How to remove a hard drive before recycling
Open the case. Make sure your hands are CLEAN and DRY. Remove any metal rings, watches or bracelets you may be wearing. Touch the metal casing to eliminate any static charge, then unplug the computer from the electrical outlet. You can also use an antistatic wrist strap if you prefer. Check the user’s manual, if necessary, to determine how to open your particular PC case . Most cases have a latch or sometimes they are held in by 2 screws.
Once inside, let’s identify the Hard Drive we want to remove before donating the computer.
Here are a few photos to help you identify your hard drive.
Here are some photo’s of the power and connector cables you will have to remove from the hard drive, 
The Final Step is to remove the hard drive. If the hard drive is fitted in a metal cage, locate and remove the screws that are holding the cage in place. Hold your hand under the cage to catch it if necessary. Once the cage is free, remove the small screws on either side of the hard drive to remove it from the cage. If the hard drive is connected directly to the computer case, simply remove the screws on each side of the hard drive and slide it out of the case. If you see a plastic green rail on each side of the drive (as commonly found in Dell PC’s) squeeze both ends of the green rails towards each other, and then at the same time, pull away from the front on the case and the drive should slide out. If it is an HP PC then it may have a green plastic tab that must be lifted to let the drive slide out from the drive cage. HP’s Hard Drives usually only have one tab to lift for the drive to become free to slide out.
