Two probably very dumb computer questions here.

[Dangerously Amused]

Hi, and thanks for stopping in!

I'm a pathetic, technology-challenged n00b with two really dumb computer questions, and I was hoping you might help me out (between guffaws at my cluelessness).


My mom recently bought her first Mac. She has an older PC and is concerned about how to get rid of the information on her hard drive. I'm a little concerned about using whatever program the computer has internally because I've heard stories about how you might think you've wiped the information off your hard drive, but you really haven't. I know there is software one can purchase for such things, but is there an easier, cheaper solution? My idea was to take the hard drive out, wail on it with a sledghammer on concrete for a good ten minutes, boil it in saltwater for maybe half an hour, dry it off and then douse it in vodka ('cuz it's cheaper than gasoline around here) and light it on fire, perhaps tossing in a few Peeps for good measure. But I'll bet some of you computer nerds geniuses have better ideas, right? :7


Also, what is best to do with an 11 year old, damn slow, virus infected yet relatively functional computer? Donate it? Trash it? Shoot it?


Thanks in advance for your kind assistance.

[ZombieNixon]

1. I am a computer nerd, and I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment!!

:7

If there's nothing on the old computer she wants to save, then, yes, go the sledgehammer, vodka and Peeps route. :evilgrin:

As to the second question...well, if I had the video of me throwing one of the machines you describe off the roof of my high school in 10th grade, I would post it. It was a blast! :D

[Gatchaman]

2. An 11 year old computer ain't worth much

Take the hard drive out and just put it in a box and forget about it. It'll be a damn small one anyhow. If you stick it in a box in the basement or the bottom of the closet, the data will be safely out the hands of evil doers. As for the computer, Goodwill has technology stores they send this type of thing to. Someone with a hard drive who has no computer will be very happy to find it there.

[Dangerously Amused]

8. That's what I was wondering,

...if a charity or someplace would even be interested in the rest of the parts, as old as they are, but given that they are working and all. The Goodwill where I live won't take computers though (I already checked). I'm guessing they don't want to accidentially be in possession of somebody's kiddie porn or something. Oh well, I'll keep poking around and see if I can find a charity on the net. Thanks for the help!

[Dangerously Amused]

7. You laugh now, but I am just bored and maybe crazy enough

...to actually go the sledgehammer, saltwater, vodka and Peeps route.




AH HA HA HAAAAAA! DIE STUPID HARD DRIVE, DIE!!!!

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

10. Magnets. I'd reckon sticking some good, super magnets to the sucker

will render it pretty inoperable, although, I've never actually tried it myself

[Dangerously Amused]

17. How strong do the magnets have to be?

I have some on the fridge...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. Smash it.

While playing "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta."

It's the only way. Trust me...

:argh::argh:

[Dangerously Amused]

9. Ah, the voice of experience.

:patriot:


I like the way you think!

:7

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. It's actually from the movie "Office Space"

when they smash the fax machine with baseball bats. That being said, I'm really, really trying to convince my friend Erec to do that to his dead laptop with me.

[Hugin]

4. My only addition would be to bury the scattered parts at the four corners

of the compass during a full moon.

I used to run a big old magnet over my old drives and then
throw them in a vat of molten steel.

[Dangerously Amused]

13. Damn! All my compasses are round.

And I don't have a big 'ol magnet either, AND I'm fresh out of molten steel. :cry:


Hey, wait! How about if I put the hard drive in a vat of water, start up my car, connect one set of the jumper cable ends and put the other ends into the hard drive soup. Would that be kind of like a magnet?

[jukes]

5. REALLY...STRONG...

MAGNET...

[Dangerously Amused]

16. You mean like...

...THIS strong?





Now I just have to figure out a way to conceal it under my gown. Hmmm...

[lpbk2713]

6. It's true that when you "delete" something

that what you are doing is removing the storage info the PC needs to locate a given file. The file remains intact until it is written over with new data because that space is no longer "reserved".

If I wanted to discard a hard drive (or floppies, or CDs or any other storage medium) I'd soak it in a solution of Drano and water overnight. And certainly keep it out of the way of pets and kids.

[Dangerously Amused]

18. Sounds like a good idea. After all, what could possibly go wrong...?

AAAAAHH! RUN! Run for your LIVES!













But seriously though, thanks for the idea!

[Guy Fawkes]

12. This is an awesome thing to do:

There are two things you need to know about hard-drives before you set one on fire. First: the disks where the info is stored are so perfect that they create a vacuum when you take them off the holder and put them together. The surfaces are amazing. Second: the reader-arm is magnesium, and burns bright enough to score out your eyes.

So: take apart the drive, being very carefull to not scratch the disks. Sweet.

Then burn the reader arm, being carefull not to look directly at the flame.

[Dangerously Amused]

20. Are you saying that if I don't take the drive apart first it might

EXPLODE ?!?


:scared:

[Guy Fawkes]

24. not explode...

but common, its magnesium! You can do all sorts of cool (read: stupid) stuff with it... like light thermite. If you have some just, ya know, laying around.

[billyskank]

14. Burning it will be sufficient

the sledgehammer is purely optional. Only if you really want too...

[Dangerously Amused]

21. Oh, but I DO!

I really, really do!










See, the sledgehammer and the raging inferno were really more for my benefit all along... shhhh

[TheBaldyMan]

15. d/l a bit of freeware that scrambles the disk info. this will stop all

attempts to recover the data (if you repeat the process two or three times it's a bit of overkill but definately a belt and braces approach). then you can re-use the disk as normal, format it and use the clunky old thing as an emergency back-up wordprocessor or something.

[Dangerously Amused]

22. That sounds like a good idea.

Do you happen to know the name of the freeware?


Thanks!

:7

[TheBaldyMan]

26. there are a few at the nonags.com freeware site

try this link for all the freeware for recyling disks

and this points to the Google page for disk/computer recycling freeware sites

[Mutley]

19. Well, I'm no computer genius

but the sledgehammer thing sounds like fun. :D

[Dangerously Amused]

23. Oh yeah it does! Gotta get my Gallagher on!

[Briarius]

25. the sledge probably won't do too much

at least that was my experience...