Cyprus-Forum.com

[GreekIslandGirl]

On the idea of security: we have at least 3 computers we are keeping stored which I would like to donate or recycle but I know even deleting some of our old documents (tax info, personal stuff etc) is still retrievable by experts. So what do people suggest is the greenest thing we can do with the PCs?

[erolz66]

http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/secure-erase.html

[Get Real!]

On the idea of security: we have at least 3 computers we are keeping stored which I would like to donate or recycle but I know even deleting some of our old documents (tax info, personal stuff etc) is still retrievable by experts.

Assuming you're a normal user who was just saving their stuff in the usual (default) places in Windows XP then:

If you can navigate to these folders and delete all files you find there, you should be alright...

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\My Music

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\My Pictures

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\My Videos

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\Downloads

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Favorites

Afterwards do a Defrag:

start > programs > accessories > system tools > disk defragmenter

And you're done.

So what do people suggest is the greenest thing we can do with the PCs?

Give them to a local techie.

[Get Real!]

Apple say MacBook Pro should be good for up to 1000 recharge cycles, I'll post here in 10 years time if this is true

All computer parts should run for a very long time, but if they always did then there wouldn't be a need for a warranty. Shit happens, and the battery is one of the parts that shit happens relatively often. Also, the battery is one of those few parts that can deteriorate within a few months/years. While your CPU will run as fast in 5 years as it runs today, it is highly unlikely that this will be the case with the battery. When Apple says that the battery should be "good" for 1000 recharge cycles, they mean "80% good", not "100% good". Of course this doesn't matter because in 5-6 years you will probably want a new computer anyway

So much emphasis on batteries Sotos… you don’t even need a stupid battery to use a laptop as long as you’ve got your PS.

And not to mention that you may be able to open up your battery case without damaging it (look for the seam) and replace the cells yourself for a lot less.

[supporttheunderdog]

... but those 99% of the people will also have some strangers snooping around in their private data whenever their computer is send to be fixed!

Sotos, techies don’t have the time to go through customer’s data and to be quite honest I can’t imagine why they would be interested!

I for one couldn’t care less about people’s files and the only time I go into their folder is if I have to transfer its contents to temporary storage in very rare severe cases when Windows can’t be fixed and has to be re-installed.

How was Garry Glitter caught???

And deservedly so....

[Sotos]

Apple say MacBook Pro should be good for up to 1000 recharge cycles, I'll post here in 10 years time if this is true

All computer parts should run for a very long time, but if they always did then there wouldn't be a need for a warranty. Shit happens, and the battery is one of the parts that shit happens relatively often. Also, the battery is one of those few parts that can deteriorate within a few months/years. While your CPU will run as fast in 5 years as it runs today, it is highly unlikely that this will be the case with the battery. When Apple says that the battery should be "good" for 1000 recharge cycles, they mean "80% good", not "100% good". Of course this doesn't matter because in 5-6 years you will probably want a new computer anyway

So much emphasis on batteries Sotos… you don’t even need a stupid battery to use a laptop as long as you’ve got your PS.

And not to mention that you may be able to open up your battery case without damaging it (look for the seam) and replace the cells yourself for a lot less.

The whole point of a laptop is to be mobile... so yeah, it could work without a battery but it wouldn't serve its real purpose anymore... if it did then it means you would be better off buying a desktop to begin with! The battery in the new Macs is very difficult to replace or fix. This is coming not from me but from ifixit.com who are specializing in this sort of things.

[Get Real!]

Apple say MacBook Pro should be good for up to 1000 recharge cycles, I'll post here in 10 years time if this is true

All computer parts should run for a very long time, but if they always did then there wouldn't be a need for a warranty. Shit happens, and the battery is one of the parts that shit happens relatively often. Also, the battery is one of those few parts that can deteriorate within a few months/years. While your CPU will run as fast in 5 years as it runs today, it is highly unlikely that this will be the case with the battery. When Apple says that the battery should be "good" for 1000 recharge cycles, they mean "80% good", not "100% good". Of course this doesn't matter because in 5-6 years you will probably want a new computer anyway

So much emphasis on batteries Sotos… you don’t even need a stupid battery to use a laptop as long as you’ve got your PS.

And not to mention that you may be able to open up your battery case without damaging it (look for the seam) and replace the cells yourself for a lot less.

The whole point of a laptop is to be mobile... so yeah, it could work without a battery but it wouldn't serve its real purpose anymore... if it did then it means you would be better off buying a desktop to begin with! The battery in the new Macs is very difficult to replace or fix. This is coming not from me but from ifixit.com who are specializing in this sort of things.

My wife travels with her laptop around a lot and wherever she ends up she just plugs it in!

[Sotos]

On the idea of security: we have at least 3 computers we are keeping stored which I would like to donate or recycle but I know even deleting some of our old documents (tax info, personal stuff etc) is still retrievable by experts. So what do people suggest is the greenest thing we can do with the PCs?

Remove the hard drives just so you will be 100% sure before you give them to anybody. How old are the PCs. If they are more than about 8 years old (and without any major upgrades since then) you can consider them worthless... apart maybe from the cases which could be reused if they are good.

[Sotos]

Apple say MacBook Pro should be good for up to 1000 recharge cycles, I'll post here in 10 years time if this is true

All computer parts should run for a very long time, but if they always did then there wouldn't be a need for a warranty. Shit happens, and the battery is one of the parts that shit happens relatively often. Also, the battery is one of those few parts that can deteriorate within a few months/years. While your CPU will run as fast in 5 years as it runs today, it is highly unlikely that this will be the case with the battery. When Apple says that the battery should be "good" for 1000 recharge cycles, they mean "80% good", not "100% good". Of course this doesn't matter because in 5-6 years you will probably want a new computer anyway

So much emphasis on batteries Sotos… you don’t even need a stupid battery to use a laptop as long as you’ve got your PS.

And not to mention that you may be able to open up your battery case without damaging it (look for the seam) and replace the cells yourself for a lot less.

The whole point of a laptop is to be mobile... so yeah, it could work without a battery but it wouldn't serve its real purpose anymore... if it did then it means you would be better off buying a desktop to begin with! The battery in the new Macs is very difficult to replace or fix. This is coming not from me but from ifixit.com who are specializing in this sort of things.

My wife travels with her laptop around a lot and wherever she ends up she just plugs it in!

ok .. I guess it could be somewhat mobile even without a battery then

[GreekIslandGirl]

On the idea of security: we have at least 3 computers we are keeping stored which I would like to donate or recycle but I know even deleting some of our old documents (tax info, personal stuff etc) is still retrievable by experts.

Assuming you're a normal user who was just saving their stuff in the usual (default) places in Windows XP then:

If you can navigate to these folders and delete all files you find there, you should be alright...

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\My Music

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\My Pictures

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\My Videos

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\Downloads

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Favorites

Afterwards do a Defrag:

start > programs > accessories > system tools > disk defragmenter

And you're done.

So what do people suggest is the greenest thing we can do with the PCs?

Give them to a local techie.

OK, thanks, but that sounds really laborious. I would have to re-connect them to their monitors and keyboards etc. How about if I just unscrewed the backs and pulled out some chippy-wiry things. Would that be sufficient to render them info-safe but re-usable for someone else?

(If there is one easily recognisable chippy-thing which is the main memory that I can remove to cause minimum harm for re-use, that would be a great option.)