Surplusing a PC

I've just been called as a ward technology specialist, and I've had a look at the tech in the library. It's all pretty straightforward except for one item, and that's the library PC. I fired it up and it works, but I could not log in to it, since I don't have any login credentials. The last login was by our former ward librarian who was released a couple of years ago, and nobody replaced her. She's now in a care home and doesn't remember much, so I won't be able to get her password. Nobody has any idea what user accounts might be on the machine.

But this PC is not used any longer, has no internet connection, and it's operating system is Windows 2000! I've suggested that we junk it, but the bishop is concerned that there might be confidential data on the hard drive. I told him that a library computer is unlikely to have any such info on it. But without being able to get into it how can we know? I suggested I could disassemble the machine then take the hard drive out to use a sledge hammer on it. He thought that was funny, but...

I'm thinking that we could ask Facilities to surplus it, and let them deal with any possible confidential data.

Any ideas?

You can ask if the FM group will dispose of it but most likely they will not because PCs have never been provided by the church for libraries. So the computer probably did not come from the FM group (unless it was a clerk computer that was repurposed rather than returned as it should have been).

But even if they do, the unit is supposed to wipe the disk before returning it to the FM group. You best option is to search for a disk erase utility that supports creating a bootable USB drive. By booting off the USB drive you avoid the problem of no password.

Once the drive is wiped you can turn it over to the FM group if they'll take it or take it in for recycling somewhere (Best Buy will usually take them for free).

eblood66 wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 3:01 pm You can ask if the FM group will dispose of it but most likely they will not because PCs have never been provided by the church for libraries. So the computer probably did not come from the FM group (unless it was a clerk computer that was repurposed rather than returned as it should have been).

It has an FM tag on it, so perhaps it is a repurposed clerk computer.

eblood66 wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 3:01 pm But even if they do, the unit is supposed to wipe the disk before returning it to the FM group. You best option is to search for a disk erase utility that supports creating a bootable USB drive. By booting off the USB drive you avoid the problem of no password.

This machine is very old. I don't think a Win2000 PC can be booted up with a Windows 10 USB drive. But this may be a viable option if the utility can create a bootable drive that has an old enough OS. I'll do some checking, thanks!

eblood66 wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 3:01 pm Once the drive is wiped you can turn it over to the FM group if they'll take it or take it in for recycling somewhere (Best Buy will usually take them for free).

Sounds like a plan! Unfortunately, we don't have Best Buy in the UK! They only operate in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

MikeClark wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 3:17 pmThis machine is very old. I don't think a Win2000 PC can be booted up with a Windows 10 USB drive. But this may be a viable option if the utility can create a bootable drive that has an old enough OS. I'll do some checking, thanks!

If you find one that boots to linux then it will probably work even on old hardware.

Wiping a disk though software will take hours, perhaps overnight. It's the right way to go if the equipment is going to be reused, but perhaps not the efficient when it's going to be disposed of.

As long as you shatter the metallic coated ceramic disks, that's sufficient. A big hammer, a drill, or disassembly will all work. (Be careful about shattering the disks by hand, the can be violent and sharp).

Once the disk is taken care of, either hand it back to FM or dispose of it though a proper recycling place. At least in the US, there's periodic eWaste recycling events. Some governments have threatened to go after people who dispose of computers improperly. Owners of improperly disposed of computers are tracked down though the serial number and finding out who first purchased the computer. It's then on them to show who they gave it to. Since this seems to have started life as a church computer, it's best that it is disposed of in a way approved by the local government.

You don't need the password. Just make or get a bootable Linux live CD and boot up with it (you may need to configure the boot order in the BIOS), and then you can access the hard drive and see all the files in all the accounts. Nothing should be encrypted in Windows 2000; so, you shouldn't need to worry about that.

If you want, you can wipe the hard drive clean from Linux pretty fast, too, or take your time and zero the drive (to prevent people from being able to use special tools to undelete things).

There are a lot of Linux distributions. You might try Knoppix or something.

If that doesn't work, you can try putting FreeDOS on a floppy disk, and booting with that (if you don't mind the command-line)--that is, if you actually have a floppy disk. That should expose all the files, too (with no need for a password).

I think there are ways to change the administrator password from the regular Windows 2000 command prompt mode, too (I'm not talking about FreeDOS).