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Storage: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive?

by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator - 11/14/08 12:32 PM
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Post 16 of 42

I too, I always keep old HDs

by Photogmomma - 11/17/08 11:27 AM In reply to: I always keep old HDs by andy419

I cant believe all these people are willing to waste perfectly good and working tech, all I can hope is that most of it is not true and just BS to try to sound cool. But seeing the plight that our world is in I expect I am wrong.

Its too easy to keep hard drives working well and and I have 10 year plus old drives that are working fine and either used everyday or as archive storage, and if you feel that you have to get rid of them use something like http://www.dban.org/ and give it to someone with a use for it.

Post 17 of 42

I recycled/donated it

by pyecheri - 11/15/08 1:37 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

I erased the hard drive with a free program called "eraser" and then put it up on Freecycle. It was gone in about 10 minutes (plus the time it took them to drive to my house).

Please keep electronics out of landfills.

Post 18 of 42

Keep it

by 0bucchr - 11/15/08 2:30 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

Take apart the old hard drive and keep the magnets - they're really powerful

Post 19 of 42

Hardware and ect,...

by Verherstraeten - 11/15/08 3:44 AM In reply to: Keep it by 0bucchr

My english is not good. C'est pour cela que je vais parler français (French). En Belgique tout les appareils electriques et électroniques sont recyclés, Ordi,hard disk, radio, TV, Frigo surgelator, absolument TOUT ce matériel, même les piles.
Voilà, nous devons allez dans un parc de recyclage.
Les plus gros appareils sont repris par les fournisseurs en cas d'achat.
J'espère que vous comprendrez, avec toutes mes amitiés.
Claude.

Post 20 of 42

Other--Sold it.

by sbill - 11/15/08 2:56 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

Every time I have upgraded to a newer/faster computer, I have resold the old one--with the hard disk, of course--so that someone else will be able to use it. Obviously, I reformat the hard disk and re-install the original operating system and application software before offering the PC up for sale.

It is a shame that people do not try to keep an old computer intact and resell/donate/give it away so it can remain useful and stay out of the landfill. Instead, many people focus on an unfounded paranoia that they need to keep or destroy the used computer--or at least the hard disk--thereby making the machine useless otherwise someone's going to "steal" their personal information. As long as you reformat the hard disk and reload the OS and application software, and personal data that might have been there will be overwritten. If this is not "insurance" enough, there are programs such as DBAN that will securely erase a hard disk, sufficient to meet government standards.

Post 21 of 42

Old Hard drive, I had no choice!!!

by fjif - 11/15/08 3:17 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

My only few months old laptop stopped working. It was still under guarantee from Lenovo. After much trying to fix it, and paying a local shop for diagnostics etc, I was told the hard drive was no good, and needed replacing. Lenovo would only replace it (under the guarantee) if I swapped the new one for the old - so I had to give it to the courier! I'll never know what happened to it.

Actually, thinking about it. This is bad of Lenovo :(

Post 22 of 42

Reused it. (How so?)

by simorag - 11/15/08 3:30 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

In the past I always sold to eBay! ;)

Post 23 of 42

Ended up giving it to the guy who wiped it

by JoMilton - 11/15/08 4:44 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

My old laptop was my first ever pc, and being a sentimental softhead I named him "Small Metal Tyrant", made him several sound themes, Borg, Christmas, Cartoons, and personalised just about everything I could. He was my favourite toy. Then he broke. He refused to boot up for hours after being turned off. I bought a new notebook, "Atilla" and tried to reformat the old notebook in case it might help the problem, but he refused to boot from the recovery cd, so I had to ask the nice geek in Cartridge World, and he has destroyed my poor notebook - total mind wipe. Completely empty hard drive, nobody home. A harsh penalty for his refusing to reformat.
I had wanted to donate the notebook, but the man who wiped him free of charge wants to use him for parts, or cost out repairs, reinstall Windows and let his daughter use him for homework.
I am in mourning. I feel as if I killed someone.

Post 24 of 42

reused it

by billiebob1872 - 11/15/08 5:17 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

i had about 6 old hard driesand only rcentl decidd o reue them i an old pent3 pc i built it is now a dv recorder for my survilance cameras and is currently got a hard drive memory of 220gig noa bad idea as one dv recorder with 160gig will set you back a least £200

Post 25 of 42

reuse again

by fauna99 - 11/15/08 5:27 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

I have drives from way back when;they get reformated and added as second drives or I use an adaptor to hook them in through a USB.
OF's never throw anything away. fauna99

Post 26 of 42

Reused as Slave drive in new computer

by doverton - 11/15/08 5:34 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

Just put it in my new computer as a slave drive. Very easy and cheap extra storage. Made copying data to new computer a snatch.

Post 27 of 42

I tear down

by Willy - 11/15/08 7:46 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

I disassemble the HDs and part out the metal to be recycled. The HD platters themselves get used in "scarecrow" tactics plus make great wind chimes. Unfortunately other people do too and steal mine. -----Willy :)

Post 28 of 42

Always room for one more...

by FayeKinnit - 11/15/08 8:31 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

If always reuse it! I wipe it an Acronis utility then stick it in another one of the household computers as a spare. Handy for keeping all the music or pictures whatever on. Sometimes I'll use it for trying out a new OS like linux without having to mess with what is on the main drive. Or just throw it in my troubleshooting pc to play with. They have even come in handy to put in a friends computer if they have a failure and have to wait while ordering a new one. If I finally have to face the fact its dying I'll wipe it and trash it.

Post 29 of 42

Other

by gunillak - 11/15/08 10:22 AM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

I sold my last computer, iMac, to a friend because I was interested in buying a newer model, iMac Intel.
As far as I understand he is very satisfied with it.
//Gunilla

Post 30 of 42

Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive?

by swamprat - 11/15/08 1:37 PM In reply to: Poll: What did you do with your last old hard drive? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator

Last time I took two unusable boxes to a local PC repair shop and had them build me a new one. They took the old ones stripped them and used the good parts to help repair Katrina damaged units in Mississippi.

The guys at microsource used some software app that tests and overwrites the drives. As the drives tested OK, they were reused helping someone else.

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