What to Do With Your Old Hard Drives

Posted on: October 12th, 2012 by Jana Hartwell | No Comments

Do you have one or more old computer towers hanging around?When I ask my clients why they are keeping these heavy, space-consuming chunks of metal, the reply is often…

“I want it gone, but I need the hard drive removed first.”  My next question is, “What do you wish to do with the hard drive, once it is removed?” The answer is typically…

                
“I need to transfer some data I might want to keep onto my computer and then have the hard drive destroyed, but I just haven’t had time to figure all of that out.” Let me help you get this project done, once and for all.

Step 1:  Hook up your old processor and transfer ALL of the hard drive data onto an external hard drive. If you don’t know how to do this, please call your computer tech person. He/She can walk you through it or do it for you. My tech guy is: david@ourcomputech.com

Step 2:  Mail in or Deliver your hard drive(s) to a secure hard-drive shredding company. Simply Google “San Diego County hard drive destruction” for local drop off or onsite destruction options. Some of the companies I am familiar with are:

GigaBiter
ProShred

Recycle San Diego
ShredEx, Inc.
Total Secure ShreddingDouble-click or Ctrl click on this link to see a video of how ShredEx ensures your hard drives are totally destroyed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrNf2xp-Sfk&feature=player_embedded

Many of these companies will shred your hard drives (and more) as you watch. Having them come to you can be pricey unless you have 50+ hard drives, so most people prefer to bring their hard drives to the shred company’s location.

Now you know what to do. What are you waiting for?

Jana Hartwell, CPO
Sensible Organizing Solutions

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