Computer Data & Hard Drive Destruction

[fgc2001]

its better because you can save your files one by one

XD

[GertStegeman]

What do you do for a living?

I operate the #Broom# at eAtComputers128.

It's 2010 now, we are in the middle of a financial crisis.

My opinion:

Fire this guy and hire a mechanic for 1 day to fix the conveyor!

[hootergirlsrhot]

MAHAHAHHAA take that vista

[Samcypert127]

Lol, I wonder if in 5 years when they get new computers for the factory if they shred the old computers it showed them using.

[OberstHulmbug]

shredding the whole PC in one go isn´t very good recycling practice to me...

[mima14031985]

@OberstHulmbug I think they extract every single material by warming the whole mass of plastics/metals/silicon to reach the melting point of the various substances, and extracting the element whith liquifies at a given moment while going up with temperature. Or at least I hope they do this (or in a similar way), without simply burning and reducing to ashes all the things together. Otherwise yes, this would be a big waste.

[OberstHulmbug]

@mima14031985: I would also hope they did something more clever than just burning it up/melting the metlas. However, without even checking the specifics, I would assume that many (if not most) of the various materials would burn/oxidize/deteriorate beyond usefulness long before the metals start to melt. So it is most probably just a waste, the point being total and permanent data loss rather than recycling. Man is evil and there are too few quick economic incentives for saving the environment.

[OberstHulmbug]

@OberstHulmbug: "metals" (sry)

[OberstHulmbug]

@OberstHulmbug: "metals" (sry)

[mima14031985]

@OberstHulmbug Yes this it's quite stupid, considering that data can be safely erased from the media with a degausser or some other equipment which emits a strong EMF, with the very same result, minus the material waste, as the equipments after the data erasing can be properly disassembled and recycled. But you told it, money counts more than the planet where we live. Sad...

[mima14031985]

@OberstHulmbug Yes this it's quite stupid, considering that data can be safely erased from the media with a degausser or some other equipment which emits a strong EMF, with the very same result, minus the material waste, as the equipments after the data erasing can be properly disassembled and recycled. But you told it, money counts more than the planet where we live. Sad...

[johnknoefler]

@OberstHulmbug and it seems stupid to destroy the whole in a shredder since the hard drive can be destroyes so easily.

[dewalt23293]

wonder how many workers steal info from the computers

[coondogtheman1234]

yeah take out the hard drives and hide them and shred the rest of the pc. i dunno this facility probably has cameras to make sure the stuff is shredded.

[MISECURE]

not even.. these companies hire other people to destroy hd before sending the computers to recycling facilities. how do i know? I work for a company that shreds electronic media securely.

[Allighatt0r]

I feel sorry for the poor bloke that has to stand there all day with that brush and pull that stuff out....

[johnknoefler]

We are throwing away computers that are only a few years old and most of them can be easily upgraded with some extra ram. Obviously some are over 6 or 7 years old that that is a bit slow. But for Africa it is still better than most of the junk they do have. I would rather have a slow computer than none at all. The Old computers I had from 2001 upgraded fine to XP. And they downloaded off High speed excellent. Actually as well as this new one I made last year.

[ExperimentalArmy]

I have a laptop that I put linux on from 1995, it works just like new and I use it for creative writing.

[TheDarkFalcon]

XP came out in 2001 and was made for computers that of that generation. Simply upgrading ram will not allow that computer to run Vista

[mima14031985]

@johnknoefler This is a thing that no all people understand. Often I find (and pick up) at the recycling center perfectly working and often QUALITY equipments (computers, audio amplifiers, old energy saving lamps, etc...) thrown away only because they're a bit old and/or don't reach the "modern requirements" in design (in this case especially audio amplifiers and stereo equipments, even if they are quality equipments). It's a shame!

[johnknoefler]

Not so satan. The old computers I had my former wife complained they were old and outdated when her son continually crashed them with viruses. He started tearing both of them up before they were booted out of my house. I combined the parts of them and installed XP OS and now a woman at Loan Brokerage company uses it to process mortgages. The motherboard was ready for High Speed internet with Ethernet. It downloaded files as fast as my other three new computers.

[sonjashin]

I love that this is a modern video but looks and sounds like something from the fifties, although I can't imagine that that was intentional.

[johnknoefler]

this is really stupid. If they strip the machines of cpu and motherboard they can make much more money.

[Xonx68]

That's what I was thinking as I saw this video. Why total destruction?? There are so many non data-holding parts that can be refurbished/recycled many times! It just seems a big waste. :P

[johnknoefler]

Exactly. only the hard drive actually needs to be destroyed and there are ways to destroy it much easier than this. Shredding is not needed. A simply punch machine could do the same job. This is just rampant overkill. Kinda like searching little old ladies and taking thier fingernail clippers at airport checkin. Or taking away bottled water in case it explodes.

[NightWolfx03]

Degausser.

[johnknoefler]

Not so. Working computers are worth much more than scrap.

[TheDarkFalcon]

no they are not, a computers value MASSIVELY reduces over even a year, no business would would want to buy large amounts of out dated cpu's ram, or motherboards, Not just that they would be useless (slow) but also they are more likely to failure, especially as new hardware is so cheap anyway.

[NightWolfx03]

Depends on the person who wants the computer really. I still own a working 8088, and some of the older machines I own I keep around becuase virtual machines and other things will not work. SOme old software needs old machines to work properly. Oh yeah and my home router is a 700 Mhz Celeron. It beats out any cable DSL modem you want to throw at me. And the best part, I got it out of someone's garbage. It worked perfectly and has for 2 years!