How to delete hard drive and dispose of a lap top?

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • lovemachine

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    17   0   0
    Dec 14, 2009
    15,601
    119
    Indiana
    I have an old Dell laptop. It has Windows XP, and I think I bought it 2005? Not sure, but it doesn't have wifi capability.
    I am wanting to get rid of it, but don't know how. I would also like to wipe out the hard drive.

    I do have pictures on it, but Internet Explorer is so out dated and slow on this computer, I'm unable to do anything to upload the pictures. And the CD burner is fried, plus it won't use a thumb drive.
    So, I'm not going to bother and try to keep the pictures. I may have print outs somewhere though.

    So how do I wipe out the hard drive? And how do I dispose of the lap top?
     

    Jeepster48439

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Jan 12, 2012
    1,902
    113
    Marion County
    Pull the hard drive out. If you're in the Indy area, I have an external hook-up for notebook/laptop drives that can be used to get files off and then wipe the drive. There is an electronics recycling on the SE side of Indy that will take the laptop free of charge. I think it is Green Wave.
     

    dsol

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    15   0   0
    May 28, 2009
    1,554
    48
    Jeffersonville
    I have disassembled mine just for fun, they have some nice rare earth magnets that are fun to play with. Then you can scratch up the platters, smack them around with a hammer, sand them, ect... or I have shot them up. That is fun too. A drill press through them several times will do it as well.

    I have the connectors to hook up the hard drive to another system and could recover the photos if you ever want to do that. I used to have a computer company, people and companies trusted me with their systems and data. What ever you do, do not simply throw it in the trash with the hard drive intact. If you format it, people with the right software (like me) can still recover the data. There are wiping programs, but if the drive/computer is old and obsolete, that is a waste of time, just physically destroy it with a hammer, drill press, .357 magnum, ect. If you need help removing it from the computer, there are plenty of you tube videos on how to change a specific laptop hard drive, a lot of them have strange locations for the drives.
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    Well, I live in town, so that would be frowned upon. And not to mention I sold my AR15 a little while back. So I have no rifle to even shoot it with.

    You are welcome to one of mine.

    Just :stickpoke:

    I would let one of the volunteers get your pics and wipe it for you.
    Then give it to "US".......Muwahahaha
     

    RustyHornet

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Jun 29, 2012
    18,477
    113
    Fort Wayne, IN
    Well, I live in town, so that would be frowned upon. And not to mention I sold my AR15 a little while back. So I have no rifle to even shoot it with.
    I'm sure there would be many people willing to lend a rifle for this occasion. Who will be frowning? How could anyone frown when explosives are involved? My brain does not compute this.
     
    Top Bottom