<p>So what does everyone do with their computers?
My sister has about 5 in her computer room all at some stage of being used- she even at one point was using different computers depending on what browser was installed 
</p>
<p>I have taken some to recycling-
<a href=“http://www.computers.interconnection.org/ecycleearthcorps/index.html[/url]”>http://www.computers.interconnection.org/ecycleearthcorps/index.html</a> just one monitor and two hard drives- I also have 3 or 4 laptops shoved in a drawer somewhere-</p>
<p>My daughters class is actually refurbishing Pentium IIs and newer and check back on them periodically to make sure they are still working- most of them are :)</p>
<p>( And they still are desperate for more contributions- the friend who was going to donate some- didn’t check her email/phone message and she took hers to recycling- if you are in the Seattle area & have something to donate in the next couple days- I will be happy to pick it up- it doesn’t have to be working- but new enough to get parts)</p>
<p>( I also wonder what people do with other big things that don’t work/ or that they have upgraded- our garbage people don’t pick up extra- most people don’t have big pick up trucks- do you just hire someone?)</p>
<p>My old computers go to recycling. I believe we all pay an extra fee now when buying computers that pays for the recycling costs. I saw some show that showed how these monitors are being sent off to China by the millions where they dismantle them for whetever value they can get from the components.</p>
<p>Note that depending on what one does with a computer, a 5 or 8 year old one can be just fine for email, casual internet browsing, and word processing so it’s great when organizations like your D’s fix them up and place them elsewhere. I imagine there are people in third world locations who would love what we throw out.</p>
<p>With other stuff I usually just donate it to someplace or sometimes if they seem to be of some value I just place them at the top of my driveway with a ‘free’ sign on them and they magically disappear.</p>
<p>My ds school twice a year has a collection at the school…</p>
<p>some cities have pickup/dropoff places peridically</p>
<p>* they seem to be of some value I just place them at the top of my driveway with a ‘free’ sign on them and they magically disappear.*</p>
<p>people are so funny- they will take the strangest stuff-
Of course yesterday there was some guy in my yard looking around ( In my BACKyard- we have a fence- but the gate was taken down- my h has left stuff out there because he is * working* on things, but we still want it.
I wasn’t sure who he was- but something about him scared me, so I didn’t confront him.)</p>
<p>I have a color classic downstairs ( it was my Ds first computer) and since macbook pros don’t run classic anymore- Im thinking of setting it up so I can play some of the old games like LOOM.
( like I need another distraction 
)</p>
<p>Is anyone nervous about handing over their computers to perfect strangers? Isn’t there heck of a lot of personal/private/financial stuff in there with the possibility of being retrieved? </p>
<p>EK does your area have a recycling center where you can bring batteries, paint, sofas, TV’s etc.?</p>
<p>chocoholic:</p>
<p>Before I give away a computer I actually first wipe the data on the hard drive with a low-level format then I remove the hard drive and destroy it with a sledge hammer! New drives are relatively inexpensive so anyone who gets the remains can still have a cheap computer.</p>
<p>People should never hand over a computer with a drive over to a stranger if they’ve EVER had any personal data on the drive. Just ‘erasing’ the files isn’t adequate to guarantee the data’s not still recoverable. Realistically, few would bother to try to recover it but you never know. And, some people actually do give away their computers with drives without even bothering to delete personal data - not a good idea.</p>
<p>Sell them on ebay (clean the hard drive first). People buy them for parts or to re-build. Why not get some money???</p>
<p>Wiping is insufficient but you can scrub a hard drive so that there is no retrievable data.</p>
<p>I freecycle old computers and other things. (Last week it was a portable electric heater and some 20-year-old bicycle panniers that we don’t use anymore.) There is a freecycle mailing list for my area on Yahoo groups, which I had to join. After that you can post things as available or respond to postings of things offered. Both the heater and the panniers attracted about ten replies and were picked up within 15 minutes of posting. The rules of a freecycle list are that everything has to be free - that’s it.</p>
<p>
True but most people wouldn’t know how to do this. Even a low-level format isn’t considered sufficient. The sledge works quite well, takes less time, and is satisfying!</p>
<p>
They’re worth so little by the time I get rid of them it’s not worth it to me. I’d rather donate them to charitable organizations. But you’re right - plenty of people sell old computers on eBay.</p>