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AIBU?

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Original poster

To feel stressed by all the old laptops

66 replies

Designless · 08/02/2026 16:26

Where do you dispose of yours? I know they say just wipe the hard drive and give to a recycling place but ours tend to die before we replace so we can't do that and now I have a tonne of dusty laptops I'm scared to give away in case someone steals our identities.

OP posts:
Notmyreality · 08/02/2026 18:53

Designless · 08/02/2026 16:45

How does everyone know how to remove a hard drive?? Can I just use a normal screwdriver? It's less worrisome with the older style ones where you can easily clip out the battery first but the ones with the internal battery freak me right out. Aaaa the emotional burden!

Get a grip. Get a screw driver and get on with it.

Original poster
Designless · 08/02/2026 18:47

Is this the week we all get on YouTube and at last manage to rid ourselves of the burden??

OP posts:
Notthehill · 08/02/2026 18:34

GasperyJacquesRoberts · 08/02/2026 17:52

If you can find out what model of MacBook it is then I can tell you how to get to the hard disk.

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That is incredibly kind. I won't burden you with it, but just knowing that such a thing is possible makes me feel braver about finding a youtube video to instruct me.

Moveyourbleedingarse · 08/02/2026 18:24

@CaptainMyCaptain what?!

Sell them or take them to Vodafone to recycle. They have a scheme where they wipe them and refurbish them to give to people who might need new phones who can't afford one.

CaptainMyCaptain · 08/02/2026 18:19

AnnaQuayInTheUk · 08/02/2026 18:18

Thanks, but I have no idea what any of that means.

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Same here. What does the hard drive look like?

I also have every smartphone I've ever owned.

AnnaQuayInTheUk · 08/02/2026 18:18

Macadamian · 08/02/2026 16:31

Take the hard drive out first if you like.

Or reformat it (properly), that's pretty secure.
If it's an SSD, just a normal format.
If it's a HDD, make sure it's a full format not a quick format.

Thanks, but I have no idea what any of that means.

Thesnailonthewhale · 08/02/2026 18:18

Moveyourbleedingarse · 08/02/2026 18:16

We used to live in Ireland and the local authority held recycling days where they securely disposed of all our tech.

I don't understand why the local authorities don't do that here. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ours have a secure bin at the waste site you can use all the time.

Thewonderfuleveryday · 08/02/2026 18:18

Same.
We have three old laptops in a pile.

Moveyourbleedingarse · 08/02/2026 18:17

That said, if the tip receives 100 bits of old tech every week, is the recycling centre really going to try and boot up your old laptop to steal your data? Esp if you can't even boot it up?!

I wouldn't imagine they could be bothered.

Moveyourbleedingarse · 08/02/2026 18:16

We used to live in Ireland and the local authority held recycling days where they securely disposed of all our tech.

I don't understand why the local authorities don't do that here. 🤷🏼‍♀️

GasperyJacquesRoberts · 08/02/2026 17:52

Notthehill · 08/02/2026 17:41

Am sitting looking at my Macbook and see no place to 'remove hard drive'. Can't even see where a screwdriver could possibly go.....

If you can find out what model of MacBook it is then I can tell you how to get to the hard disk.

Createausername1970 · 08/02/2026 17:46

GasperyJacquesRoberts · 08/02/2026 16:29

Remove the hard disk and hit it repeatedly with a hammer

This.

DH works in IT security and this is what he did when he recycled a laptop.

The hard drive was smashed to pieces and I think he took out a flimsy bit of something from the debris which I assume is where data actually gets stored and this was cut into small pieces.

Original poster
Designless · 08/02/2026 17:44

Why is this the one thing that lasts forever

OP posts:
Original poster
Designless · 08/02/2026 17:44

Notthehill · 08/02/2026 17:41

Am sitting looking at my Macbook and see no place to 'remove hard drive'. Can't even see where a screwdriver could possibly go.....

Bloody tech bros!!!! Surely they must rust away eventually

OP posts:
Notthehill · 08/02/2026 17:41

Am sitting looking at my Macbook and see no place to 'remove hard drive'. Can't even see where a screwdriver could possibly go.....

Happyher · 08/02/2026 17:23

There’s a local charity that takes them in near me and refurbishes them. They have an ISO to signify they are a trusted organisation that would safely dispose of your data. Just google to see if there is a similar place locally.
if you’re near Sheffield …
https://aspire-sheffield.co.uk

Home

Home - Aspire Community Enterprise

Creating Opportunities for Vulnerable & Socially Excluded People WEEE & Computer Recycling Centre

https://aspire-sheffield.co.uk

Ineedanewsofa · 08/02/2026 17:21

I take mine to the office and ask IT to put them in the electronic waste disposal bin. This gets collected by a specialist company who shred the hard drives and recycle what they can of the rest.

Growlybear83 · 08/02/2026 17:21

I’ve always taken the hard drives out of old laptops and kept them, just in case I ever desperately need any of the data again.

Thesnailonthewhale · 08/02/2026 17:19

I just put them in the laptop recycling but at the household waste site.

Nobody gives a shit about what's on your hard drive.

QPZM · 08/02/2026 17:07

Allseeingallknowing · 08/02/2026 16:54

Surely they won’t take them?

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They don't go through our bins and split all the bags open.

They just stick them on the back of the truck and tip them upside down.

Original poster
Designless · 08/02/2026 16:56

I am pretty sure that you at least have to remove the battery before binning otherwise it might go kaboom

I don't understand how society has allowed these dread millstones to come about it's just awful

OP posts:
parietal · 08/02/2026 16:56

Don’t put in landfill - the components are valuable can be recycled. Remove hard drive if possible and take to an electronics recycling place like curry’s.

Allseeingallknowing · 08/02/2026 16:54

QPZM · 08/02/2026 16:35

This is what I do (after soaking in water).

They get all crushed up in the back of the bin lorry anyway.

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Surely they won’t take them?

Okiedokie123 · 08/02/2026 16:54

Equipment like this still ha a useful life. Please don’t just bin it.

daffodilflowers · 08/02/2026 16:53

What I do is

  1. let the battery go flat
  2. unscrew with screwdriver and lever out hard drive.
  3. screw back together
  4. take to Curry’s (uk shop) who give a voucher for tech handed in for recycling.
  5. if I don’t need the voucher I give it away on a free site, so someone else can benefit.
  6. I keep the hard drive, but they don’t take up much room.