Secure Hardware Disposal

Disposal of obsolete hardware is the responsibility of the department that owns the hardware. Also the department's responsibility is ensuring that all data within is properly erased BEFORE physical disposal or transfer of the device. You can find Stanford's general disposal procedures and information, including resources for sanitizing hard drives, on the UIT website.

Disposal Procedure

The owning department’s Facilities Manager or Department Property Administrator (DPA) should arrange for pickup of hardware and other e-waste for disposal. Surplus Property Sales (SPS), an auxiliary within the Property Management Office, will collect all computers via the existing excess equipment process. SPS will remove and wipe or crush any hard drives that are inside computers being picked up as excess. They also crush all removed/external hard drives, all free of charge.

How TDS Can Help

TDS can assist with disposal of printers and computers by:

1. Decommissioning printers and computers

2. Removing BigFix and/or deleting the BigFix record

3. Deleting NetDB record

4. Helping you update your device attestation to avoid compliance problems

5. Troubleshooting CrashPlan errors – if you are getting another computer, you may receive warning about the old computer not backing up. These can be ignored and the old computer will eventually be purged from the backup process, but the backed up information will still be available for another few months, just in case.

Requesting a Pickup

Requests for pickup can be submitted through the Stanford Property Administration Resource Center (SPARC) website, under "Excess Equipment."

Computers, hard drives, and other data storage devices that were purchased by your department, should be returned to your respective Department Property Administrator (DPA). To find out who this is you can go to sparc.stanford.edu, click on the DPA Directory link at the right, then type in your department name in the search field. If in doubt, ask your director of Finance and Administration (DFA).