Computers from my Lifetime

In my life time, computers have changed quite a bit - from the "vintage" Mac, the old desktops, and now to iPads and iPhones.  This pictures has all of the computers my parents have owned since I was born in 1985.

I asked a few of my computer-genius friends what do with the old ones.  Here are their responses:

DEREK
Are they really old, as in old enough that they wouldn't have bank info, SSN, etc. on them? If you need to wipe them of that kind of stuff there's really only a couple ways to do it. 

1. Get some really powerful magnets and rub them all over the hard disks (I'm talking really powerful).

2. Run software that overwrites (not just formats) the hard disks multiple times. 

3. Open those bad boys up and pull out the hard disks and destroy them physically.

Those may both be difficult to do for an individual. I know you are supposed to recycle electronics and not just throw it out and some recycling centers offer a "wiping" procedure, but then you have to trust them that they do it. 

Nashua Recycling Center will take your computers (there may be a charge for that number of machines), but they don't offer destruction of data.

Practically speaking, you're probably safe just taking them to the dump and letting them recycle them. Most thieves that are tech-savvy enough to pull data from a hard disk probably don't care enough about personal computers as they would rather target corporations, etc.

So, I'll let you decide, I'm just giving you the information. For myself, I would probably take them apart and destroy the disks since that's really hard to get around no matter how smart you are! If you guys are up for that go for it.

RUSS:  

Option 1: Magnet is not good enough you won't have a magnet strong enough

Option 2 works if you have the software

Option 3 no need to open you can just smash them with a big hammer.  We aren't talking state secrets crooks don't try that hard.

CARLS

The square Macintosh on the left looks to be a dual floppy, so unless it has a hard drive, there's nothing to worry about there for personal data (just destroy the floppies).  That system is currently worth around $50-300 on eBay as it is vintage.  The tablet and handheld (sellable on ebay as is? - otherwise, toss them) should have a way to be reset to factory settings and wipe out all data.  Usually a combination of holding down a couple of buttons (a search on google would find that).  The laptop would need a special program on a CDROM or USB drive that would wipe the disk (I may have a CD with a program that does that).  I don't know anything about the other Macintosh, other than it is a vintage iMac and worth about $50-100 on eBay.  There is probably a disk wiping program on the web for that too.

The lesson on gravity would be fun (actually it's pretty funny) - just be careful with the newer Mac as it has a tube monitor which could burst and contains poisonous gases.

There are some trade-in programs
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Electronics-Promotions/Online-Trade-In/pcmcat133600050011.c?id=pcmcat133600050011
http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/staples-technology-trade-in/index.html?CID=EXTLINK:TTI:SBD:NAV

There are some free drop-offs for recycling
http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/easy-on-the-planet/recycling-and-eco-services.html
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Global-Promotions/Recycling-Electronics/pcmcat149900050025.c?id=pcmcat149900050025