How to get data consolidated from a bunch of computers with money rather than work?

July 21, 2012 4:46 PM

Service to pull data off a bunch of old computers and then recycle, in bay area?

Hi everyone,

So I'm in the SF bay area and I have a TON of old useless computers. 2 old mac laptops, 1 old windows laptop, and one old windows desktop. As far as I know, none of them work anymore. About to move across the country, so it's time to deal with it.

Here's what I'd like to be able to do:
- pay someone a not unreasonable amount of money to
- take all the machines
- yank their hard drives
- copy their hard drives either to a big usb drive or to a bunch of DVDs
- either destroy the old hard drives or give them back to me, and
- recycle the rest.

Does anyone know any business around here that will do that sort of thing? Surely this has to be a need that people in silicon valley have all the time...

thanks!

posted by paultopia to computers & internet (4 answers total)

(addendum: as far as I know, all the hard drives still work (they mostly have fried motherboards/dead power supplies/etc.). if any turn out not to work, I don't need recovery services, will just discard.
posted by paultopia at 4:47 PM on July 21, 2012

Alameda County Computer Recycling Center will do it for you. Computers are free, other electronics and small appliances are I believe a buck each. They will also wipe hard drives for a fee. What can be reused goes to schools, the rest is ecologically scrapped.
posted by zippy at 5:28 PM on July 21, 2012

Oh, they won't do the copying, but for that just get a USB - IDE/ATA adaptor from central computer and DIY. Also, ACCRC do free pickup for Alameda County residents.
posted by zippy at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2012

For satisfying hard drive destruction, the paper shredding place off gilman in Berkeley will punch holes in your drives and run magnets over them. Fun.
posted by migurski at 6:36 PM on July 21, 2012 [1 favorite]