computer hard drives.....

hi all,



I fix computers and over the years I've replaced a lot of hard drives. I've been putting the old ones outside the back door, piled up against the house. The pile is now horrific, around 200 standard 3.5inch ones, about 30 2.5inch (laptop ones) and about 20 external ones in their varying plastic cases.

I went to my local metal recycling place and asked what they'd do with them, what is best. First the guy said they'd send them to a place in Portsmouth who would break them down and report back what they were worth. He said he'd check, made a phone call, and said they actually weren't interested. He said I could break them down myself and they'd pay £400-£4000 a ton for the PCBs. Or that I could just weigh the whole things in as iron. With my rudimentary maths these both seem like a waste of time?

There is also the security issue. Most of them were faulty when they went into the garden, and the great majority have been sitting in all weathers for over a year, and water pours out when you pick them up. They show rust on the outside. But some are newer and I wonder if I should clout them with a hammer on the underneath in the middle, where the spindle is.

So....err....what to do with them all?

cheers

Read through the forum, search "hard drive". There are many discussions of break-downs, worth, buyers, etc. It's all here for your education.