Old computer

[Keenoonvino]

Why can I do with an old desktop computer that we haven't used in about 3 years? There is a screen and hard drive. Was thinking of just throwing hard drive away and giving screen/keyboard/mouse to charity? But they don't take electricals do they? Perhaps sell on eBay? A bit nervous about selling hard drive on eBay/ giving away in case someone is able to recover our data...

Anyone have any ideas please? Thanks!

Freecycle or Ebay.

if it is leaving the house intact, you should completely reformat the drive.

charities do take electricals.

the lowest-faff route is give the peripherals to charity, take a hammer to the hard drive and that goes to the dump.

Special I'd have no idea how to do that, that's the problem!

aha, destroying electronics - easy!

if it is still working, boot it up and backup anything you want from it. Then disconnect the power and unplug. Disconnect screen, mouse, keyboard.

now take it apart - look for screws, undo them! With the cover off keep disassembilng, the hard disk should be fairly obvious. If you can take it out, fine. If not, you'll need to destroy it in the case.

take it outside, find a hammer, put on some goggles. Hit it until dented severely. Your data is now safe. :-)

the more eco-way is to reformat and re-install. If you still have the original CDs, google how to reinstall your operating system. It is tedious but if all is working, it is just step-by-step. Then you can freecycle/ebay with a clear conscience.

Thanks special may just take a hammer to it!!