Protocol for getting rid of an old computer

[Stevie1der]

I have a Dell desktop that I used through college until about 2008.  I want to get rid of it, but I'd like to wipe the hard drive first, as this is the first machine that probably has a lot of personal information on it that I saved indiscriminately in weird places because I was a dumb college student.  Anyone have any recommendations for good software available either for purchase or free online that could wipe my computer and allow me to leave my Jenna Jameson phase once and for all?

 

[Adrian's Dome]

Wouldn't it be a lot more fun to Office Space it?

 

[Curll]

Remove the HDD, store it somewhere. 
 
Dispose of computer as you wish.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

What they said. Unless you have plans for the desktop, or unless the hdd is somehow of value: pull the hdd and use it for target practice.

 

[canderson]

I use old HDDs as stress relievers for either target practice or taking an axe to them.
 
Drilling them can be relaxing as well.

 

[Darnell's Son]

Get a gun.

 

[Corsi]

 

[steeplechase3k]

http://www.dban.org/ 

 

[ifmanis5]

Return it to the bounty of the sea?

 

[Moosey]

Software that does DoD level scrubbing, or at least claims to is a decent bet if you dont want to rip the hard drive out.  Just google some reviews to find one you might like, I haven't used one in about 7 years thus I do not have a current recommendation.  That being said, the only way to truly destroy the contents of the disk is good old incineration.  So rip it out and go all super pyro on it.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

Return it to the bounty of the sea?

Nah, that didn't work for Charles Stuart & Co, tho it does tend to work better if a boat, rather than a bridge, is utilized......

 

[Stevie1der]

Thanks all.  I'm kind of wishing I had a done a poll now on choice of disposal, I had no idea the 'rip it out and destroy it' option would be so popular.

 

[Yaz4Ever]

Remove the HDD, store it somewhere. 
 
Dispose of computer as you wish.

 
 

What they said. Unless you have plans for the desktop, or unless the hdd is somehow of value: pull the hdd and use it for target practice.

 
 

I use old HDDs as stress relievers for either target practice or taking an axe to them.
 
Drilling them can be relaxing as well.

yup to the above
 
I've taken HDDs to the range, I've also beaten the hell out of them with a mini sledge.  Just be sure to copy anything you need/want first.  Once you use one of my methods, that data is gone for good.
 
btw, because I'm extra cautious, I dispose of the smashed/shot up HDD in separate trash receptacles in case someone is bored or desperate enough to try to salvage anything that can be saved.  I doubt they'd be able to, but it doesn't take much effort to go the extra step.

 

[ifmanis5]

Jenna deserved better- Viking Funeral.

 

[Moosey]

Jenna deserved better- Viking Funeral.

This would cover the incineration as well for a guilt free get away.

 

[Curll]

Thermite is a tried and true method
 

 

[SumnerH]

The need to do multipass scrubbing is wildly overstated on modern(ish) HDs. In the early 90s there were wider tracks and recovering older generations of data was somewhat possible (hence things like the Gutmann paper). With anything since 2000, it's not really an issue; even a single pass writing over everything and it's effectively gone (especially since it's not the NSA coming after you with unlimited resources that you're worried about).  http://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/16130-The-Urban-Legend-of-Multipass-Hard-Disk-Overwrite.html

 

[The Tax Man]

Once you take adequate steps with the hard drive, lots of Best Buys have recycling for older computers. 

 

[Billy Jo Robidoux]

Blast it with piss.

 

[Moosey]

The need to do multipass scrubbing is wildly overstated on modern(ish) HDs. In the early 90s there were wider tracks and recovering older generations of data was somewhat possible (hence things like the Gutmann paper). With anything since 2000, it's not really an issue; even a single pass writing over everything and it's effectively gone (especially since it's not the NSA coming after you with unlimited resources that you're worried about).  http://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/16130-The-Urban-Legend-of-Multipass-Hard-Disk-Overwrite.html

 
 
I would move your dates a bit there.  I routinely pulled files off scrubbed hard drives b/w 2002-2006, which suggests it had more to do with the scrubbing done versus the HD.
 
And yes I hesitated posting this since that came from Sumner.

 

[SumnerH]

 
 
I would move your dates a bit there.  I routinely pulled files off scrubbed hard drives b/w 2002-2006, which suggests it had more to do with the scrubbing done versus the HD.
 

 
I'm guessing the files weren't overwritten.  If you just delete them or format the drive, the data's still there for the picking; that's still true today.  
 
Even prior to then, if the files were actually overwritten then pulling data off wasn't something you did with Norton or a hex editor, it was something you did by opening up the drive and looking at the platters with an electron microscope or using purpose-built hardware to read between the tracks.

 

[Moosey]

Right, I'm just saying a lot of programs claimed to overwrite and didn't, leaving the data vulnerable and recoverable.

My hope would be most actually do what they tout today.

 

[SumnerH]

Right, I'm just saying a lot of programs claimed to overwrite and didn't, leaving the data vulnerable and recoverable.

My hope would be most actually do what they tout today.

Windows has included a utility for wiping deleted files since 2001.  
 
Lazy way: Delete all the files you care about (e.g. the entire user directory and temp directories), reboot, then run "cipher /w:c" (or whatever drive letter) to ensure that all free space is overwritten.
Right way 1: Put the drive in another machine, delete all files, run "cipher /w:d" (or whatever drive letter) to wipe the whole drive.
Right way 2: Boot with a linux thumb drive and do "sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512" (or whichever device; sda is the first entire hard drive, sdb for the 2nd, sdc for the 3rd, etc) to clobber the entire disk.

 

[The Napkin]

donate it to the irs. they'll make sure it's wiped clean.

 

[caminante11]

Windows has included a utility for wiping deleted files since 2001.  
 
Lazy way: Delete all the files you care about (e.g. the entire user directory and temp directories), reboot, then run "cipher /w:c" (or whatever drive letter) to ensure that all free space is overwritten.
Right way 1: Put the drive in another machine, delete all files, run "cipher /w:d" (or whatever drive letter) to wipe the whole drive.
Right way 2: Boot with a linux thumb drive and do "sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512" (or whichever device; sda is the first entire hard drive, sdb for the 2nd, sdc for the 3rd, etc) to clobber the entire disk.

 
I need to do this for an old computer running Windows XP.  For the lazy way, when do I run "cipher /w:c"?  From a runtime window after logging in?  I need to erase the C drive.

 

[SumnerH]

After erasing the stuff that needs to be gone, reboot, open up a cmd window, and run the cipher command.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Once you take adequate steps with the hard drive, lots of Best Buys have recycling for older computers. 

 
Try not to have your computer end up in Africa or SE Asia (that's where over 1/2 of US's e-waste ends up).  Here's a report from 2013 that discusses who does what.  Best Buy is probably the best place for monitors, unless things have changed over the last 15 months.
 
http://www.electronicstakeback.com/hold-manufacturers-accountable/retailers-recycling-report-card/full-report-card/

 

[caminante11]

After erasing the stuff that needs to be gone, reboot, open up a cmd window, and run the cipher command.

 
Thank you.  I tried it and get the message windows cannot find 'cipher'.  What to do now?

 

[caminante11]

 
Thank you.  I tried it and get the message windows cannot find 'cipher'.  What to do now?

 
I have found a program called eraser that seems to be doing the job.