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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Our local High School is how the computers got rendered useless in the first place!
Just sayin'...
--Mac
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.
Betcha they end up in landfills anyway...
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.
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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!
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
They might make good boat anchors.:)
.
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.
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
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
Isn't there some kind of thing that wipes off everything except the operating system so you could sell it?
WSS
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.
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!
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!
The practice of "writing zeros" is the only was to ensure complete deletion without going the physical route. That writes 0s on every sector 3 times.
Remember it is POSSIBLE to view old files with a sector editor, but short of you having anything THAT sensitive on your drive, nobody cares. And if you have anything that sensitive, lock it in a bank safe deposit box.
PS. My practice is that I keep my hard drives. I must have a dozen laying around from over the years. When I junk a computer the drive is removed.
Israeli intelligence service reports that the best way to preserve data integrity on an old drive is to run over it with a tank. Srsly.
Mac, the local Goodwill store is sounding like the easiest alternative. Hopefully they can sell them and make a buck for the people down on their luck, and if not, I wonder if they would dispose of them properly?
I don't have any personal info on the Mac, just and old BiaB and some styles. By the time I got the eMac, the PC was my main computer. So over-writing the space with ones and zeros multiple times should be sufficient.
Notes
I used to work, day job, as electrical engineer for an outfit that wrote a lot of software involved in the defense industry as well as many a proprietary private outfit.
Writing zeros on a drive was prohibited. For good reason. There is a way to read the leftover magnetic field that used to be ones...
So we'd give away the older computers, but each and every one, the hard drives were removed -- and the shop machinist would drill at least two 1/4" holes right through the sides of the drives and through the internal platters.
Only then could the drives be disposed of.
I still do that with any of my drives that may have personal identification or the likes ever stored on 'em.
--Mac
Quote:
Mac, the local Goodwill store is sounding like the easiest alternative. Hopefully they can sell them and make a buck for the people down on their luck, and if not, I wonder if they would dispose of them properly?
I don't have any personal info on the Mac, just and old BiaB and some styles. By the time I got the eMac, the PC was my main computer. So over-writing the space with ones and zeros multiple times should be sufficient.
Notes
Bob, there are MIL-grade erasure algorithms available free on the web. Look for one used by the Canadian Military. They are not popular for most users because a security-grade wipe can take nearly a month. LOL.
There was a very similar thread about a year ago. You may want to search for it and prevent deja vu all over again.
Since I don't have any personal info on the Mac, I think I'll try one of those apps that write 'random' ones and zeros multiple times. The program on my PC overwrites 35 times.
http://eraser.heidi.ie/I only bought the eMac to test my styles on the Mac before selling them. In the old days, the style files were not so compatible between the two platforms. I would often have to downsize my PC styles for the Mac.
So I'll delete BiaB and my styles and look for something that will overwrite the then unused space on the HD 35 times or so. That should be sufficient to keep anyone from getting BiaB illegally.
I may try Craigslist first, just in case there is a computer collector in the area. I figure I should ask for a minimal price, just to keep the non-serious away. If no one responds, I'll go Goodwill.
What do you think? $10 each all 3 for $25?
It's sad to think that something I spent so much money for is now for all practical purposes worthless. So I try not to think about that too much
Notes
I'm sure that Mac paid for itself by now, eh?
Don't lament.
Celebrate.
--Mac
Quote:
I'm sure that Mac paid for itself by now, eh?
Don't lament.
Celebrate.
--Mac
Thanks, Mac. You are correct. It did what it needed to do and was a faithful friend indeed.
It just seems a little sad to me that it's still clean, has a beautiful picture, works perfectly, and is worth so little.
I guess it's the musician in me. I bought it as a musical instrument. I still have a 1924 silver plated King Alto sax that has the voice of an angel. It plays any modern piece of music and all it needs is a little coaxing from my lip to play in tune with itself. I bought it used for $50 in the 1960s.
The Atari's were faithful friends and have some nostalgic value. I bought the first one myself. It was my first music computer (I had a TI99/4A before that). The second Atari was given to me by one of my good customers. He was switching to the PC and didn't know what to do with the Atari, so he asked me if I wanted a backup. I was selling styles for PC, Mac and Atari at the time so I said "Sure". (almost wrote Shure - a musician mistake).
I don't want to send them to the junk pile. I'd rather they go to someone who has at least some use for them.
That's why I decided to clean them up, put them on Craigslist first, and charge a nominal fee just to keep someone who will take anything for free, (whether they want it or not).
