Old Computer Equipment

Safe Disposal of Computer Equipment

It is the responsibility of all staff and students who use University of Galway purchased computers to practise safe security standards in terms of how they use the device, but how they also manage data on the device.

Do not throw out ANY computer hard drives/towers into bins or other disposal units WITHOUT following the Disposal Process as indicated below

Like any mechanical device, wear and tear can affect how your computer functions and in itself, may cause issues in how well a staff member can carry out their roles.

In many instances, computers can be reused in departments for staff/students who may not necessarily need a high powered device.

But in many cases, the device may not be suitable for a number of reasons and you may want to safely dispose of the computer responsibly.

As a University, we need to ensure that we:

• Dispose of equipment in a responsible way
• Securely destroy/sanitise all hard drives to ensure there is no data left on them

We will look to partner with agreed suppliers, third parties and University of Galway service providers to come up with a long term, viable solution around secure data disposal.

When we have a solution in place, this page will be updated to reflect the new process.

Disposal Process

In the short term, the following is advised when it comes to the secure disposal of computer equipment:

• Ensure you have all data you wish from the old device backed up to OneDrive or some external device outside of the local computer
• ISS will not save any data and will assume that the system owner has done this already
• Log a ticket to Desktop Services in ISS asking for the removal of the hard drive from your Computer/Laptop
• The technician will come on site and will remove the hard drive
• The technicain will run a utility to destroy all existing data from the hard drive
• The hard drive will be housed in ISS until such a time that a third party is engaged to mechanical destroy the hard drive and certify that it is done
• Finally, after the technicain takes the hard drive, log a ticket to our colleagues in the Buildings Office who will dispose of the device responsibly following WEEE protocols for electronic equipment recycling

ISS will take not try to recover data from any hard drive.

The Buildings Office will not accept a device for WEEE recycling until you confirm that ISS have taken the hard drive