How to retire your PC?

[Tennis]

Let's say you want to get rid of your computer but there is personal information in it like photos. How do you clean this information permanently?

[WskyDK]

Pull the HDD apart, magnetize it, physically break it, sell/re-use the rest of the parts.



Edit: or just buy one of these http://ameri-shred.com/product-detai...ders-series-1/

[Schattenlied]

Take the drive(s) out, sell/trash the computer without it, put drive(s) in your new computer for extra storage.

If you don't want to do that for whatever reason, do what Wsky said.

[Dedweight]

Take the drive out, sell/trash the computer without it, put drive in your new computer for extra storage.

Otherwise, what Wsky said.

This, no need to destroy a perfectly good hard drive if you can use it in your next system. I'd also consider recycling it, depending on the age, if you have somewhere local that does electronic recycling.

[Sentynel]

If you're not going to reuse any component: Smash the HDD with a hammer. Sell the rest. Job done.

[alzoron]

I've really never retired a PC. I keep using the parts in some fashion until they break. In the case that something manages to outlive its usefulness I take it apart and salvage electrical components/magnets for other projects. The idea of buying an entirely new computer and getting rid of the old one is an alien concept to me. My current main PC is a frankenmonster composed of parts spanning nearly two decades.

[Sorshen]

Write zeroes, 2-3 passes.

[smackyslap]

This also works.

[Logwyn]

Pull the HDD apart, magnetize it, physically break it, sell/re-use the rest of the parts.



Edit: or just buy one of these http://ameri-shred.com/product-detai...ders-series-1/

Magnets don't work. Been tested. You can still pull data off the drive.

Better to use DBAN zero the drive and reuse it or zero it and drill it.

[Sunseeker]

Sledgehammer. It's cathartic.

[Vash The Stampede]

Honestly, just erase the drive with a special tool. Each hard disk maker has a special tool to zero-fill your hard disk. That should be fine from there.

[Akainakali]

If you're not going to reuse any component: Smash the HDD with a hammer. Sell the rest. Job done.

I did this once for giggles and those disks are surprisingly difficult to damage that way. Probably not to render beyond reading mind you, but it really isn't as easy as you might think to destroy them this way.

It was an old HDD though and might have thicker/stronger disks than new ones mind you. Also I wasn't using something with the size/mass of a sledgehammer.

[Protean]

Unless you have highly illegal things on the harddrive, just drilling through it or otherwise physically disabling it in some way will prevent people from taking a look at your "summer photos 2011."

By that I mean, the efforts of looking will outweight what they could find. Most reasonable humans wouldn't bother.

[Leyre]

Talk to the FBI, they'll help you dispose of it

[Lathais]

For people I know that have sensitive data, I pull the HDD and drill a hole through it then toss it. The rest I drop of at our cities hazardous waste if it no longer has decent re-sell value.

[Deleted]

Pull the HDD apart, magnetize it, physically break it, sell/re-use the rest of the parts.



Edit: or just buy one of these http://ameri-shred.com/product-detai...ders-series-1/

Drill through the hdd/ssd.

[Rotted]

Pretty much what whisky said, but I'd also go one step further and incinerate as much as I could

[cuafpr]

take it apart make coasters out of the platers to sell on etsy to help pay for new parts >.> (unless its an SSD)

[Axxy]

Or, buy a docking station for 1 or 2 (2.5" & 3.5") drives and use them as external storage. I now have SSD and 1Tb drive as extra storage.

[Nellah]

Magnets don't work. Been tested. You can still pull data off the drive.

Better to use DBAN zero the drive and reuse it or zero it and drill it.

Came here to say this, Darik's Boot-and-Nuke is great for this and leaves a usable blank drive.