HP’s PCFax: Sustainability Via Re-using Used PCs

United Nations Global Electronic waste monitor estimates that the world generates more than 60 million metric tonnes of electronic waste annually. In addition, this number increases five times faster than recycling electronic waste. A large part of this waste comes from electronic devices thrown prematurely.

Many companies follow a three -year standard replacement cycle, assuming older computers are ineffective. However, many of these devices are always functional and could perform well with minor improvements or maintenance. The problem is that nobody knows what are the weak points for a particular machine, nor what is the necessary maintenance, and the diagnoses would be too expensive and take time. It is easier to buy new laptops simply.

When buying a used car, dealers and individual buyers can access the particular carfax report of each car, detailing the vehicle use and maintenance stories. Armed with this information, dealers can make the necessary fixes or upgrades before re-selling the car. And individuals can decide to trust the performance of this vehicle. At HP, we realized that, to avoid unnecessary electronic waste, we must collect and provide use and maintenance data for each laptop, such as a carfax for the PCs used.

However, there is a particular challenge for collecting data for use for a PC. We must make sure to protect the confidentiality and safety of the user. We therefore decided to design a data collection protocol for PCs that manage to remain secure.

The data collector at the firmware level

Fortunately, the sensors that can collect the necessary data are already installed in each PC. There are thermal sensors that monitor the processor temperature, energy consumption monitors that follow energy efficiency, storage health indicators that assess the reader’s wear levels in solid state (SSD), performance counters that measure the use of the system, speeding sensors of fans that detect cooling efficiency, and more. The key is to collect and store all this data securely but useful.

We have decided that the best way to do so is to integrate the records of the life cycle into the micrologetic layer. By integrating telemetry capabilities directly into the firmware, we make sure that the health and use of the devices are captured when they are collected. These data are safely stored on HP SSD discs, taking advantage of hardware security measures to protect itself against unauthorized access or manipulation.

The secure telemetry protocol that we have developed at HP works as follows. We collect the data of critical equipment and sensors and the storage in an SSD designated area. This area is locked in writing, which means that only the components of the authorized firmware can write it, preventing accidental modification or alteration. This authorized firmware component We US is the termination safety controller, dedicated equipment integrated into professional class HP PCs. It plays an essential role in strengthening security at the platform level and works independently of the main processor to provide fundamental protection.

The secure telemetry protocol collects sensor data in a equipment known as the termination point security controller, with integrated security protections. The endpoint security controller then writes the data to a dedicated reading part only from the Solid State reader, where the authorized operating system applications can access the data.Mark Montgomery

The Endpoint safety controller establishes a secure session while retaining the secret key in the controller himself. This mechanism allows the protection of reading data on the SSD – where telemetry and sensitive data are stored – by preventing unauthorized access, even if the operating system is reinstalled or if the environment of the system is otherwise modified.

Then, the data collected is saved in a horodomagian file, stored in a dedicated telemetry journal on the SSD. The storage of these records on the SSD has the advantage of ensuring that the data is persistent even if the operating system is reinstalled or if another radical change in the software environment occurs.

The telemetry journal uses a cyclic stamp design, automatically crushing older inputs when the newspaper reaches full capacity. Then, the telemetry journal is accessible by applications authorized at the operating system.

The PCFax

The telemetry journal serves as a basis for a complete report of aircraft history. Just like a carfax report for used cars, this report, which we call PCFax, will provide both current users and potential Byers to crucial information.

The PCFax report brings together data from several sources beyond telemetry newspapers available. It combines secure use data in terms of firmware with information from the factory chain and HP supply chain, digital service platforms, customer support services records, diagnostic newspapers, etc. In addition, the system can integrate data from external sources, including partners ‘sales and service records, renovation partners’ databases, third -party components like Intel and other original equipment manufacturers. This multi-source approach creates a complete image of the device’s life cycle, manufacturing by all subsequent property and service events.

For IT teams within organizations, we hope that the PCFax will bring simplicity and offer optimization opportunities. Having access to information on fine -grain use and health for each device in their fleet can help IT managers decide which devices are sent to which users, as well as when maintenance is planned. This data can also help the managers of devices to decide which specific devices replace rather than automatically issuing new computers, improving sustainability. And this can help security: with real -time monitoring and protection in the firmware, IT teams can mitigate risks and respond quickly to emerging threats. All of this can facilitate more effective use of PC resources, reducing unnecessary waste.

A PCFax report, much like a carfax, will detail the crucial use and maintenance information to help inform potential customers. Hewlett Packard

We also hope that, just as carfax gives people confidence in the purchase of used cars, the PCFax can encourage the re-sale of used PCs. For companies and consumers who buy second -life PCs, it offers detailed visibility in the full service and support history of each system, including repairs, upgrades or performance problems encountered during its initial deployment. By making this complete history of the device easily available, PCFax allows more PC to find productive second lives rather than being rejected prematurely, directly handing the electronic waste challenge while offering economic advantages to sellers and buyers of the secondary PC market.

Although HP solutions represent a significant step forward, challenges remain. The normalization of telemetry frames through various ecosystems is essential for wider adoption. In addition, the education of organizations on the advantages of life cycle files will be essential to conduct adoption.

We also work in the integration of AI into our dashboards. We hope to use AI models to analyze historic telemetry data and predict failures before they occur, such as detection of increasing SSD writing cycles to provide an imminent failure and alert IT teams for proactive replacement, or predict battery degradation and automatically generate a service ticket to ensure that a replacement battery is ready to fail, Stop time.

We plan to start deploying these features in early 2026.