So, Christmas is over and you have a plethora of new electronic equipment to learn to use and just as much old equipment that it has replaced. Learning to use the new stuff is the fun part – providing you’re a bit on the geek-ish side – but getting rid of the old stuff can be a real pain.

The trouble with electronic equipment is that the components are often made with toxic chemicals, carcinogens, and heavy metals that wreak havoc on our landfill sites. Computer monitors in particular are full of toxic goop but all computer components contain unsavoury material. And then of course, there’s your old data to worry about.

When replacing a computer, there are three things you’ll likely want to consider, 1) how to get your data (financial data, documents, music, pictures, etc) from the old computer to the new one 2) how to make sure that your data is erased from the old computer so it won’t fall into the wrong hands and 3) how to dispose of the old computer in an environmentally friendly manner.

To transfer files from an old computer to a new computer, the obvious answer is to copy the files from the old computer to a removable drive, USB flash drive, or something similar, and then copy them to the new computer. While this method works fine, it has some limitations. It won’t for example copy email or email settings, desktop settings (wallpaper, layout, etc), or Internet Explorer favourites. These things can be copied manually but it’s a major pain in the neck.

A better method for transferring files to a new computer is built right into Windows XP and Windows Vista. In XP the program is called the “Files and Settings Transfer Wizard” and in Vista it’s called “Windows Easy Transfer”.  Both of these programs are reasonably easy to use and work as described.

I have used both of these programs with great success in the past in both business and residential environments and have only found one caveat; the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP Service Pack 3 is not compatible with earlier versions.  If your new computer has XP SP3 and your old computer runs an earlier version of XP, you’ll need to either upgrade the old computer to SP3 or copy the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard files from the new computer to the old one.

Once you’ve transferred your files and settings, you’ll want to decide what to do with the old computer. If you’re going to give it away or dispose of it, you should seriously consider wiping the hard drive clean so there’s no trace of your data left on it. It may be tempting to think that you have nothing confidential on your computer, but please give that some thought. Is there a credit card number or anything at all that might be of a personal nature anywhere on the hard drive? Personally, I subscribe to the better safe than sorry motto.

You’ll likely hear someone tell you that you can wipe your hard drive by formatting it and reinstalling Windows. That’s only partially true. Due to the way Windows marks files as deleted – even if the drive is formatted – data may still be recoverable and surprisingly easily.

A much better way to wipe a hard drive clean is to use a program that is written for that very purpose. There is an old adage in the industry that refers to Department of Defence security in data disposal and fortunately there’s an excellent (and free) program out there that lives up to that requirement, Darik’s Boot and Nuke – http://www.dban.org. I highly recommend DBAN for its effectiveness and ease of use.

And lastly, there’s the question of disposal. You may well be tempted to take your old computer to the local landfill but please reconsider that temptation. Some options for disposing of old computers are:

•    Donate them to charity
•    Check with the manufacturer to see if they have a recycling program
•    Call your local computer repair/sales shop. They may have some suggestions. My company, Bowes IT can help with this.
•    Call your local landfill sites. Some may have a technology disposal program.
•    If you have any young children in your family, consider handing it down to them.

All the very best in 2009!

Glen Bowes is the owner of Bowes IT Solutions, a computer service company focused on helping small and medium sized businesses with their computer challenges. Glen can be reached at (905) 378-1215, www.bowesit.com, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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