Every business eventually needs to get rid of their current hard drives. Depending on what type of hard drive you have, you could have it for as little as a few years before you need to start looking at replacements.
When you’re ready to say out with the old and in with the new, it’s not always so simple. Your hard drives are filled with important company information and personal data. When it’s time to replace these, you can’t just toss them and be done with them.
But how do you go about properly disposing of old hard drives? Keep reading to learn five tips on how to discard old hard drives properly.
Tips for Disposing of Old Hard Drives
Securely disposing of old hard drives is more work than you can do on your own, especially if you’re a business getting rid of a large amount of equipment. To protect your business, you need to destroy old hard drives responsibly so the data can no longer be accessed.
If you have old hard drives at your business, here’s what you need to do when it’s time to get rid of them.
Destroy Data Before Disposing of Old Hard Drives
Data destruction is extremely important for any business looking to dispose of old electronics. Hard drives contain a business’s important data, which is difficult for a person to fully erase on their own. Many might think they’ve successfully wiped their hard drive, but they aren’t aware how easily the wrong person will still be able to access it.
A business’s hard drives will also contain confidential information about its customers and clients, and they have a responsibility to protect this. If businesses don’t ensure that data is being carefully destroyed, they could get into serious trouble. Getting help with data destruction is easy, so there is no reason for any business to be irresponsible when disposing of old hard drives and computers and taking this risk.
Save All of Your Old Files
Before you do anything to dispose of your old hard drives, you need to ensure that everything is backed up elsewhere. Once you destroy your old hard drives, there’s no way of recovering that lost information.
It can be easy to forget about something that might not seem important right now, but you could end up needing it in the future. While this step might seem obvious to some, it’s always worth checking off just to be sure your data is still accessible when you need it.
Have the Data Wiped
If you have electronics that are still in good working order, you might choose to donate what you can instead of recycling them. If you go this route, it is important to make sure all of your data is erased. This process is harder than it may seem and is more work than simply deleting files.
Having all data on your hard drive wiped ensures that no one can retrieve it after it has left your company. If you plan on donating or selling your old electronics, it would be best to find a professional who can help you safely and securely wipe the hard drive so you aren’t taking any risks.
Destroy Old Hard Drives
If your hard drive is no longer usable, you need to have it physically destroyed. To ensure this is done correctly, you must bring it to a qualified company to handle data destruction.
At Newtech, our data destruction process helps ensure that your computer hard drives get destroyed so that you don’t have to worry about anyone accessing your important data. We not only wipe all of the data from your old hard drive, but we also use an electromagnetic pulse that destroys any information on the hard drive. After this, we physically destroy the old hard drive itself by shredding it.
Recycle E-Waste Responsibly
How to safely destroy hard drives isn’t the only thing to consider when your business has old electronics to get rid of. You also need to take the necessary steps to ensure that anything that can be recycled is taken care of properly.
Electronics that aren’t properly disposed of aren’t just a threat to your business’s data but also to our entire environment. These electronics can release harmful toxins into the air, soil, and water if thrown away like regular garbage, which can seriously impact the environment. Not only do electronics become extremely toxic when put in landfills, but it’s also a huge waste of resources. Electronics contain many precious metals that can be reused to create something new if recycled.
Because of this, you need a certified e-waste recycling company when you’re ready to discard old hard drives and unwanted electronics.
Newtech Recycling Can Destroy and Dispose of Old Hard Drives
At Newtech Recycling, we can help ensure that all of your hard drives are destroyed and that all of your other electronics are recycled responsibly. We also offer desktop disposal, IT hardware and server recycling, and cell phone recycling services.
Visit our website to learn about e-waste recycling and how Newtech Recycling can help your business discard old hard drives in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut.