Re: What about OLD computers??

["Chris Morton" <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>]

It might be useful to perform a "low-level" format on the drive. This
procedure is different than a normal format. The only tool I've known that
can perform this operation is SpinRite from Gibson Research.

This is also a good tool for prepping new drives prior to high-level
formatting and installing an OS, applications, etc. It's also useful for
periodic maintenance, much like getting the wheels aligned and tires
balanced on your car.

> Chris

On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 7:50 AM, Dan Goldstein <
DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com> wrote:

> I usually follow this procedure:
>
> 1. Make sure that hard drive has been fully backed up.
> 2. Remove hard drive from PC.
> 3. Put on a pair of safety goggles.
> 4. Drill several large holes through hard drive.
> 5. Bring the whole mess to the recycling center.
>
> It's not that I don't care about local charities (I do!), or that I just
> enjoy using the power drill (well, OK, that, too). The hard drive might
> contain confidential information about other people and companies, and I
> see this as my obligation to them (as well as to myself).
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Geoff Lane
> > Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:37 AM
> > To: TECHWR-L
> > Subject: Re: What about OLD computers??
> >
> > On Wednesday, November 26, 2008, Christine Sigman wrote;
> >
> > > We're not trying to outwit a forensic squad from the IRS, I
> > swear --
> > > just trying to come up with the equivalent of shredding financial
> > > papers before putting them in the bin.
> > ---
> >
> > And well you should. There was a documentary some time ago
> > about how mobile phones and computers donated to some
> > charities or dumped on the tip were finding their way over to
> > certain third-world countries where miscreants harvested the
> > data they contained for nefarious purposes.
> >
> > Perhaps a better alternative is to remove all your personal
> > data then use a trial version of a commercial secure
> > free-space erasing tool or Open Source (like GNUPG).
> > Alternatively, "nuke" the disk and install a suitable Linux
> > distro. Once done, you could offer the machine to the
> > Freecycle Network (http://www.freecycle.org/) - there are
> > groups for most populated arears and you'll have the pleasure
> > of helping out someone in your neighborhood.
> >
>
> This message contains confidential information intended only for the use of
> the addressee(s). If you are not the addressee, or the person responsible
> for delivering it to the addressee, you are hereby notified that reading,
> disseminating, distributing, copying, electronic storing or the taking of
> any action in reliance on the contents of this message is strictly
> prohibited.  If you have received this message by mistake, please notify us,
> by replying to the sender, and delete the original message immediately
> thereafter.  Thank you.
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
> solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor,  Microsoft Word or
> HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
> http://www.doctohelp.com
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
> http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit
> http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/salt.morton%40gmail.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
>
> Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
> http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing 
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor,  Microsoft Word or 
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. 
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat