Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Disposing of Old Macs

Jetson

Jetson

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 5, 2003
633
196
I have 3 old Macintosh computers and assorted peripherals (LaserWriter II printer, modems, etc.) that I'd like to dispose of. I'm certain there is little monetary value left. If anyone here has any expertise or suggestions, please share it.

1. How do I wipe the hard disks clean?
2. Should I dismantle the computers?
3. Should I attempt to sell them or should I just place them in the trash?

Thanks...
 
Duff-Man says...yes, if we new exactly what the hardware was it'd be easier to say what could be done with them. Perhaps they are still usable and can be donated somewhere...library, school, charity, senior's home etc....there are still lots of people that could use an older mac if all they want to do is send/receive email or write letters to their grand-kids etc......oh yeah!
 
Duff-Man said:
Duff-Man says...yes, if we new exactly what the hardware was it'd be easier to say what could be done with them. Perhaps they are still usable and can be donated somewhere...library, school, charity, senior's home etc....there are still lots of people that could use an older mac if all they want to do is send/receive email or write letters to their grand-kids etc......oh yeah!
Click to expand...

Hear hear! Any old "junky" computers you want to get rid of can still be very useful to the right people... check out any nearby public elementary schools, for example, that might not be getting adequate funding (my gf worked at an inner city elementary school in San Fran which couldn't afford anything like that, it's definitely a very worthy cause, you just have to find the right people who want that stuff)

edit: plus, think of all the kids who will grow up to be mac users! :D
 
Whatever you decide to do, don't throw them in the trash. There are toxic components in every computer that must be disposed of properly. Companies that can do this for you are often listed in the yellow pages. I'm with most every one else on donating the Macs to a school or charity. A few years back, I donated an old IIsi and 15-inch monitor to the Salvation Army administration offices. The computer was around 10 years old, but they were thrilled to have it.
 
If your close to the area donate the computers here . For a small fee they will recycle your mac and use the usable things in it to make a usable computer to donate to a low income family. They do not recycle anything overseas. Otherwise the computer equipment that you throw away will probaly go to China where things get dirty....
 
Donate your Macs to your local Senior Center. Many senior centers are starting computer programs, and are screaming for computers. Make their lives easier and donate Macs to them. I did it, and just used the system software to wipe the drive, and reloaded them with System 7.5.3, and Claris Works 4. Make sure any software you load, you provide the disks to them. You can get a sweet tax deduction for it.

tEG
 
If you have anything on the hard drives that is sensitive, and you plan to recycle (NOT THROW AWAY) your computers, then you can simply hammer the HD a little, put some dents in it, etc. and you will be fine. Otherwise, you can just use the system erase mechanism. Please find a computer recycling center that you can ship/take the computer parts to, it really makes a difference. Computers (especially old ones) contain lead, mercury and many many other things that you wouldn't want leeching into your water table. Thanks!
 
Horrortaxi said:
Thermite works too.
Click to expand...

yhea that stuff works I know from experience. aluminium dust, magnesium dust and some rust and you got something that'll melt through a car

edit:typo
 
Getting rid of old macs in a cradle-to-cradle kind of way

blue&whiteman said:
telling us what macs they are would help a lot..
Click to expand...

Thanks everybody for all the helpful replies and enlightening remarks!

I have a Mac SE, Performa 575, PowerMac 5400/180, and a LaserWriter II printer. Also a bunch of old slow modems and 2 SCSI hard drives taking up valuable space in my garage. I might keep the Mac SE for old time sake since it was my first computer and it still works.

Those old computers will barely function on the internet today, especially with a broadband connection.

I'm currently using a 1GHz eMac with 1GB ram and an HP OfficeJet 7130 printer and love it. I've also had a 10GB iPod for about 2 years and am now wishing it was 30-40 GBs but I will have make do :)
 
Jetson said:
Thanks everybody for all the helpful replies and enlightening remarks!

I have a Mac SE, Performa 575, PowerMac 5400/180, and a LaserWriter II printer. Also a bunch of old slow modems and 2 SCSI hard drives. I might keep the Mac SE for old time sake since it was my first computer and it still works.

I'm currently using an eMac with a HP OfficeJet 7130 printer and love it :D
Click to expand...


for sure don't scrap the 5200 if it works. it would suit someone fine to run 9 or 8.6 and use it to web browse/email.

the other ones could maybe serve as little hyper card machines just for fun with os 6 or 7. I always hate to see a running mac just go to waste.
 
Funny, I just managed (I think) to find a good home for a Performa 636 with all the fixins. It's going to a school that's drastically short of computers; yes, it's a dinosaur, but it's perfectly functional for word processing, a bit of very low-end scanning, and if I can get the modem working can even provide e-mail access (though I wouldn't wish 68k web browsing on my worst enemy).

Recycling, if you find a place that doesn't just strip the gold out and landfill the rest, or send the whole mess to China, isn't a bad option if the computer doesn't work at all, but most of the time people have old comptuers that are quite functional in the right hands.

By the way, as others said, anything with a PPC chip is a lot more useful than a 68k Mac; those, you can use for MP3 juke boxes or bargain-basement file servers, and they can run OS8 or 9, so you can probably even do some functional web browsing on them (I know at least one person who manages to run a small business on a 5200, including plenty of e-mail). You can probably manage to sell those for some money.
 
Jetson I have a few old MACs myself. I would be interested in knowing what you have and how much you want for them (including software if any)

I would like to know how the Chinese are getting all those computer parts. Here in Up-State NY "Waste Management" has just opened a multi-million $ recycling plant to salvage the precious metals from discarded PCs, MAcs, Printers, etc., now I think it's gonna be "Love Canal" all over again. So much for the Mohawk River :(
 
If your equipment is in working or easily repairable order, we will fix it and place it with a charity, non-profit, school, low-income or disabled individual somewhere on the planet Earth. If your equipment is not working and it cannot be repaired, we will disassemble it and send the base elements off to approved, environmentally friendly secondary recyclers. Cathode ray tubes will be smelted allowing the lead to be removed from the glass so that both can be recycled. Circuit boards will be ground up so that a number of different metal recovery processes can be used to reclaim the various nasty alloys that are in them. Nothing goes to China! We do not ship our equipment overseas for the purposes of recycling
Click to expand...
How do I wipe the hard disks clean?
Click to expand...
Doing Nothing: Doing nothing means that you do not care who sees your data. This allows us to simply reformat the drive and use it in a rebuilt computer.

Formatting your hard drive yourself: Formatting a hard drive is not perfect, but it is generally enough to insure that most folks won't be able to read your old data. The disk will remain in working order and we will be able to format it a second time and use it in a rebuilt computer. However, formatting your hard drive might require you to consult with a geek for help.

http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/2003/02/27.html
Click to expand...

Very True

http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/2003/02/27.html
Click to expand...
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2002/02/25/computer-waste.htm
Click to expand...
http://npr.org/programs/watc/features/2002/apr/computers/
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back