# Dead Tech Stuff



## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Looking around the house here, I see a number of dead or no longer useful tech items like CRT monitors, printers, fax machines, TVs, laptop computers, etc. Probably about 15 items or so.

What do you do with them? They're not worth selling for parts. I've seen some websites that offer to buy junk tech, but it's only for a couple of bucks and you have to pay shipping which makes it pointless.

Out in the sticks here, we don't have a tech junk recycler. The only one I know of is about 40 miles away and gas prices kill that idea since I would have no other reason for going in that direction.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

SayWhat? said:


> Looking around the house here, I see a number of dead or no longer useful tech items like CRT monitors, printers, fax machines, TVs, laptop computers, etc. Probably about 15 items or so.
> 
> What do you do with them? They're not worth selling for parts. I've seen some websites that offer to buy junk tech, but it's only for a couple of bucks and you have to pay shipping which makes it pointless.
> 
> Out in the sticks here, we don't have a tech junk recycler. The only one I know of is about 40 miles away and gas prices kill that idea since I would have no other reason for going in that direction.


Yahoo has a Freecycle site. It's a useful tool for getting rid of things you no longer need but would have a difficult time selling plus it spares the landfills. After you register post your items. They must be free (not for sale). This is how I got rid of our CRT monitors when we upgraded and replaced them.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

But I still have to pay to ship the stuff, right? Or does the taker?


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

SayWhat? said:


> But I still have to pay to ship the stuff, right? Or does the taker?


The taker usually picks the stuff up or you can meet them at a agreed location.


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## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

When the item is still in good shape many non-profit stores take in used electronics. Pass it on to some one in need.


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

A lot of BestBuy stores will accept _some_ old electronics. They charge $10 for a CRT, but then they give you a $10 gift card. So if you have something you want to buy, that is available at BB, it is essentially free.

More and more municipalities are instituting electronics recycling programs as well, so contact your city or county government. If they don't have one yet, you can petition them to start one.


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

Look for a local e-recycle event near you. I dumped a bunch of stuff at one at a local church. They'll generally take anything remotely electronic. I even dumped an old non-working espresso machine!


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

SayWhat? said:


> Out in the sticks here, we don't have a tech junk recycler. The only one I know of is about 40 miles away and gas prices kill that idea since I would have no other reason for going in that direction.


Wait until you have a reason to go that way and then take them. If you were me, I'd swear I never go to that town and then the next week, I'd have to go to that town.

In my garage I have a pile of electronics and bad paint to take to the county recycler.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

every few years they have a neighborhood cleanup program here.. you can throw out anything.. scrap guys take about 1/2 of it before final day.. I always have a pile..


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## PokerJoker (Apr 12, 2008)

Another option is the e-cycling program through Office Depot. There is a charge, but it's not too bad.

How it works is, you go to your local store, and buy an empty special cardboard box. They come in two sizes, the big one (2 foot cube?) is $15. You take it home and fill it with any electronic items you don't want. You must remove all batteries and I don't know if they will take a CRT. Obviously you should also remove stuff like cardboard (and maybe sheet metal) since that can go into your regular trash stream.

When it's full you take it back to the store and drop it off.

Like someone else said, for batteries and CRTs Best Buy is good. If you have a Batteries Plus store nearby, they will take any battery for recycling.

Sometimes you do have to pay. I just had Best Buy come and get two huge old 200lb. CRTs and an old microwave. That cost $120. It was worth it.

Keith


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Try freecycle.org. see if there is a group in your area.


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## Lucavex (Apr 26, 2011)

You could always use a few more targets for target practice. You say you live in the styx? Make yourself a home-made shootin' gallery! You got everything you need, well, minus the guns and ammo. But you said you live in the styx, so I kinda assume you already got that. No self-respecting rural man would live without one.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Just please be careful with with things with hard drives. Download Darik's Boot and Nuke and wipe them, three passes is enough. Free program, can be booted from a CD.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

I just run a 1/2in drill through them.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

I keep all hard drives even if they don't work. They're small and don't take up any room. Toss'em in a box or a drawer for when you need a paperweight.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"SayWhat?" said:


> I keep all hard drives even if they don't work. They're small and don't take up any room. Toss'em in a box or a drawer for when you need a paperweight.


Some like to turn them into clocks, with the platter exposed.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

SayWhat? said:


> I keep all hard drives even if they don't work. They're small and don't take up any room. Toss'em in a box or a drawer for when you need a paperweight.


What is this thing called paper?



dpeters11 said:


> Some like to turn them into clocks, with the platter exposed.


Here in the deep south, we use HDD platters in a game called "******* Frisbee".


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"Nick" said:


> What is this thing called paper?
> 
> Here in the deep south, we use HDD platters in a game called "******* Frisbee".


On an old tech show, the guy that went on to found Digg destroyed drives with Thermite. I don't think I'd ever have the guts to do that.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Nick said:


> What is this thing called paper?


Paper is the sweet deal that pulp mills and printer manufacturers made with Microsoft to make sure that they have a future when most other printed matter is going away.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

dpeters11 said:


> On an old tech show, the guy that went on to found Digg destroyed drives with Thermite.


If it will take down a Terminator, it will almost certainly protect your data.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"harsh" said:


> If it will take down a Terminator, it will almost certainly protect your data.


I'd like to see what Drivesavers could do with a drive like that. They've recovered stuff from drives I thought impossible.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

davring said:


> I just run a 1/2in drill through them.


I was thinking about this and other ways mentioned of destroying the drives like smashing with hammers, heat, etc. and I realized that I don't know what platters are made of these days. Glass? Acrylic? Some type of metal? I mean the actual platter substrate, not the recording surface.

If you just drill or break a platter as opposed to completely shattering or crushing it, could any of it still be readable? This obviously isn't about the average home PC platter, there would have to be something of extreme value on it.

I remember seeing a case on one of those forensics programs; the ones that deal with real cases, not the hokey made up TV CSI fake stuff. The Navy's NCIS lab had a case back in the 90s where they suspected a member of a crime. I think it was a murder case, not sure now. They believed that there was some information on a 5.25" floppy (tells you how old this was) that had been cut up with shears. Techs were able to piece the floppy back together, tape the back of it and literally iron it flat enough to get it to run in a drive and read at least some of the data. Enough to get a conviction.

Of course there are huge differences between a late 80s 5.25" floppy and today's multi-Gb HDDs, but it still makes you wonder, how 'destroyed' does a drive really have to be to be DESTROYED?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Usually they are aluminum or glass and ceramic. If you drill holes in it, it is possible to get data off it. It's not cheap, the drive has to be opened up in a clean room, or other controlled environment. For the average person that wants to take out some frustration, this likely would be sufficient. I just use Book and Nuke.

For total destruction, the government standards for total destruction are to disintegrate (sounds like fun), pulverize (more fun), shred (works, but boring, though takes one heck of a shredder) or use a licensed incinerator. It can also be completely demagnetized, though that is under a purge classification, but the drive can't be used afterwards.


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