[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] recycling computers

Mon Feb 20 11:29:47 PST 2023

Afraid not.  All that does is mark the disk partitions as available for overwriting.  All the data was still there for someone with a disk recovery tool.

Overwriting data securely takes a while.

> On Feb 20, 2023, at 14:25, Frank Sandy <fsandy9 at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>     The last time I disposed of a PC I ran, from the command prompt:
> 
> Format  C: /P 
> 
>      It asked if the command should be executed on the next boot and I responded "yes".   It appeared to run as expected when I rebooted and I assume the /P option caused it to overwrite the whole partition.   The disk was then not bootable.   Am I correct that it was fully wiped?
> 
> Frank Sandy
> 
> On 2/20/2023 2:05 PM, Larry Wittig wrote:
>> If you're going to bake, as I suggested,it might be good to first remove the PCB.
>> 
>> On Mon, Feb 20, 2023 at 1:59 PM Larry Wittig <9423lew at gmail.com <mailto:9423lew at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>> One easy way to erase the HDD is to bake it in your oven -- say 400 degrees F for 1 hour.
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Feb 20, 2023 at 1:09 PM Ted Kochanski <tedpkphd at gmail.com <mailto:tedpkphd at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>> All,
>>>> 
>>>> It all depends on what is the sensitivity of the stuff on the disk -- if it is National Security stuff -- then crushing or grinding, melting, etc is what you to make sure nothing can be recovered
>>>> I we are talking bank accounts, and such that is far too too much effort for the reduction of risk -- there are commercial programs which do a fairly good job
>>>> 
>>>> for example the now Infamous Bleachbit
>>>> from the wikipedia article
>>>> BleachBit is a free and open-source disk space cleaner, privacy manager, and computer system optimizer. The BleachBit source code is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
>>>> 
>>>> History
>>>> BleachBit was first publicly released on 24 December 2008 for Linux systems.[3] The 0.2.1 release created some controversy[4] by suggesting Linux needed a registry cleaner.
>>>> 
>>>> Version 0.4.0 introduced CleanerML,[5] a standards-based markup language for writing new cleaners. 
>>>> On May 29, 2009, BleachBit version 0.5.0 added support for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.[6] 
>>>> On September 16, 2009, version 0.6.4 introduced command-line interface support.[7]
>>>> 
>>>> BleachBit is available for download through its website and the repositories of many Linux distributions.
>>>> 
>>>> www.bleachbit.org <https://www.bleachbit.org/>
>>>> Features
>>>> Identifying and removing Web cache, HTTP cookies, URL history, temporary files log files and Flash cookies for Firefox, Opera, Safari, APT, Google Chrome
>>>> Removing unused localizations (also called locale files) which are translations of software
>>>> Shredding files and wiping unallocated disk space to minimize data remanence
>>>> Wiping unallocated disk space to improve data compression ratio for disk image backups
>>>> Vacuuming Firefox's SQLite database which suffers fragmentation
>>>> Command line interface for scripting automation and headless operation
>>>> 
>>>> Written in	Python <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)>
>>>> Operating system <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system>	Microsoft Windows <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows>
>>>> macOS <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS>
>>>> Linux <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux>
>>>> Size <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_size>	11.5-12.2 MB <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megabyte> (Windows)
>>>> Available in	64 languages[2] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BleachBit#cite_note-2>
>>>> Type <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_categories#Categorization_approaches>	Disk cleaner <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_cleaner>
>>>> License <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_license>	GNU General Public License <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License>
>>>> Website	www.bleachbit.org <https://www.bleachbit.org/>
>>>> 
>>>> Ted
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Mon, Feb 20, 2023 at 12:30 PM Edward Lipman <edward.lipman at gmail.com <mailto:edward.lipman at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>> For $39 I'd use my own hammer!
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Mon, Feb 20, 2023 at 9:51 AM <jjrudy1 at comcast.net <mailto:jjrudy1 at comcast.net>> wrote:
>>>>>> FYI
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> A friend has two OLD laptops.  One with Windows XP, the other Windows 7.  I called both Staples and Best Buy both of which will take them (and a lot of other stuff) at no cost.  However it does not include wiping the disk.  Staples offers that service @$29 each, and Best Buy @39 each.  Neither could explain to me what a full erase means (for all I know they may open the case and use a hammer).
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> John Rudy
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> 781-861-0402
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 781-718-8334  cell
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 13 Hawthorne Lane
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Bedford MA
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> jjrudy1 at comcast.net <mailto:jjrudy1 at comcast.net>
>>>>>> <image001.png>
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>  
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