The most important thing you want to do before you recycle, sell or donate an old computer is to physically remove the hard drive.

You might ask why not just wipe the drive or reset the computer to factory condition? Because most methods used to delete files and data do not completely remove everything stored on the drive and criminals can use file recovery tools to extract information and use it for identity theft and other crimes. Removing the hard drive is the only sure way to prevent that from happening.

Personal computers contain a lot of private, sensitive information so it is better to be completely safe.

Once the hard drive has been removed it can be used to transfer your files to the new computer, and then you can wipe and format it and use it as a backup drive. You can purchase an adapter that allows you to connect the drive to a computer through a USB port or you can install the drive inside the case. Either way works.

Once the hard drive has been removed from the old computer you can safely get rid of it because the computer no longer contains your information. Some computers have more than one hard drive so be sure to remove all of them.