MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Right,

Ive got an old desk top computer, the screen works but the big box underneath has packed up (im guessing thats where the memory is etc).
Its old and I don't want it repaired as the wife now has a laptop to watch **** on so the big broken box is redundant.

The question is, what on earth do I do with it ??
Its got some personal stuff on it like passwords, bank stuff, pics of me dressed up like a woman etc etc, you know, the usual stuff
So I don't really want to take it down the dump or stick it in the wheelie bin, I thought about burning it in the garden but thats not really ideal.
What do you guys do with them ??


Cheers,
Matt

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

Take the hard drive out and smash the **** out of it with a hammer

Dan wrx

iTrader: (2)

I take the hard drive out and smash it with a hammer, not to be rude but from the way your talking ie "big box" you don't know where the hard drive is?

Dan wrx

iTrader: (2)

Ok bodski beat me to it.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

homo.

*matthewturb2000*

iTrader: (11)

Lol take it to a charity shop

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

search youtube on how to remove a hard drive from a p.c tower. I would then drill holes through it.

jods

Format the hard drive then burn it

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Guys, I wouldn't know what a hard drive is if you threw it at me....lol....
And format it, I can just about turn it on...


So, theres another box (the hard drive) inside the big box and if I remove that and smash it then im all good ??

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Don't pretend you've never put your wifes panties on and danced about like a pill head at a rave....

I was just unfortunate enough to get snapped while doing it

Oranges

Hard drive looks like this:

Oranges

Of course you could buy an enclosure and use it as an external hard drive

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Nope sorry mate i've not done that, so i'm afraid your on your own way, way out there.

Nice of you to out yourself on here though for future reference, although I do find the mental picture of you in your wifes knickers somewhat disturbing what worries me more is that you were able to fit your man tackle into a tanga.

Steve001

iTrader: (7)

5TB Nice how much?

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Right, so that (above pic) will be inside the big box and that contains the memory right. .....

Is there a way of linking that to my wifes laptop then and getting the data off it ??

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Matty,

Open the box up (by brute force if you need to as you are throwing it away).

If your PC is old it will have ribbon cables going from the circuit board to the hard drive like this:



If it is newer you will have SATA cables like the yellow ones in this pic:



Following either of these cables should lead you to the hard drive... rip it out and smash it... job done!

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

There ain't much to my man tackle mate, hung like a school boy me....
It goes up and down ok though so that'll do for me

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Yes, but it is way beyond the novice... no offence meant

You could just remove it and keep it until the opportunity presents itself.

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Thanks buddy,

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

None taken mate, hands up im a novice.
Might just remove it then and keep it safe.

XDevil666

Yeah buy one of these for £40 http://www.maplin.co.uk/ide-sata-to-usb-2.0-48965

once you have removed the hard drive you will know exactly how to connect it, its as easy as lego! just match the holes!

then plug it in your misses laptop and drag and drop the files

JohnD

iTrader: (5)

When mine went kaput this is what the repairer did to save the data.

JohnD

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Thought it was another thread to see if it was ok to drive a car with no brakes!!!

LuckyWelshchap

If it's a fairly old PC you might have a problem removing the Hard Drive (trust me, I've done enough of them).

PCs are/were put together with no consideration about maintenance/additions/repairs etc.

The drive is slotted into a cradle, and should be held in place with 2 screws either side.
Some older cases can only be opened on one side.

If the HDD is properly secured and you've an older-style case then you'll have to take the whole thing apart ie. remove the cradle, which means unplugging everything else etc. etc.

You live in Bristol don't you Matt?
If you want, I'm happy to rendezvous at an M4 services.

I'll bring the screwdriver(s) and you can bring the hammer.

Alternatively ask the local PC shop how much to remove the drive for you.
Anything more than a tenner and you're getting fleeced (should be at the most a 10-minute job for even the most hardened HDD/PC).

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Thank you for the offer buddy but im quite a way from you, I live near Cambridge.
When I get chance I'll take all the info from this thread and 'give it a go'.

