The original post: /r/techsupport by /u/SpacebornKiller on 2024-11-11 17:10:17.

I have a macbook from 2010, the white one with rounded edges that I believe is sometimes referred to as the barbie book. It was my main computer for about 5 years and then I moved on to a new laptop. Since moving on from it the battery has grown extremely swollen and pushed the track pad up and out well beyond repair, so I keep it wrapped in a towel in my closet because I always planned on moving everything I have on the hard-drive off so I don’t lose 5 years of files and data.

Is it too late to try and save what’s on there? It’s been sitting with a solid, swollen battery for almost ten years now so I don’t know if it’s just getting worse and worse or if any danger has subsided due to time.

So in short, am I sitting on a time bomb? Can I remove what’s on the computer before disposing of it or is it too late?

EDIT: It was so grossly distended that I was genuinely concerned it was going to explode. I carefully put it in an insulated cooler bag while wearing gloves and goggles and took it to staples where they disposed of it but were actually able to recover the hard-drive. I’ll keep this up for anyone who might need it in the future. Thanks for your help if you commented.