[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] recycling computers

Drew King dking65 at kingconsulting.us
Mon Feb 20 12:15:35 PST 2023


There is another option.

Find, and take the PC's to a local computer group refurb shop.

Here, in Sarasota, our user group takes in used equipment, recycles what 
can't be used, and repairs & re-distributes what can be to those in 
need. Everything gets securely wiped for free.

https://www.thestug.org/refurb_files/refurb.html

Perhaps, some user group in your local area does the same.


Drew.


On 2/20/2023 3:00 PM, Ted Kochanski wrote:
> If you bake a computer in your oven -- I doubt that any recycler would 
> want to get the remnants from you
> There are plenty of things inside the computer and even inside the 
> Hard drive not compatible with that temperature
>
> If all you want to do is destroy the computer -- take the cord coming 
> from the power adapter to the computer and cut it -- then cut the cord 
> on the other side of the power adapter so that the power adapter is 
> not connected.  Now just splice the cords together -- don't worry 
> about the polarity
> Now plug the computer into the wall and stand back -- the 120 VAC 
> applied to the computer will fritz many if not all of the 
> semiconductors -- leaving a totally non functional smoking heap of stuff
>
> The data might still be on the disk platters of the Hard Drive but 
> without disassembling the drive and remounting the platters on a new 
> spindle with new heads there is no way to get to it
>
> Taking a drill and drilling through the hard drive is equally as effective
>
> But --why bother?
>
> Ted
>
> On Mon, Feb 20, 2023 at 2:05 PM Larry Wittig <9423lew at gmail.com> 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>
>     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> 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> wrote:
>
>                 For $39 I'd use my own hammer!
>
>                 On Mon, Feb 20, 2023 at 9:51 AM <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
>
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-- 
Drew King

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