 

[Jimmie]

I've used the free version of Darik's Boot and Nuke software for many years to reliably wipe hard drives. My brother made the mistake of just deleting his Documents folder thinking that would erase all his data, but someone was able to recover most of his personal files after dropping off his laptop with an electronic recycler. Long story short, that person was able to steal his identity.

Download Darik's ISO file to computer, burn the ISO file to a USB drive, restart computer to boot from USB drive, press F3 key, and follow the interactive screens to wipe all attached hard disk drives. Lots of YouTube videos available to provide simple step-by-step instructions.

 

[braumeister]

I've usually, not always, traded my laptops and iThings in to Apple when buying new ones. They generally give a fair price and a very easy process. Apple's price isn't normally the very best, but it's usually close.

But I recently bought a new Mini iPad, and was amazed that Apple wouldn't give me a penny for my old one. They just said I should send it in to them anyway and they would "recycle it responsibly."

Well, that wasn't going to happen. I checked a few other sources, and just received a check for over $500 from the one I sent it to.

Just a word to the wise here. There are at least half a dozen reputable companies that buy computer equipment and it's definitely worth getting quotes from a few of them.

 

[disneysteve]

If I turn on a laptop and it opens to the set up screen "Who's going to use this PC?" and such, does that mean I already wiped it previously? I vaguely remember doing that at some point on this unit.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've used the free version of Darik's Boot and Nuke software for many years to reliably wipe hard drives.

Me too. Used it for over a decade. Not sure if the new release is any good but the original (pre 2010 IIRC) was excellent and still works on today's disks.

If you use the 7 pass DOD standard option on DBAN, it will take several days to erase a 1g disk. (IIRC) The deal is, unless I'm planning on giving the PC away, I just use a 7.62 round from my AK and I'm done really quick.

 

[sdtech]

Take the hard drive out and hit it with a sledgehammer. Hate to admit it, but it feels kinda freeing.

 

[aja8888]

Take the hard drive out and hit it with a sledgehammer. Hate to admit it, but it feels kinda freeing.

That's what I do. I have a small 5 pound sledge for this purpose!

 

[frank05]

I’m amazed the number of people who still have internal hard drives in their computers.

 

[target2019]

If I turn on a laptop and it opens to the set up screen "Who's going to use this PC?" and such, does that mean I already wiped it previously? I vaguely remember doing that at some point on this unit.

If you choose to wipe the disk while reinstalling, then it is wiped.

I remove the drive, place it in a USB carrier, and use Windows or another program to wipe it.

The laptop goes to the next electronics recycling event for our county. The drives are still useful, so I utilize and store those.