When Disposing of an Old Computer

|  Take great care to remove all your data and destroy the data on the computer to remove information related to your identity including credit card and username/password information.

. Double check the data transfer from the old computer to the new computer. After you are confident the data is on the new computer, remove all the data on the old computer using a disk-eraser software/utility. I have had great success with Killdisk.

. After running the disk-eraser software, remove the hard drive from the computer. Do this for laptop computers as well as desktop computers.

. Call a computer repair business to remove the hard drive. Expect the computer repair business to charge you the standard “bench” or hourly rate, but consider it worth the cost. Recently, I had the professionals at Scurlock Systems  remove hard drives from laptop computers.

I take an additional step in destroying my used hard drives; I drill a hole into the hard drive using a ½” drill bit.

When looking for an electronics recycler, an “erecycler,” Google “[city name] erecycler.” The search for City of Plano erecycling, found this website, City of Plano eRecycle.

The City website displays the various dates and locations accepting electronics. Additionally, you can have an electronics recycle professional come to you to retrieve hardware to be recycled.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I have used DFW Reclaimers, Inc. To have a service retrieve the hardware, you will either have to have a significant volume or pay for the pick-up service.

After recycling your hardware, review your old software to see what is useful or expired. Your goal in keeping software is to be able to identify all the software quickly in the event your new computer fails and requires rebuilding.