Where hyperscale hardware is retiring: Ars visits a very large ITAD site

The details of every unit – CPU, Memory, HDD size – are taken down and added to the activities day and the device is sent to be physically investigated. This step is important because “many hidden drive finds its way in this line,” says Green, manager of this site. In the machines that come from large companies, there are sometimes small USB, SD, SATA or M.2 drives hidden. Some were by the solutions he installed and not documented, and others were put there by employees who were tired of waiting for more storage. “Some managers are pretty surprised when they learn what we have found,” said Green.

With everything swept and with some feeling of what they were made of, each device receives an assessment. It is a system with three characters, such as “A-3-6”, based on function, cosmetic condition and component value. Based on needs, trends and other data, devices that are deleted for resale to wholesalers, retail, component harvest or scrap.

Full-body laptop skins

If a device has retail value, it goes to part of this gigantic facility where employees perform further checks. Automated software plays sounds on the speakers, checks that each keyboard key sends signals and checks that laptop batteries have 80 percent capacity or better. At the end of the line is my favorite discovery: laptops from the entire body.

Some laptops – Mate Lenovo, Dell and HP models – are so omnipresent in company fleets that it is worth buying a glue laminer sticker in their exact form. They are a creepy match for the matte black, silver and slightly fewer silver finishes of the laptops, which cover any stains and scratches. Seeing how one of the employees applies this, made me jealous of their ability to essentially reset the condition of a laptop (so one could of course apply whole new layers of SWAG stickers). Once rated, tested and pasted, laptops go in a smart “cradle” box, get the UN 3481 “battery in” sticker and can be sold through the retail trade.