Safely Donating or Disposing Old PCs

By: Gabriel Goldberg Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-03-20 12:11:00-05:00

Just as some people trade in their cars every few years, some of us buy new PCs fairly often. On the other hand, many AARP members keep cars until they die, and it's fine to use computers until they break or can't do what you need.

There are a few things to keep in mind when you decide to replace your computer. First, computers don't have much trade-in value and you may have to pay to dispose of a system that's more than a few years old. Second, you'll need to identify and copy personal files to the new PC. Third, you must protect yourself by removing any personal information stored on the old computer.

If you're not giving the old computer to someone you know, many local organizations will accept it as a tax-deductible donation if it's not too old. You can also give it away via Freecycle or sell it on the CraigsList for your area.

If your computing practices have been simple and you've saved your files to Windows' default location, My Documents, that may be the only folder you'll need to copy. But if you use other applications for personal accounting (e.g., Quicken) or photo manipulation (e.g., Photoshop), most of those applications store data in their own folders. You may also have Web browser bookmarks you'd like to keep. So, before it's time to move your data, list all programs that you use and note where they store your data. Many programs reveal their hiding places in Options or Preferences settings, as well as in their window's title bar. One important note here is that applications must be reinstalled on the new computer so you shouldn't copy any software program folders.

When the list is complete, there are many ways to move your data but you will need to take into account the types of external storage devices available on the new computer and whether or not they are compatible with those on the old computer. If the old computer has USB ports, you may be able to copy data onto a USB drive. These can be quite large, holding multiple gigabytes of data. You can also copy files onto CDs, which can also serve as a permanent archive after the files are copied to the new machine. Or you can install the old computer's hard drive into the new computer, making the data (but not programs) instantly available. There are also tools and products available to automate data migration.

You should uninstall all licensed software unless you're transferring it along with the computer, in which case you will also want to convey the software's CDs and manuals. However, many organizations prefer to reformat the hard drive to install their own standard software, so check before you give. Finally, unless you've removed the hard drive, you may want to keep the old system for a while in case you've forgotten about any data, application macros, or program settings you may later remember you need.

And last but by no way least, when discarding a computer, it's essential to scrub personal data more effectively than just deleting files, which actually doesn't erase the file contents from the hard drive. You may recall news stories that describe companies or government agencies being embarrassed by their data being found on their disposed or donated computers. While techies enjoy discussing exactly how to destroy hard drives (drilling holes in them, crushing them in hydraulic presses, drowning them, etc.), such extreme measures aren't necessary. You can reliably erase the entire drive with utilities such as Darik's Boot and Nuke, after which a clean copy of an operating system can be installed. You can also wipe files and sanitize hard drive space where files were stored with products such as Norton Utilities.