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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Okiedokie123 · 08/02/2026 16:53

I donate ours to a local group that reboots them (thus deleting all previous info) refurbishes them and donates them to individuals, schools, charities who need them.

randomchap · 08/02/2026 16:49

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!

Look on YouTube for the make and model. There will be a video of someone doing it

No need to worry about breaking the laptop as its for the bin anyway

IamaHughFan · 08/02/2026 16:46

Agree with removing hard drive but make sure your new laptop doesn’t get mixed up with the old ones. £550 brand new laptop and I ripped the hard drive out!

Original poster
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!

OP posts:
GasperyJacquesRoberts · 08/02/2026 16:38

Boomer55 · 08/02/2026 16:30

Soak in water overnight, put into a bag and batter with a hammer.

If you're going to do that make sure you remove the battery first.

randomchap · 08/02/2026 16:38

GasperyJacquesRoberts · 08/02/2026 16:29

Remove the hard disk and hit it repeatedly with a hammer

Or drill through it several times.

Or do what I do and have a drawer full of old hard drives. They'll be my kids problem when I'm gone

QPZM · 08/02/2026 16:35

Pepperedpickles · 08/02/2026 16:31

Take a hammer to them and put them in the normal rubbish.

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

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

Allseeingallknowing · 08/02/2026 16:35

There is obviously a need for more laptop destruction centres. I don’t want to try getting out hard drives, don’t know what I’m doing. Is there such a thing as a laptop top, tablet destroyer which works like a shredder.

ChimpOnMyShoulder · 08/02/2026 16:35

Pepperedpickles · 08/02/2026 16:31

Take a hammer to them and put them in the normal rubbish.

Please don’t put them in landfill. Recycle them.

Remove the hard drive and drill holes in it.

Pepperedpickles · 08/02/2026 16:31

Take a hammer to them and put them in the normal rubbish.

maydayjun · 08/02/2026 16:31

Boomer55 · 08/02/2026 16:30

Soak in water overnight, put into a bag and batter with a hammer.

This but make the water salty

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.

ObsidianTree · 08/02/2026 16:30

Unscrew the hard drives and break them/drill and hole, hammer etc. Then you can send the laptop for recycling.

Boomer55 · 08/02/2026 16:30

Soak in water overnight, put into a bag and batter with a hammer.

GasperyJacquesRoberts · 08/02/2026 16:29

Remove the hard disk and hit it repeatedly with a hammer

StonwEd · 08/02/2026 16:27

Same. We just moved house with 4 dead laptops. I don't know what to do with them either 🤣