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Of course, I'll remove BiaB and other paid programs from them first and wipe the memories with an appropriate app (all except the OS and the apps that came pre-installed). But I have a big, beautiful Power PC eMac and I also have two Atari 1040/ST computers that haven't been turned on in years. Checking eBay, when they sell, they are good for $25 - $35 dollars. Hardly worth the time and hassle of finding and/or buying packing material to ship them out without damaging the CRT. I could put an ad in Cragigslist but I live in a secluded space, on a dead end street, and I really don't want anyone coming to the house that I don't know. The neighbors are pretty fussy about this and for good reason. A neighbor did some custom bookbinding. High end work. A few years ago, someone just came out to case the joint pretending to be interested in books, and before you know it, his house was emptied. Fortunately we also have a good crime watch, the license plate and car description was reported to the police, and they caught the thieves about 15 minutes later at a car wash in the poor side of town putting the stolen goods up for sale. His unlucky day, he was wanted for a number of burglaries and got 26 years. I could put the computers in the trash, but they are working computers and I hate to see them in the landfill. On the other hand, a computer is only as good as its software, and nobody writes software that will work on these computers anymore. This county does not have a recycling program for used electronics  So what to do? Any suggestions? Thanks.
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
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I have never had anyone come to my home for a Craigslist purchase. No matter how big the item, we meet in a public place, often the police department parking lot, and I am visibly armed. If they think robbing me, thereby risking their life, is in order, they are welcomed to do so.
In your case I would donate them to a place like a battered women's shelter so they have SOMETHING for the community room that the women can use to look for jobs and such. There are slight tax advantages to that, as nobody really asks you to prove the value of the donation. In the 3 or so dozen times I have done something similar I was given a blank donation receipt and I was told to write in the value of the donation.
Selling them is an option but as you said, I doubt there is a lot of value there for anybody who wants to do more than get online, and THEN they need a connection to do so.
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It's illegal to put computers in the landfill. If the computer has numbers on record somewhere that say you bought it, and it turns up later in a landfill, you can be prosecuted. You don't want that.
If you decide to dispose of them, you'll need to find a place that specializes in disposing of such items
Good will or salvation army MAY accept them, but as they get wise to the fact that they can't throw away what they can't sell, and it costs them money to dispose of it legally, they become less willing to accept such items.
You might try posting them on FREECYCLE.COM which is a website that helps people give away stuff they don't want (for free). It would be worth delivering it to the customer to avoid having them come to your house.
But, once its out of your control, THEY could put it in the landfill, and there would be no record that anybody but you owned it. Sort of a rock and a hard place. Your best bet is probably to pay to have them legally disposed.
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Wipe 'em, reload 'em with OS and donate them to the local Thrift Store, be sure to get the paperwork from the store for the IRS deduction.
If you don't want to deal with the Wipe and Reload, remove the hard drive and donate in exactly the same fashion.
Goodwill stores around these parts seem to have people able to refurbish old computer systems as well. Then they resell them with Linux OS installed, at very affordable prices.
The old ones like the Atari will likely end up on the shelf for sale as-is and the aficionados of such "rare collectibles" always seem able to find them.
And even if it is a total basket case, these places have already implemented "proper" ecological disposal methods, so no harm nor foul either case.
And you will have the knowledge that you may have helped out someone less fortunate...
--Mac
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Also, Staples accepts computer equipment for recycling for a nominal charge. It was $5 each piece when I used their service a few years ago. In that case, the computers were not in working order.
When I have had computers that did barely work, I gave them to the local high school for their tech class to dissect.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Our local High School is how the computers got rendered useless in the first place!
Just sayin'...
--Mac
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Up here in Western NYS it is illegal to put electronics in a landfill. However we do have recycling stations just for electronics. Do you have anything like this in your area? If not donating them may be the only option.
I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Betcha they end up in landfills anyway...
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I am quite fortunate in having encountered a Native American-owned recycling business (Federal Recyclers of Marietta, GA) who recycles all kinds of electronics, including PCs and monitors. NOTHING goes into a landfill. You might contact the Sierra Club or similar organization in your area to find out what green alternatives you have. It might take some driving, but you'll feel better about it.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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Quote:
Betcha they end up in landfills anyway...
I know they do, as do most of your recycled bottles, cans and paper.
PS – I know a guy who drives the trucks to the landfills!
I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Notes - craigslist is the answer - but don't have them come to your house. Standard transaction practice for CL.
The Atari ST might actually be useful to some old-school tracker fans. Put an ad in the for-sale thread at KVRAudio.com, local pickup only. You might get lucky.
-Scott
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Expert
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They might make good boat anchors.:)
Cornet Curmudgeon
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.
Many school districts have computer training classes that depend on donated hardware. They collect old hardware, take it apart and rebuild them into usable or salable machines. The students get hands-on training in job-related skills. These programs are often part of Adult Education programs.
Try contacting Adult Ed at your local district.
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Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface
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Thanks all.
There is an open source app for the PC called eraser that will wipe and over-write the HD area 35 times for the files I want to delete and the unused disk space as well. I suppose if I did a search, I could find something that would work on a Power PC Mac as well. The Atari's don't need it, no HD on those.
We have a recycling and toxic waste program in this county. Unfortunately it's not implemented well. I went to bring a couple of dead florescent light tubes in, I was told to get in line behind the garbage trucks, and after 30 minutes of breathing landfill and exhaust fumes someone took the bulbs. I'll never do that again.
I'm not really after a tax receipt, after all, $30 apiece isn't going to make any difference on what I pay on IRS day, but every $30 does help.
My first choice would be to donate them to someone who can actually get some use out of them. If not, then someone who could dispose of them properly.
I think if I go Craigslist, I should charge a nominal fee. That way it would go to someone who wants it rather than someone who is just getting things for a yard sale. I'd hate for someone unsuspecting to get it at a yard sale and then find out it's an abandoned OS.
I have an early, long, gig today, I'll check out the above options Monday.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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The tax receipt isn't my reason for donating to those thrift stores, Bob.
The fact that those shops can recycle the things for people in need, plus the fact that most all of the reputable shops do indeed have a system in place to dispose of such things legally has a lot to do with my decision. That, and the thrift shops are rather conveniently located and I do like to rummage thru them when I visit as well, have actually found a few music related items on the cheap that way from time to time.
I've found and repaired, returned to good use, guitars, mics, recording tools, keyboards, music stands, accessories and recently, a big box of good quality rhythm instruments, all for pennies on the dollar.
--Mac
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Isn't there some kind of thing that wipes off everything except the operating system so you could sell it?
WSS
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Quote:
Isn't there some kind of thing that wipes off everything except the operating system so you could sell it?
No, there's just too many places for personally identifying information to hide. It's a lot safer to format the drive to a clean state.
You can always put some flavor of Linux on the drive, to show that the machine boots and the hardware works.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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even formatting is not guaranteed to delete all your data. remove the drive and take it out to the workshop. fire up the drill press and drill a bunch of holes right through the case, platters, everything. while you're having fun hit it with a sledge a few times and let it sit overnight in some caustic sludge. now it's ready to go bye-bye! 
Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 11/19/12 01:01 AM.
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I should have clarified - Bob mentioned he was using a tool that wrote to the drive multiple time to overwrite any data that might be there. It's not perfect, but if you want to end up with something you can donate, that's the route to take. I don't know how many people want a drive once you've converted it into a boat anchor! 
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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