How do you get rid of a laptop you no longer use? Do you sell it? Donate it? Or drop it off at your local recycling facility? Before you do anything, make sure the data on your laptop is removed.

Most people don’t do anything before recycling a laptop. At most, a factory reset is performed. It’s not enough. Factory resets don’t do as much as you think. They wipe apps, settings, and user data, but those items aren’t completely gone. Fragments may remain. Someone with the skill and tools to recover that data could access information you don’t want them to.

Don’t recycle your laptop without first wiping all traces of data. These are the steps you need to complete.

Your Data Security Action Plan

When you consider some of the things stored on your laptop – tax returns, emails, saved passwords, applications, and so much more – there’s a lot of information that could do a lot of harm if a bad actor got hold of it. Permanently removing it before you trade in, donate, or sell your laptop is essential.

You need a data security action plan that ensures data is deleted and your access to vital information isn’t impacted. Here’s what you need to do.

Determine What’s On Your Laptop

Start by looking through files, bookmarked websites, saved passwords, and photos. Determine what you need and what can be deleted. You may find that warranty forms from five years ago are no longer valid, so there’s no point in keeping them. Remove duplicate photos or files.

Clear up your files before you complete the next step. It saves time and space when you clear the clutter before you begin.

Choose Where to Back Up Your Information and Do It

Next, back up your information. You might want to save everything to the cloud, a new device, or an external hard drive or flash drive. Once you’ve decided how to store the information, save the backup.

After the backup is complete, check that the files are there. If anything is missing, make sure you’ve saved a copy before you delete everything.

Delete the Data

One option is to permanently delete the data on your laptop. If you just delete a file and it moves to your computer’s trash bin, you’ve only removed the pathway to that file. It’s like removing the sidewalk leading to your driveway. You can still get to the driveway.

Instead, you want to use a technique that completely and permanently deletes data. You can do this through your operating system’s “Secure Erase” command, if you have one. Specialized data deletion software is another option. Overwriting and physical destruction are your options.

Overwriting

Overwriting is a convenient way to delete data. Instead of deleting it, you use software that keeps writing more and more random strings of numbers to cover that data. As it’s so random, there’s no identifiable pattern that a bad actor can use to retrieve the original data.

Microsoft Windows has a built-in tool that can overwrite data. Cipher.exe is that tool. You must run it from your administrator account and note the drive that the data is on. Knowing your computer’s file structure is important.

If you want other specialized disk-wiping programs that permanently and completely delete data, try your operating system’s “Secure Erase” command, if it’s available. Specialized data-deletion software, such as KillDisk, is another option.

Physical Destruction

If you take a hammer to your laptop’s hard drive, there’s no way anyone will recover the files. It’s one of the easiest ways to destroy data, but you have many components going into the trash, which isn’t ideal.

An electronics recycler uses shredders that chop laptops into small pieces. Those pieces are sorted into metal, plastic, and glass, if applicable, so that those materials can be melted down and reused.

You can also melt the drives down, but this is not advised, as facilities that melt components use specialized air filters to keep pollutants out of the air. Only some licensed e-waste recyclers use incinerators.

Degaussing is a method of physically destroying data on magnetic media. This process uses strong magnets to demagnetize magnetic media, such as a hard disk drive (HDD). If you rub two magnets together, eventually, they stop being magnetic and become worthless. It’s the same idea.

Newer laptops usually have a solid-state drive (SSD), and degaussing doesn’t work on them. Physical destruction, overwriting, or data wiping are your only options.

Erase Your Hard Drive

Once you decide how to delete data, it’s time to act. Once the action is completed, try to boot your laptop. It shouldn’t work if all the data is gone. It also makes your laptop useless to others unless you install a new hard drive.

If there is life left in your laptop, it could be donated to someone in need. This is why recycling with an ITAD specialist is often the best choice. Data is wiped, and the laptop is cleaned and reset to factory settings. At that point, your laptop could go to a student who cannot afford one, a victim of domestic violence who is starting over, or a non-profit organization that’s on a very tight budget.

When your laptop still has value, finding a responsible ITAD vendor for electronics recycling is the best option. Recycle Nation can help you find one.

Find a Responsible Electronics Recycler

Recycle Nation’s search tool brings up a list of nearby recycling facilities. Search for laptop recycling, and you get a list specific to that device. Use the contact information provided with the results to call and ask who processes the electronics they collect. You’re looking specifically for that company’s credentials.

Look for electronics recyclers who hold these certifications.

• e-Stewards – Those holding this certification comply with the Basel Convention’s regulations on international exports and imports, ensuring that communities where electronics are processed are protected from harm. Facilities must vet all downstream vendors and ensure that only fully functional electronics are refurbished and sold or donated.
• NAID AAA – This certification is required for facilities seeking e-Stewards certification. It emphasizes secure data destruction, physical security of devices, building security, and thorough employee background checks.
• R2 – Companies receiving R2v3 certification undergo audits to verify responsible reuse and recycling of electronics. To meet the standard, facilities must demonstrate that their processes protect workers, the environment, and surrounding communities. It also demonstrates that you promote a circular economy.

Since our listings also include maps and driving directions, getting to the recycler isn’t difficult. Our search tool also lists just about everything else you need to recycle, so rely on us to help you recycle as much as possible and reduce waste going to the landfill.