How to prepare computer data before pickup

By Ozark Reclaim Tech·Published August 14, 2026·Updated October 21, 2026

Back up your files and prepare storage before handing over a computer. You can ask about pickup before doing this work. This guide covers computers and storage; we do not take phones or tablets.

1. Back up what you need

   Copy any files, photos, or account data you want to keep to another drive or a cloud account before you erase anything. A wipe is not reversible.

2. Sign out of your accounts

   Sign out of email, cloud storage, password managers, and app stores. On Apple devices, turn off Find My and sign out of your Apple Account. On Chromebooks, remove your Google account.

3. Remove personal and business information

   Clear browser saved passwords, delete local files, and remove any business or client data. Don’t rely on emptying the recycle bin alone.

4. Check removable storage

   Remove USB drives, memory cards, and any storage you want to keep. Check card slots and attached accessories before handoff.

5. Remove device-management locks

   For organization-owned equipment, have your authorized IT administrator retire devices from management and remove applicable activation locks. Do not bypass locks or management controls.

6. Agree on drive handling

   Ask us about wiping supported hard drives and SSDs, including a written result for each drive. Confirm permission to erase or destroy failed media before handoff. Keep any storage you do not authorize us to process.

Hard drives and SSDs, in more detail

For supported drives, we provide data wiping that follows NIST SP 800-88 guidelines, with a written report for every drive we process. We overwrite magnetic hard drives with ShredOS and use supported device-native Secure Erase or Sanitize methods for SSDs. We check and document the result. Failed or unverifiable drives stay out of reuse and resale and are held for authorized physical destruction. We do not hold NAID AAA or R2 certification.

Each report identifies the drive, method, tool, verification and validation results, and final outcome. A failed or unsupported drive gets a failure or pending-destruction outcome rather than a successful-wipe report. Physical destruction is recorded only after it happens.

ShredOS/nwipe overwrite is our method for magnetic hard drives. SSDs need a supported device-native method appropriate to their interface and firmware; NVMe Sanitize must reach a successful final status. A format, TRIM, or overwrite alone does not establish SSD sanitization.

For a personal Windows computer, follow Microsoft’s reset instructions for your Windows version and select the appropriate data-removal options. A consumer reset is not proof of verified sanitization. For a Mac, Apple’s Erase All Content and Settings instructions apply to macOS Monterey or later on Apple silicon or a T2-equipped Mac. Older Macs need Apple’s model-specific instructions. If you cannot verify erasure of sensitive storage, keep it or use a qualified sanitization provider. Ask us about the remaining equipment before handoff.

For the technical standard behind this advice, the U.S. government’s NIST SP 800-88 guidelines for media sanitization describe three levels: Clear, Purge, and Destroy. The Federal Trade Commission also has a plain-language walkthrough for consumers.

When a business should hire a certified provider

If your organization handles regulated data, don’t rely on a self-serve wipe you can’t document. That includes health records, financial or cardholder data, student records, and client information covered by a contract. Hire a certified data-destruction or IT asset disposition (ITAD) provider that issues a certificate of destruction and keeps an auditable chain of custody. Confirm the sanitization method and documentation your organization requires; certification alone does not establish compliance.

What we don’t provide

We are a small reuse and resale operation. Back up your data and agree on the drive-processing plan before transferring equipment. We do not provide certified data destruction or issue recycling or destruction certificates. If you need certified destruction, use a provider that offers it before the hardware leaves your control.