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Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,568
Registered: ‎01-13-2012

Our town is having an electronics disposal this weekend.  I have an old laptop (mac) and some old tracfones.  How do I "clean them" ready for disposal?  I am NOT tech savvy!!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,860
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Electronics disposal-laptop

Remove then shred your hard drive.

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Valued Contributor
Posts: 961
Registered: ‎12-24-2010

Re: Electronics disposal-laptop

@bargainsgirl   I would check out the many videos on YouTube on how to safely clean your laptop for resale. They will show you step by step.  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,097
Registered: ‎07-26-2014

Re: Electronics disposal-laptop

[ Edited ]

@bargainsgirl   Step by step instructions from Apple.

 

support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065

 

Step by step video instrutions can also be found on their YouTube support site.

 

youtube.com/@applesupport

 

 

For cell phones...... take a hammer to it.  Take the shredded pieces to the electronic dump.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."


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Honored Contributor
Posts: 27,371
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Electronics disposal-laptop

Removing the hard drive on many newer computers is impossible as they can be soldered directly to the motherboard. The directions to wipe the drive is effective for most users. If you're fabulously rich, famous, or store top secret documents on the computer, you want to take extra precautions, but for a "normal" person the directions for wiping the hard drive should prove adequate. Data can still often be retrieved, but the cost/benefit ratio gets bad for the people retrieving the data. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to retrieve data from a wiped drive.

 

If you're concerned about the risks, simply find a shelf on a closet and put the laptop there and forget about it. Most of us have a shelf or cupboard that's a pain to get stuff into and out of, so those spaces make a good place to stash an old laptop. 

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