throwing old drives away

[Switch]

for security...
i read you can never remove data from a disc
(as in hd discs)

you can't actually remove the data, but you can scramble the data with
a large magnet.

for single discs, like you put in a cdrom tray...you can put these
discs into the microwave
for 15-20 seconds...it makes a nice rippled sparkly effect as the disc
gets fried...

 

[BP]

for security...
i read you can never remove data from a disc
(as in hd discs)

you can't actually remove the data, but you can scramble the data with
a large magnet.

for single discs, like you put in a cdrom tray...you can put these
discs into the microwave
for 15-20 seconds...it makes a nice rippled sparkly effect as the disc
gets fried...

A 20 pound sledge hammer works much better, and is very therapeutic too.
Be sure to wear your eye protection!

 

[Mark F.]

for security...
i read you can never remove data from a disc
(as in hd discs)

you can't actually remove the data, but you can scramble the data with
a large magnet.

for single discs, like you put in a cdrom tray...you can put these
discs into the microwave
for 15-20 seconds...it makes a nice rippled sparkly effect as the disc
gets fried...

Disassemble the platters and use them for wind chimes. I like the sledge hammer
idea too. (c:

 

[Al Dykes]

A 20 pound sledge hammer works much better, and is very therapeutic too.
Be sure to wear your eye protection!

Unless you have access to a medical MRI system no magnet you have will
wipe a modern disk.

Smash it.

 

[Switch]

Unless you have access to a medical MRI system no magnet you have will
wipe a modern disk.

i do have access to a junkyard, they have a large magnet that picks up
cars

get rid of this evidence

 

[Phisherman]

The best way is to use a hammer on the platters. You might save some
of the parts though. The magnets are very strong. I made a hard
drive "cooler" using an old drive case and mounting a fan inside
it--very nice and low cost too.

 

[Jim]

for single discs, like you put in a cdrom tray...you can put these
discs into the microwave
for 15-20 seconds...it makes a nice rippled sparkly effect as the disc
gets fried...

A pair of metal snips does a quick and easy job too.

 

[JAD]

open the drive, drop it into sulfuric acid

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

I have just read this thread... sulfuric acid, sledge hammer, etc.

Why can't you just use bcwipe or similar? I don't want to hurt any
feelings, here, but I don't think you guys are worth much forensic
effort.

I've got a box of old hdds. Maybe they are full of someone else's
sensitive data, but it's in safe hands because all I will ever do is
overwrite it if I need one of the drives.

Charlie

 

[John Weiss]

for security...
i read you can never remove data from a disc
(as in hd discs)

you can't actually remove the data, but you can scramble the data with
a large magnet.

for single discs, like you put in a cdrom tray...you can put these
discs into the microwave
for 15-20 seconds...it makes a nice rippled sparkly effect as the disc
gets fried...

Rather than frying your microwave oven, open the case with a screwdriver, then
remove the platter with pliers, screwdriver, and/or hammer. It shatters like
glass, so you can make as many pieces as you like with the hammer afterward...

 

[Switch]

Rather than frying your microwave oven, open the case with a screwdriver, then
remove the platter with pliers, screwdriver, and/or hammer. It shatters like
glass, so you can make as many pieces as you like with the hammer afterward...

i hate violence

say! isn't there a way to make money from an old drive

platinum is a precious metal, isn't there enough in an old drive
to justify extracting it?

 

[bradinski]

I just use DBAN. It's freely available from
http://dban.sourceforge.net/
It offers a lot of options that still allow the drive to be used. I
really don't like throwing hardware away. I either find another use for
it, donate it, or recycle it.

 

[dannysdailys]

Switchwrote:

Unless you have access to a medical MRI system no magnet you have will
wipe a modern disk.

i do have access to a junkyard, they have a large magnet that picks
up
cars

get rid of this evidence[/quote:fc46e48e10]

That would do it.

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

I just use DBAN. It's freely available from
http://dban.sourceforge.net/
It offers a lot of options that still allow the drive to be used. I
really don't like throwing hardware away. I either find another use for
it, donate it, or recycle it.

Tell it, brother! Spread the message of hardware salvation to an
upgrade-weary world.

I just picked up a 90s server at the landfill for 35 cents. I bought
it for the big, heavy-duty case, but whoever tossed it out apparently
forgot it had been upgraded with a US Robotics 56k ISA modem.

Some guy with a small tech shop just posted about how he can't compete
with Dell, building low-end systems for people who only care about
Word and e-mail. Scrap hardware can be used to set those people up
for next to nothing... spend $0-$10, sell for $40-$50 and give the
customer good value... especially with a free OS like dynebolic that
is tweaked to run efficiently on older systems.

Charlie

 

[Al Dykes]

i do have access to a junkyard, they have a large magnet that picks
up
cars

I wouldn't assume that one of those magnets would be strong enouth to
wipe a modern hard disk. A crane magnet can have several square feet
of magnetic surface and trade off field strength for large area to
lift something.

The magnets that can erase a disk are hospital MRI systems, which are
so powerful the room they are in is supposed to have nothing loose in
it to get grabbed and people have been killed when something was left
by mistake.

 

[JAD]

I wouldn't assume that one of those magnets would be strong enouth to
wipe a modern hard disk. A crane magnet can have several square feet
of magnetic surface and trade off field strength for large area to
lift something.

The magnets that can erase a disk are hospital MRI systems, which are
so powerful the room they are in is supposed to have nothing loose in
it to get grabbed and people have been killed when something was left
by mistake.

The Electro magnet in a wrecking yard would be MORE than enough..old, new
and future magnetic storage, makes no difference.

 

[Mxsmanic]

for security...
i read you can never remove data from a disc
(as in hd discs)

The military crushes and incinerates disks. They must be completely
destroyed in order to remove any possibility of recovering data that
they might contain.

you can't actually remove the data, but you can scramble the data with
a large magnet.

Actually, there are two main options: If you want to protect the data
against someone accessing the disk in software, just overwrite the
entire contents of the disk. If you want to protect the data against
someone who uses special hardware to read data off the disk, however,
you must destroy the disk completely.

for single discs, like you put in a cdrom tray...you can put these
discs into the microwave
for 15-20 seconds...it makes a nice rippled sparkly effect as the disc
gets fried...

That won't necessarily help. Crush and burn, that's the ticket.

 

[Mxsmanic]

platinum is a precious metal, isn't there enough in an old drive
to justify extracting it?

Where would platinum be used in a modern drive to any significant
extent?

The value of any precious metal in a drive is necessarily
significantly less than the original purchase price of the drive.

 

[Mxsmanic]

I wouldn't assume that one of those magnets would be strong enouth to
wipe a modern hard disk. A crane magnet can have several square feet
of magnetic surface and trade off field strength for large area to
lift something.

The magnets that can erase a disk are hospital MRI systems, which are
so powerful the room they are in is supposed to have nothing loose in
it to get grabbed and people have been killed when something was left
by mistake.

No constant magnetic field can be trusted. The magnetic field must
vary and diminish, like a degaussing tool.

 

[ModeratelyConfused]

That won't necessarily help. Crush and burn, that's the ticket.

Doesn't that just destroy the reflective portion of the disc? The data
portion is still intact, isn't it?

MC