I have a very small studio (converted bedroom of a home built in 1950) and I have some use for the real-estate the computers are taking up. Plus, like a musical instrument, they should be used.
I started writing my user styles on the Atari. When PG Music introduced the StyleMaker app, I decided to try my hand at it. So I wrote a couple of dozen styles, gave them to my musician friends, and they said they liked them better than the PG styles so I took out an ad in Electronic Musician.
One day Peter Gannon called and offered to make them work on the PC to expand my market (Thanks Peter). This showed me what kind of person Peter is, and probably a good reason why he is successful. Later a approached the owners of a couple of other auto-accompaniment software apps. They both frowned on a third party person enhancing their product, but one of them contracted me to write a couple of styles for them. I got paid less than they were worth - but I'm not complaining, I agreed to that.
BiaB/PC was still a DOS program back when Peter Called. So soon after I bought a Win 3.1 with DOS 5 PC and a little "toaster" Macintosh.
So while I'm nostalgic about my old tools/friends, I know it's time for them to go. I just want them to go to a good home
Notes
Quote:
....I was selling styles for PC, Mac and Atari at the time so I said "Sure". (almost wrote Shure - a musician mistake).....
Notes
I make that same mistake all the time, except I actually type it out and see the auto-correct underlining shure and have to go back and fix it!
If the Ataris are working, I would also point folks to your Craigslist from the various Atari ST user communities that are still out there.
-Scott
Yes, the Atari is still a sought-after item and those who are still running older programs that they love will indeed pay a little bit more to get a spare or replace one that is dying or whatever.
Bars 'n Pipes,
--Mac
Quote:
Writing zeros on a drive was prohibited. For good reason. There is a way to read the leftover magnetic field that used to be ones...
So we'd give away the older computers, but each and every one, the hard drives were removed -- and the shop machinist would drill at least two 1/4" holes right through the sides of the drives and through the internal platters.
Only then could the drives be disposed of.
I still do that with any of my drives that may have personal identification or the likes ever stored on 'em.
This is the correct way to do it, period.
You sure its not condescending or arrogant?
Mac,
Quote:
You sure it’s not condescending or arrogant?
I’m sure it’s not! I saw the asinine comment on the other thread.
Since you’ve been the recipient of a couple these lately, I’m gonna go out on a limb and make a wild assed guess and say that these guys can’t stand the fact that you always know what you’re talking about and the only recourse they have is to make comments like that.
I hope you don’t let a few individuals keep you from posting what are always helpful and informative comments.
I, for one, appreciate your advice and I'm glad you take the time to share what you've learned on the forum.
Re: Hard Drive Disposal...
Last time I did this I first had my at the time 7 year old son watch me take the cover off the drive - if I recall, I had to drill out some rivets or odd-head screws.
Then I explained how the read/write heads use electricity to leave information on the different discs inside.
Then we proceeded to beat the living daylights out of it with alternating hammer swings from me and from him. To date, he still loves tearing apart spent electronics equipment. There's innards of a busted portable CD player on top of his bookshelf as I type this. Bless his heart! Makes his daddy proud. He's also the old-school jazz fan, but lately has even taken to 80's/90's era Sanborn and Yellowjackets from Dad's olde CD archive. I troll the local Goodwill stores for jazz CDs for him. Latest one I got was from Laura Newman, a local killer sax player whom I've actually met. She has offered to help me pick out a used Tenor at Wedgle's pawn in Denver.
-Scott
Quote:
Mac,
Quote:
You sure it’s not condescending or arrogant?
I’m sure it’s not! I saw the asinine comment on the other thread.
Since you’ve been the recipient of a couple these lately, I’m gonna go out on a limb and make a wild assed guess and say that these guys can’t stand the fact that you always know what you’re talking about and the only recourse they have is to make comments like that.
I hope you don’t let a few individuals keep you from posting what are always helpful and informative comments.
I, for one, appreciate your advice and I'm glad you take the time to share what you've learned on the forum.
+1 Amico!
Quote:
I’m gonna go out on a limb and make a wild assed guess and say that these guys can’t stand the fact that you always know what you’re talking about and the only recourse they have is to make comments like that.
Thanks for the laugh! You really DID go out on a limb for that one! 
His knowledge has NEVER been in question as far as I know, just the tone of the posts at times......just like a few of YOUR'S the last few months. So in the words of a famous forum poster..."Deal with it..."
Yes it is hard to REALLY get the tone of a post when there is no face to face expression's to glean clues from, but then again it is not hard to "read" a condescending reply...like this one....
