Before Texas State computer equipment is sent off for disposal, the data on the computer's hard drive must be thoroughly erased to prevent the unlawful retrival and misuse of existing (or deleted) information on the hard drive.  Click on one of the following links for instructions on cleaning the hard drive of computer being sent off for disposal:

• Windows
• Mac OS X
• Mac OS 9

Forms

You must complete all of the following forms in order to dispose of a computer:

• Equipment Transfer form - used when equipment is transferred or sent off for disposal.
  
• Disposal of Computer Equipment (Clean Hard Drive) form - user when disposing of computer hardware.  It is attached to the computer hardware prior to sending to Materials Management.
• Software License Assignment form - used to notify the Software Licensing Coordinator of any transfer, sale, or disposal of computer related software.

Non-Functional Computers

If your computer is not functional, complete the Disposal of Computer Equipment (Clean Hard Drive) form, and check the box that indicates that the computer is not functional.

Sensitive Data

If any machine contains sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, bank records, budget information, student ID’s, etc., it is highly recommended that the hard drive be physically destroyed.  To ensure that no sensitive data leaves your office, clean the drive, and on the Disposal of Computer Equipment (Clean Hard Drive) form, check the box that indicates that your computer contains sensitive information.  The drive will be destroyed at the University Distribution Center.

Major Software Risks - Why clean the drive?

• A non-cleaned hard drive may create a violation of our campus license agreement when it is transfered to another user who does not have a license to use the software on that drive.
  
• Under the U.S. Copyright Act, software license violations may create a liability to the institution and/or individual employee resulting in damages up to $150,000 per title, criminal penalty up to $250,000 per title, and imprisonment up to 10 years.

Recommendations to avoid Copyright Violations

• Remove and destroy software on the computer hard drive: Due to advanced forensics it is possible to detect and illegally obtain or use personal and confidential information, intellectual property, or licensed software.
• Show intent to legally transfer software: Texas State has a procedure in place for transferring computers with software that includes completing and submitting a Software License Assignment form.
• When transferring software, be sure to include the documentation and media.

What data is on my hard drive?

• Everything you have ever created on your computer can still be on your computer. Data not removed or destroyed such as e-mail, documents, spreadsheets, pictures, credit card numbers, and confidential data such as Social Security Numbers will still be on the hard drive.
• Files you DELETE may still be stored on the hard drive because the command to delete a file does not actually delete the file data, only the reference to the file is deleted.
  
• The standard FORMAT command does not remove the file data on the hard drive, only the reference to the address tables.
  
• Remember "format" and "delete" do not mean removed or destroyed! The actual data is not completely wiped from your hard drive using either of the two commands. The safest method is to overwrite the hard drive data using a software program that will overwrite the hard drive for you.