I am a retired Advanced Lecturer in electronics. I am currently looking for computers and laptops that I can refurbish and gift to people who are not in a position to buy.
I do not charge anything for my time or the computers so it helps if they are in working order and 10 years old or less.
Many people remove the hard drive as a security measure though it is not always necessary. You can do a secure destruction of personal data using Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky etc. "File Shredder". Usually, right click on selected files and select "Shred using....". Be patient though as it can take a while to complete the process of deleting and over-writing the area on the drive many times over.
I remove personal data (by securly shredding and formatting) before carrying out a total reinstallation of the Operating System (Windows) in accordance with Microsoft's recommendations described here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/before-you-sell-or-gift...
If it is not possible to re-install Windows, I install the Linux Mint Operating System as that helps to make any personal data impossible to retreave.
Demand far outsrips supply so I am grateful for any p.c. donations.
Thank you for your consideration.
Prof. M.
