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Recommendations for Recycling old iMac

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I finally bought a new iMac . My old one is 8 years old . The sales associate at the Apple Store suggested I recycle my old one. I read that Apple has a vendor that takes the old computers and either recycles the materials or Gives/sells the computer to someone . The recycling is not done by Apple.

After I figure out how to erase my HD is it safe to send my old computer to them? Or are there another safer recycling idea?
What do you do with your old computers?

Thanks !
Barbara
 
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Rod


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The standard procedure from Apple is as follows. What to do (officially) before selling a used Mac

When preparing to sell or give away your Mac, you may want to erase some or all files from its hard drive. But first determine whether you should back up your computer and disable certain features and services. These steps show the recommended sequence of actions:


Deauthorize your computer*from iTunes, if applicable.
Back up your data using*Time Machine*or other*backup methods for OS X Mavericks*or*Mountain Lion.
If you use Find My Mac or other iCloud features on this Mac, complete these steps:
Back up your iCloud content.
Choose Apple Menu () > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
Deselect the Find My Mac checkbox.
Sign out of iCloud. When you sign out of iCloud, you're asked whether you want to remove iCloud data from your Mac. Removing iCloud data in this way makes sure that the data isn't also removed from any of your other devices that are using the same iCloud account.
If you're using OS X Mountain Lion v10.8 or later, sign out of iMessage:
In the Messages app, choose Preferences > Accounts.
Select your iMessage account, then click Sign Out.
Reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X. Follow the appropriate instructions:
OS X Mavericks (this is the same method for Yosemite).
OS X Mountain Lion
OS X Lion
After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of your system. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac, the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.
 
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Thanks Rod !! I appreciate the list of things to do . I was still running Snow Leopard so some of the tasks are not applicable but I will save the list for the future. I never thought of some of the things such as de-authorize it in iTunes. I am not going to sell it-- I want to prepare it for safe recycling .

Do most people here recycle their old computers and is it safe to do so ?
Thanks again
Barbara
 
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Thanks Rod !! I appreciate the list of things to do . I was still running Snow Leopard so some of the tasks are not applicable but I will save the list for the future. I never thought of some of the things such as de-authorize it in iTunes. I am not going to sell it-- I want to prepare it for safe recycling .

Do most people here recycle their old computers and is it safe to do so ?

Hi Barbara - by 'safe to do so' (in bold above), is your concern that your own data may still be on the hard drive and/or are you wanting to be assured that the computer is given away appropriately or its parts recycled responsibly? If you are worried about your own data on the hard drive, then reinstalling an OS X should be fine (I did that w/ a Dell desktop & a Dell laptop in 2013, both of which I donated locally) - the only way to be absolutely assured about your information is to remove and destroy the hard drive. But let us know more specifically what you 'concerns' may be? Dave :)
 
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Dave, My question/concern is -do most of you sell or recycle your old computers after you erase the HD? Many years ago I saw and interview with a Professor of Computer Technology and he said that he always "removed" the hard drive before disposing of the rest of the computer . He said a determined person can often retrieve data from an erased HD. I don't want to give a helping hand to hackers .

Have any of you dealt with "Sims Recycling Solutions" the recycling vendor Apple uses and are they trustworthy ?

Thanks
Barbara
 

pigoo3

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Sell it on eBay or Craig's List and make a few bucks. Someone buying it will certainly use it. And isn't that even better than recycling it??:)

- Nick
 
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I guess it can also depend on what one's interpretation of "recycle" is, and I know a lot of local users use the word to give and donate their old computers to many of the places that accept them. Seniors centers, single parents and needy users sure come to mind. Some even give tax receipts.

Follow the standard procedures and wipe out any "User" data and do a Secure Erase over Free Space and no old data can be regurgitated.
 
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Dave, My question/concern is -do most of you sell or recycle your old computers after you erase the HD? Many years ago I saw and interview with a Professor of Computer Technology and he said that he always "removed" the hard drive before disposing of the rest of the computer . He said a determined person can often retrieve data from an erased HD. I don't want to give a helping hand to hackers .

Have any of you dealt with "Sims Recycling Solutions" the recycling vendor Apple uses and are they trustworthy ? ........

Hi again Barbara - I'm still not sure if your MAIN concern is that someone may recover your personal data from your hard drive if you sell or donate your computer? The concept of destroying your HD (as I mentioned) has been around for decades and would most assuredly avoid recovery of your personal data, BUT if you have erased the drive and reinstalled an OS X, it would take virtually a PRO at data recovery to retrieve that information, even if possible?

After decades on PC-DOS/Windows computers, I switched to Apple in 2013 - as I stated I got rid of two Dell machines, both donated - as I erased the drives and installed a new operating system (Linux distros), I was not concerned about my personal data - I don't understand why you are so 'bothered' by doing this yourself?

As to Sims Recycling Solutions - I googled the website (screen capture below) - I'm really not familiar w/ the organization, sorry - hope that others may 'chime in' w/ some personal experience. Dave :)
.
Screen Shot 2015-12-08 at 11.45.15 PM.png
 
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What I do to a personal hard drive before selling it: **

1: Start up off another drive and use Disk Utility to perform a secure erase. (Zero out the drive)

2: Copy junk files (Random images, word processing files with meaningless info, etc.) to the drive until it is completely full.

3: Perform another secure erase.

4: install new operating system if putting it in a computer. If not, reformat as MS-DOS (FAT)

Using those steps, IF a person manages to recover anything at all after the second secure erase, they will find nothing but the junk files.

**Selling includes selling the drive directly, or installing it in another computer to be sold.
 
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I removed the hard drive from a dead mac I had, brought the hard drive to a gun range and put a few rounds thru it.
 
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I have a question about the actual physical recycling vs outright trashing of my iMac G5 purchased in 2005. Due to the fact that it kept working, I never upgraded until one day earlier this year (2015) the screen became hopelessly pixelated. I have been able to go back onto it and delete most files with personal information (sort of by intuition of where "clicks" should be). I was unsuccessful in finding a shop that could repair it though, so I bought a new one.

My question is what do I do with my old iMac, circa 2005? It is sort of heavy and I would feel guilty about just throwing it in the trash as is. But at the same time it is not a usable computer. Any suggestions?
 
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If you have a cleanup day leave it on the kerb. It will magically isappear in minutes!
 

chscag

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If you have a cleanup day leave it on the kerb. It will magically isappear in minutes!

Same here Harry. You don't have to worry about the Trash collection pickup, anything left out on the curb will be gone real pronto! (Texas talk for you down unders... ;) )
 
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Gentlemen, would the method used during the tv series Mission Impossible do? Peter Graves witnessed a few.
(Nevada talk for you down unders)...:|
 
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Thanks for the advise on what to do before I recycle my old iMac. Although I have never typed my SS number nor any financial info into my computer I want to be sure no one can access my CC numbers from the Hard Drive. I am a 75 year old woman so I am not comfortable with selling on Craigslist. Plus it is a 2007 model with a maximum of 4GB of RAM allowed. These days most applications need more memory than that . I am going to send it to Apple to recycle .
Thanks again
Barbara
 

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