text: what is safest way to get rid of an old computer,which may have personal information on it?   the only place where there is information that you have stored on the computer is on the hard drive.  open your computer's case. you will see a ribbon cable that goes from the motherboard to the floppy drive (if you have one) and a cable that goes to the hard drive which might also go to a cd drive, etc.  follow the ribbon cable to the hard drive. it should have just a power cable and a ribbon cable going to it.  it is usually about an inch tall, maybe 3-4 inches wide, and 5-6 inches long. you will probably need a phillips screwdriver to remove this. remove the cables as well. when you have it out, that is the only thing you will have to destroy.  soak it in water for about an hour, then with a hammer and a screwdirver, punch through the case in a couple of spots and throw it in the garbage.  there is no info saved on any of the other parts of your computer.