OEM XP and ex NHS Dell PCs

[centurian]

Why not just sell confidential information on 1.7 milllion people that is probably left on the hard drive somewhere to the Nigerians/Russians, make a bit more selling the story to the papers and then buy a brand new one?

Many years ago in my NHS days, we always destroyed hard drives in PC's marked for disposal with a fooking big sledgehammer in the car park

Great fun, usually done on a Friday afternoon. Much quicker than wiping software - and probably more effective too.

Last I heard, the Health & Safety bunch had stopped them from doing it

[Sysman]

Many years ago in my NHS days, we always destroyed hard drives in PC's marked for disposal with a fooking big sledgehammer in the car park

Great fun, usually done on a Friday afternoon. Much quicker than wiping software - and probably more effective too.

Last I heard, the Health & Safety bunch had stopped them from doing it

So, er, are they not bothering to take the disks out before resale nowadays?

[centurian]

So, er, are they not bothering to take the disks out before resale nowadays?

Don't know, never asked - just heard the sledgehammer was no more.

Given the OP - it does makes you wonder what they do now. Maybe they get them professionally disposed and replace them with new blanks for resale, maybe they just format them.