Either way I enjoy reading the forum & learning from ya folks! 
jcspro40,
I couldn’t possibly give less of a rat’s ass about what you think of me, but I do find it asinine for you to make snarky comments to Mac when he’s always stepping forward to help anyone he can on the forum.
I've never known him to be condescending or arrogant.
Mac is OK with me anytime, even if disagrees with me
Since the Atari computers have no hard drive, that isn't an issue. They were nice computers in their day. The Amiga was a decent computer as well.
I used to have a 40MB hard drive for an Atari. It was almost as big as a 4 rack space PA Power amp, and it took about a minute to rotate to speed. Then writing data made nice clicking noises as the head moved around. One day it no longer clicked, fortunately I kept duplicates of everything important on floppy disks (remember those).
The Mac has no personal information from me that isn't public on the Internet. It does have my name as the registered owner, anybody know how to get that off or change it?
I also do not have any of my customer's information on it. I don't even keep the customers numbers on my computers at home. The shopping cart and authorization company takes care of all that, I get the order with the card number removed (my choice in the options) and I also have the option of removing the customer's entire order off the secure server at the shopping cart company. I think it's a good idea to do that for everything that is settled and cleared. Although I chose the cart because of its security features and record, if it isn't there, it can't be hacked.
So for Band-in-a-Box and my disks I think overwriting 35 times with random ones and zeros is enough. I think it would be easier to buy BiaB than to look for traces of magnetic residue that have been overwritten 35 times with either a one or a zero.
Other than that all that is on the computer is some open source freeware that I downloaded and I'll leave that on. Plus AOL and I only used that to send my files from the PC to the Mac back in the dial-up days. And after seeing how time consuming that was, I ended up using CD-RW for that task.
As soon as I can figure out how to get my name off the computer, I'll finish cleaning it up and put it on Craigslist. Perhaps I'll start a little higher in price and if they don't sell reduce it.
Thanks again for all the help and opinions.
Notes
Re: Selling old but good stuff: Maybe you need to ask more. I once had a pretty good portable compressor--Sears 6-1/2 HP, 33 gallon, 220 volt, 120 PSI. Once I was divorced I no longer needed it. I tried to sell it a couple of times for $75 and got no bites. Nothing at all. It was just taking up space in storage. Finally I had a yard sale, marked it at $150 and had an immediate buyer--haggled "down" to $125. Go figure.
So describe your old computers as "vintage," ask real money for them, and see what happens.
Quote:
As soon as I can figure out how to get my name off the computer, ...
Hey Notes,
if you right click "My Computer" and select "Properties" to get the exact text from the "Registered to" section you could do a search of the registry for that text (I'd probably just search for what should be a fairly unique section of the name)
Start|Run|Regedit <Enter>
then
Edit|Find (fill in the dialogue) <Enter>
then <F3> till you find something meaningful - edit/delete the key's contents and keep searching - it may appear more than once.
Can't guarantee it'll work and make sure you have "system restore" turned on in case you screw up the registry (so you can go back).
Once you're happy it's OK turn "System Restore" off and then back on again. This will delete any old stored registry data that may contain your name.
Can't guarantee it'll work - I never put my name against any m$ registration so I have nothing to test against (hey, I buy a book do I have to tell the author I did? m$ can go to hell with their registrations)
I think Notes is talking about his name in a Macintosh, Lawrie.
Quote:
I think Notes is talking about his name in a Macintosh, Lawrie.
whups, thanks Mac, sorry for the bum steer Notes.
I use an old pc running Windows XP as an effects device.
I am using the built in sound card with the following software:
VSTHost ASIO4ALLI connect it to my mixer via one of the effects busses. (effect out to line in on the pc)
Mute the line in on the pc to prevent feedback loop.
robsmusic,
You may want to start a new thread for this. I am very interested to hear how you use your old PC as an FX unit. I have a 10-year-old XP PC that I am about to take out of service. It would be great if I could get some more use out of it.
Richard
And as long as I stick to Craigslist, there isn't a fee to pay and no shipping to worry about. Of course the audience is smaller.
I think I'll go higher and then if they don't sell, reduce them.
Got nothing to lose.
Notes
OK I put the eMac on Craigslist, and reduced it every week until it got to be $25.00 at which point I donated it to Goodwill Industries.
No problem, the guy at Goodwill says they go to a computer expert for refurbishing and then resold. So at least it will find a good home. That's all I really wanted.
On the other hand, I keep getting these e-mail messages "answering" my mail:
They start like this, include a couple of pictures of attractive, scantily clad girls, and include a link that I am careful not to accidentally click on:
- Hello there! How are things? Im a real young lady looking for a simple man because I miss having a companion. Im always working fulltime so I don't know where to encounter guys anymore so thought I would give this a shot. I hope youre an adult and real because I would feel idiotic chatting with a little boy lol. well I don't work for a week so do you want to hang out? I would feel more secure if we could carry on this talk on my profile page tho is that ok? Emailing is boring. Ill buzz you on there - I added secure pictures and my phone # for you so hurry up. Youll see that Im real after logging in. You won't be dissappointed babe!
- Hi! How are you? Im a real girl looking for a fun man because I miss having= a company. Im always working hard so I don't know where to hook up with.<...snip...>
- Hey there! How's it going? Im a real hottie looking for a simple man.<...snip...>
- I'm keen of you and your ad. I need to speak more and was curious if you co= uld call/text me with where you live? <...snip...>
- Im fascinated about you and your ad. I want to learn more and was wondering= if you could call/text me with your location? Please grab my cell phone # <...snip...>
- Is your product still for sale? Sigh I don't know where to encounter guys anymore so thought I would give this a shot. <...snip...>
- Hiya, this may very well be random but you might seem incredibly hot in your <...snip...>
- Hiya, is your thing still available? I don't normally do this but you sounded attractive in your listing and I'm drawn to you. I live close by and up for anything <...snip...>
- We are close to one another so why not meet for cold drinks in near future? <...snip...>
- I'm mesmerized about you and your ad. I need to speak more and was curious = if you could call/text me with your address? <...snip...>
And so on. There are 30 of these in my trash folder since the last time I dumped it. Probably dumped about 20 more earlier.
They aren't the end of the world, but they are a minor PITA., Besides:
- I'm happily married to a hottie and am usually with her 24/7, (much to my delight)
- I'm a one woman guy
- I'm not stupid enough to click on the link
- I'm not stupid enough to text him/her my address so he/she/they can burglarize my home
The ad has been removed for a week now, and still they come, two or three per day. Always from different addresses at gmx.us or gmx.com
I did create a filter to direct them to the junk folder, but I have to check the junk folder for false positives before nuking it so they just add to the clutter I have to sift through.
So my next question is...
DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEM STOP!!!I thought about putting my two Atari computers on Craigslist, but I think I'll give them to someone who will take them apart for the gold and other recyclables. That's sad. I've checked eBay and they aren't selling, and even if I gave them away out-of-town the shipping would cost more than the computers are worth.
I've run ads in the musician's section of Craigslist before and never got this kind of spam. But first time in the computer section and look what happens. I guess the spammers know musicians can "get lucky" and figure computer nerds have more difficulty at that delightful aspect of life.
Insights, incites and frustrations by Notes
well, it is too late for this now but Word To The Wise...when using a site like Craigslist I always get a new email address that I use for this and nothing else. That way I can simply delete the email address when I'm done or redirect to a junk folder and delete the mail without concerns about other legit emails being in there.
Bob, I love the ones that call me a "seductive hunk" after seeing my photo on FB. My photo on FB is a closeup of my guitar sound-hole. lol.
Well, since we're such seductive hunks, I guess we are just going to have to break the hearts of all those pretty, under-dressed (actually slightly under-exposed) girls. Please forgive me girls, I hate to break your hearts, but I'm already taken. E-mail George Clooney instead.
I hate to be the "I told you so" but you fixated on only the tax deduction part...
So I won't do that.
Just be glad that CriminalsList didn't bring around the baddies who use it to case your house for future robbery visits.
And enjoy all your new Nigerian email friends.
--Mac
I'm glad you didn't do that Mac
So far the sweet, sexy things haven't e-mailed me today. I'm heartbroken.
Perhaps they're angry because I forwarded the e-mails to
spam@uce.gov and reported them to SpamCop. Probably not, it's never done much good in the past. Perhaps they found out I'm way to old for them. Probably not, they are more than likely just sleeping late.
Notes
I thought you wanted 'em ta stop.
So I called up one o' da boyz and baddaboom baddabing, you know?
--MacEnzio
A favor for a future favor. You're the best Mac!
But don't whack the Nigerian guy, he's gonna give me a million big ones! All I gotta do is give him a big deposit (my entire savings account) to prove that I'm serious.
Well, don' youse worry none, der's plenty of 'em left.