Tuesday 20 December 2011

Smashing time

My first computer has been sitting in the corner of the office, on the other desk, cluttering the place up for the last few years. Today I finally decided it had to go, but what to do with it. Does anyone want it, a museum maybe, probably not.

So I googled 'disposing of a computer'. Yes I know it has to go to a recycling yard, no problem we have one a couple of miles away, but I also read that the hard drive has to be wiped clean, to prevent dodgy people stealing your personal details. Oh my goodness I don't know how to do that :o(

Then I checked out a few more sites, aha, that's the answer I can smash it up. I don't know what a hard drive looks like so I contacted my computer man Mark, and he described it to me. Still not 100% sure which bit I was looking for, so just to be sure I unscrewed everything I could and took the whole thing apart.

Next I took all the bits out into the yard, put my protective goggles on, got my lump hammer, and systematically smashed every possible bit to pieces. The little sticker made me laugh. 'Product warranty will be void if this label is removed', ha ha. I wonder what they would say if I took it back to the shop and told them I dropped it, then asked, well the label is still there, can you repair it ha ha.

Destruction is not something I normally get involved in, as I am a very placid person, construction is more my thing. I must say though that with every blow of the hammer I felt a sense of victory. Take that, you are out of my life forever, ha ha. The computer is dead.

I chucked it in a skip. The skip was full of all manner of electrical appliances, the man said they will be stripped down and all metal will be salvaged. Bye bye computer, you have come to the end of the road.

5 comments:

  1. I wouldn't know what a hard drive looks like either, just as well you smashed it all.

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  2. Hee hee, that looks amazing fun! I'm sure you got it!

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  3. Lots of people can tell you what is the hard drive. I took mine out and smashed it to smithereens. Then, I allowed it to soak in salt water for a few days. The case would be perfectly good to donate. Some people only need the case and other parts to put in a hard drive and use it for educational purposes. I donated the rest. The guy is probably going to sell it for the scrap metal.

    My pc sat here for 6 years before I got the gumption to get rid of it. It was in another room--out of sight; out of mind.

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  4. Were there no bits and pieces to save for crafts, I noticed coloured bits of wire and a nice bit of plastic with holes in, mmmmmmm what could you make with that ??....I hate to throw things away, its sods law that I will want them at a later date.
    Enjoy the Christmas
    Briony
    x

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  5. It s ok to do that as long as you recycle it all. I also read that those hard drive wipers are not really that secure. I like the salt water tip. We take ours to Goodwill here in the states - they promise not to ship the parts to the third world where a lot of little kids get poisoned sorting it all out.

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