hard drive destruction
#1
Member
Thread Starter
hard drive destruction
Per what I have heard and read, I have removed the hard drive from a retired computer, have opened it up, and the next step is to mangle the platter. Then it occurred to me that given the knowledge and integrity of so many here it only made sense to confirm that this will obliterate any information I had on it. Not that there are any national secrets on it, nor anything illegal or immoral, but it only makes sense to not hand it over to someone. And I know there are other ways, such as downloading a program to wipe it clean, and I think that is what I have done previously, but decided to try something more positive this time. So does this do it, or are there other components that hold information? I have replaced and added boards, chips, whatever for RAM before, but believe that is only for temporary information, and is essentially lost once the PC is turned off or the plug pulled. Thank you for any information and insight.
#5
Member
Thread Starter
Great, thank you. A hammer was what I was thinking I would start with. And, just to confirm, nothing to worry about with any of the other boards and whatnot, correct? Now that I'm thinking about it more, I'm pretty sure I cooked a couple of those with the torch when I got rid of one computer, but later read or heard that wasn't necessary.
#6
Once you open the hard drive and damage anything inside.... it's pretty much over. It takes a lot of money to recover from those discs once the drive is damaged.
#7
Member
Thread Starter
Thank you. I peened it good on the anvil, bent it in half a couple times, then flattened it, so it's done. Now I can drop the cpu off at Best Buy and not wonder.
#8
My friend opens the hard drives to get the magnets out. They are unbelievably (dangerously) strong.
#9
Group Moderator
I open and destroy all my hard drives and try to recover the magnets. Destroying the platters is pretty easy. You can bend them with pliers and you can scratch the surface with anything from a screwdriver to sandpaper. If the drive has funny screw heads you can't remove then you can just drill some holes straight through the drive.
#11
If the government wants something bad enough.... there is no limit to the amount of money spent. You could feed a small nation with the amount of money invested in recovering those "misplaced" emails.
#12
Heat does wonders. Oxy-acetylene makes quick work, but MAPP will do. Oh...and med caliber handguns work just fine.
All that said and fun it may be...but, I have absolutely nothing on a drive that a common disk wipe program (with 24 passes of 01010101 overwrites) won't get rid of...and maybe someone could use the drive for something later.
All that said and fun it may be...but, I have absolutely nothing on a drive that a common disk wipe program (with 24 passes of 01010101 overwrites) won't get rid of...and maybe someone could use the drive for something later.
#13
I'll throw the "responsible" answer and say just use DBAN to wipe the data then donate it to someone who will reuse it.
Now that's over, I choose the fire pit. Good luck recovering data from slag.
Now that's over, I choose the fire pit. Good luck recovering data from slag.
#14
Group Moderator
We have a document shredding service at the office and the IT director told me to throw the platters in their bins, as the shredders have no problem with metal like that.
#15
Member
RAM and boards won't hold any info. Physically destroying a disc is pretty difficult. Drilling holes is the easiest although with advanced means the data can still be recovered from areas without holes.
#16
Member
Thread Starter
Thanks everyone, and thank you Rolo for confirming that there was nothing on any of those other boards. I can't imagine anyone salvaging the platter in its' present state, and I dropped the balance of the cpu off at Best Buy today. I'm not a tree hugger, although we do recycle as much as possible, including computers, monitors, etc., and we always do it in what I guess I'd call a responsible manner, i.e. shred mailing labels, and of course old bank statements, etc., so removing anything personal from the cpu made sense.