Most older computers have very small hard drives.

If anyone actually uses your donated computer, they would probably put in a newer bigger one anyway.

And Jo is right, about the RAM. I'd leave it. Today RAM is very inexpensive, and the size of the clips is tied to the type of computer you have and not interchangeable easily with others.

Basically if you remove the harddrive, the only things left are the motherboard with the working chip and your sound/video card.

I'd keep the hard drive myself. Some day you might want to retrieve the data.

Ask where you donate it ... how it will be used. I would think it would be taken apart for parts, as a likely scenario. My son used to do that, and rebuild new ones. Schools etc may use a donated one that way.

most computers have a way to roll it back to factory or new out of the box condition. Who makes your computer?

Go to the internet and google "your computer name and model" and ask how to reset to factory condition. usually its a matter of pressing one button when it starts up, and then following the prompts. it will remove all of YOUR information without destroying the programs that are on your machine, so others can use them.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Dej.

I do remember seeing a "Restore to Factory Settings" option on the computer, which is an HP by the way.

I will check this out if I decide not to remove the hard drive.

Thank you.

I wonder if that factory restore setting does a secure deletion/shredding of files & your info??

I would do some Google searches for info on that before using that option for a computer you will be donating.

Normal deletion of files by accident or on purpose - can be recovered by file recovery programs - I've done it even after a reformat of the drive - I was able to use a free recovery program and get files, photos and programs back.

found this program

[Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") is a self-contained boot disk that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.]
http://www.dban.org/about

Hi Koala77,
Most HP computers if they are not to old have a system restore function. To start this, turn the computer off and disconnect any printers or external hard drives. You only need your mouse, keyboard and monitor to do this. Now hit the power button and turn it back on. As soon as you do this, start tapping the F11 key on your keyboard. This will start the built in system recovery. When the screen comes up, you need to click on "Advanced". If Advanced Options is selected, the system will perform a complete reformat and will destroy all user data. On Advanced Options, select the Windows System Restore option and click Next to begin the process. Then just follow the onscreen instructions.

Thank you for your reply rlj1959.

We have recently moved house, but I didn't want to take the old computer with me on the move.

What I did was remove the hard drive, and I tossed the old computer away.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply to this thread.