Getting rid of old technology

maggiethehousecat · Posts: 2457

I'm accumulating quite a lot of obsolete or repairs needed technology gadgets and accessories. I don't have any use for them but I know there are people who buy these things for parts or are just collectors of old stuff. I don't know how to price these things...I'd probably put them on Craigslist so there would be no shipping involved.

I have laptops, cameras, modems, readers etc.

Also in the case of the laptops, how do I remove the contents of the hard drives before parting with them.

elpereles · Posts: 3430

For old laptops and PC remove always the hard drive. It is the best option. And in some cases is very easy.

universalcomputers · Posts: 217

Thats a very hard hard market. The only way your going to get any sales is if there's a selected market of people that want old computers as "collectables". Nalstalgic type people. Otherwise the only option you have with the motherboards and laptops is selling to a recycler for scap metal. They will physically burn the motherboard and memory to extract the gold and copper they used back then, but other than that, unless you can find a nitch in that type of market, its very hard.

The best option is to scrap it for the metal. Or at least start breaking down units down for parts, take the part numbers of the items and then see if you can sell off the parts. Otherwise, its all in the fire.

tigercreekgifts · Posts: 6293

Maggie, sell them locally. That kind of stuff rarely sells online if still working because the technology is out of date but listing them for parts or repairs is even harder to sell. That's why I reduced my electronics category. I had like 7 pages of older electronics that never sold, so I took them to the flea market and sold them for next to nothing and even then, I practically had to beg people to buy them for just a few dollars. I have a few pieces left but I will be selling those at the flea market in a few weeks for rock bottom prices too....hopefully.

Don't remove the hard drive from the computer, that is the only valuable thing on the computer! Some people buy old laptops JUST for the hard drive. Instead, you need to reset the computer back to factory defaults and erase everything. Go to your start menu and type in the search box "system restore" and follow the commands when the windows pop up. When you get to the part to restore to a later date, you can choose to go back even further by selecting show more earlier restore points and you will see the option to set back to original factory condition. That will erase everything except for the programs the computer came with, like windows vista, xp, 7 or whatever you have will not be removed, it will only keep the programs necessary to run the computer effectively and any data or documents you had saved on microsoft works, word processor, office, etc. will be erased.

elpereles · Posts: 3430

If you have important info, data, and personal stuff in a hard drive. Never leave a computer with it. Not matter is for trash or to sell as old technology or for parts. Some people aren't just focus to have the OS back up. They are interesting to get the info in it. Be alert!

theartsandlettersofmaggiethecat · Posts: 2099

I wasn't really looking to make money. They've been accumulating ever since I stopped having break ins and now if you send a computer to the manufacturer for repairs they will buy out your warranty and keep the computer. That always bothers me because they have the hard drive which couldn't be cleared since the computer had crashed.

My main reason for keeping them is that there is data on them and I don't want them going into the landfill.

elpereles · Posts: 3430

Many of the computers are easy to remove hard drive. If the hard drive (HD) isn't break or damage. It just get an enclosure and made them portable hard drive to get the info. Also for SATA HD you can find an adapter an use the HD technically just like putting a video game in a Super Nintendo.

universalcomputers · Posts: 217

your not allowed to just disgard computer equipment and leave it at your curb. Every town has a recycling center that you have to go to throw away computer hardware and other things.

If you want to get rid of the harddrives, get a high powered magnet and just leave it on the hard drive for a few days. You can get ones from ebay for 20 bucks and they can hold up to 50 lbs. They look like silver hocky pucks. They are classified as rare earth magnets.

Another way is to burn them, the temperature will fry the internals. If these computers are so old, then whatever is on the drives are outdated information. If they are you own personal, then take them to a computer professional and let them do a security wipe.

thewrightbiz · Posts: 1052

A-Better-Way · Posts: 3363

You have to re "partition" the hard drive, you may need to go into safemode-command prompt.
You type in a line, and all your stuff will be gone, but you should do a long format right after you partition it.
It won't have anything to boot into. blank drive
You may have to get rid of the existing partition, then make a new one.