Thanks everybody

DieHardDonkey

cut it to bits with a small pair of tinsnips (may take 10 mins or so) mix up the peices with various nuts, seeds and pig fat then hang the big box up from ur garden tree and let the birds eat it o_O

LuckyWelshchap

I don't know what it is about you but I seem to get EVERYTHING wrong.
(Where did I get Bristol from I wonder? - ah, the wedding ! )

North or South of Cambridge?
No, I won't risk that.

I've lived in Haddenham and Royston in my time.

Anyway:

Have the back of the box facing you.
On the right hand side as you look at it there'll be some screws holding the side panel on.
Unscrew them and the panel should slide backwards and out. (If it's never been opened and is bloodyminded then use a flathead to prise it backwards).

If you're lucky you'll be able to do the same to the left-hand side. (If not, don't panic - yet ).

The cradle will be obvious, a metal frame with the ar$e end of little boxes hanging out of it. The front(s) of those boxes will be you DVD or CD drive(s) - it's easy to see.

However, one of the blighters won't have a front that's accessible from the front of the PC. That's your Hard Drive (HDD). Now. some PCs have two, so don't get concerned if there is more than one.

There's two plugs attached to the HDD. The one with 4 leads is the power supply and the other, longer one is the data connection. They are both quite tightly plugged. Since you're scrapping the PC you can just pull them off by gripping the cables themselves (note - even then you might have to grip the power plug, they can be awkward).

You should now have free access to the HDD.
You can see where it's screwed into its slot in the cradle (usually smaller screws, so might need a smaller Phillips).
Unscrew them - but be sure to apply enough pressure so that you don't strip the head. The screws are often quite soft and not very resistant to a screwdriver scraping them about.

Once you've got the screws out it's time to see if it's your lucky day.
Did the builder use 2 screws or 4????????????
Pull the HDD backwards.

If it doesn't move then er.... it's not your day.

However, if the other side of the box is open ie. the left-hand panel came away then just follow the above unscrewing process and then it will come out nice and neatly in your hand, patiently waiting for you to hammer it to death.

Or, you might want to take the suggestion of others and get a shuttle/adapter for it.

If you can't get to the opposite side, and it is screwed in there as well the best course of action is to get a tinsnips and cut the cradle.

Or an angle grinder.............

And before anyone suggests a thermal lance the gases would be poisonous, since chips and chipsets use antimony, plastics etc.

F1's piccies are very helpful. Although yours probably won't be exactly like that the standard PC building technique will mean that all the bits are in their relative positions.

Now, if it's a Dell PC.......
In fact there is one thing to say about a lot of Dell cases, they have a strange-shaped ****-like (no - DOOR ****) thing on the right-hand side.
That's the lock.
Simply pull it downwards and slide the panel off (unless it's a Dell with 2 thumbscrews, in which case undo them with your er. finger and thumb and then pull the **** down).

After all this - your PC is a tower isn't it, not a desktop ie. 'flat' one?

Joking aside, they're easier - a number of screws (perhaps 1 at each back corner and one in the top) and the entire top half of the case comes off.
In this instance you might find the HDD actually bolted to the inside of the chassis, not in a cradle but the same principle applies ie. unscrew it.

Finally (honestly) the HDD might be OK, and I always say to people who scrap a PC to keep the drive for a short time, just in case something comes up that needs what you had on there, or you suddenly remember that those pictures of your honeymoon were on there.

Have a good evening

PS no, I'm not going to post a youtube vid of me doing a HDDectomy.
(However, as I've just realised, I bet there's one on there somewhere. **** 'Hard Disk removal PC' would have been far less words to type.....)

RUDDY

Sledge hammer till a hard drive looking thing falls on the floor, then sledge hammer that in too about ten pieces! All done!

windyboy

I once had a lot of old hard drives from work (wiped and obsolete) so one day I took the top covers off of them and set them on top of the coal bunker for a few months, then eventually throw them into the bin, if anybody could get anything off of them then fair play to them

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

You don't need to worry about people finding images of you in your wife's knicks, we've all seen 'em anyway!

But, if you're worried, just take a hammer to the whole damn thing!