Getting rid of an old computer? The drive is the problem.
The machine itself is scrap metal and plastic. What is stored on it is not. Photos, saved passwords, browser logins, tax returns and customer records stay readable long after you think you have deleted them.
Deleting a file does not delete it
What people think happens
- Files go in the bin and the bin is emptied
- A factory reset puts the machine back to how it came
- A broken computer cannot be read anyway
- Nobody would bother with an old machine
What actually happens
- Deleting removes the pointer to the file, not the file. The data sits there until something else happens to overwrite it
- Many factory resets leave the old data recoverable with free software
- A dead computer is not a dead drive. The drive usually still works once it is taken out and plugged into something else
- Old machines are resold, donated and stripped for parts constantly. The buyer gets whatever is still on the disk
If you run a business this is not only embarrassing. Customer names, addresses, card details and staff records on a disposed machine are a personal data breach, and it is you who has to report it.
What we do about it
Wipe it properly
The drive is overwritten so the old contents cannot be brought back, and the machine still works afterwards. That matters if you are selling it, handing it down or giving it to a charity.
You get a written certificate saying what was wiped, when, and by whom. Keep it. If anyone ever asks what happened to that machine, that is your answer.
Or destroy the drive
We take the drive out and physically destroy it, in front of you if you would rather watch. You keep the pieces. The rest of the machine can still be recycled.
This is the right choice when the machine is going in the bin anyway, or when the data on it is the sort you do not want to think about again.
£45 an hour, with no call-out charge in Luton, Dunstable, Houghton Regis, Harpenden and Batford. Several machines in one visit are quoted together. See pricing.
Then where does the machine go
Household waste recycling centres accept computers, monitors, printers and cables from householders at no charge. Luton, Central Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire all do. Check your council's site for opening times and whether you need to book a slot.
Some charities will take a working machine and pass it on, which is better than recycling it. Wipe it first either way.
Business waste is different in law. Equipment from a shop, salon or office has to go to an approved facility, with paperwork showing where it went. You keep that paperwork for two years.
Tell us what you have and we will point you at a properly approved recycler that covers your area.
Regan IT is registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier, broker and dealer. When we replace equipment, the old kit goes with us and is recycled through an approved facility.
Got a machine you do not trust yourself to wipe?
Monday to Saturday, 9am to 9pm. Tell us how many machines and whether they still switch on, and we will tell you what is involved before anyone comes out.