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Destroying a hard drive? [lock plz]
Aoi Tsuki
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have an old desktop HD (got it in the early 00s) off which I recently grabbed all my important old music, pictures, Word files, AMVs, hentai, etc., and as I understand it, my options for safely disposing of it are either to completely wipe the hard drive with DBAN or other measures, or physically destroy it.
My bf is all for selling it, but I'm all for wrecking the shit out of something for Science (and identity protection). But, I don't want to hurt someone attempting to set it on fire, or get shards of plastic everywhere by dropping it off a balcony or taking a sledgehammer to it. Is a huge magnet the way to go? How huge? Would I just kinda rub it all over the metal inside the casing and call it a day, or what?
DBAN and other wipes are all well and good, but I'd rather (safely) destroy the damn thing and salvage whatever parts someone else might buy or find useful. I just dunno where to start.
My bf is all for selling it, but I'm all for wrecking the shit out of something for Science (and identity protection). But, I don't want to hurt someone attempting to set it on fire, or get shards of plastic everywhere by dropping it off a balcony or taking a sledgehammer to it. Is a huge magnet the way to go? How huge? Would I just kinda rub it all over the metal inside the casing and call it a day, or what?
DBAN and other wipes are all well and good, but I'd rather (safely) destroy the damn thing and salvage whatever parts someone else might buy or find useful. I just dunno where to start.
Aoi Tsuki on
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A : Removing the platters
B : Running the platters through a degausser
C : Rubbing the degaussed platters with coarse steel wool
D : Smashing the steel wooled, degaussed platters with a sledgehammer.
That's pretty much what you have to do to get total data destruction. But if you're just interested in smashing them, then remove the platters, but save the magnetic bearings and the really strong magnets in there.
Cause the spinny bearing's fun to play with, ditto with the powerful magnets.
Assuming the OP is in the US of course.
Apparently the Secure Erase command built into newer hard drives is the only way to truly wipe a drive without physical destruction. However it's also a pain to execute, with most motherboards locking out such a diabolical command.
DBAN is fine unless someone is really out to get you. I.e. Grissom and the Las Vegas Crime Lab.
But seriously, recreate the Office Space scene or ask a chem lab TA for an in class demonstration of acid corrosion.
I once had one in my back pocket. Then I got stuck to the fridge and almost considered crawling out of my pants to get away.
Nobody's going to get all CSI on your broken hard drive shards to get data. Especially if the worst thing you had on there was AMVs.
We're talking contains-vital-information-from-the-future levels of obsession, though. Are you a time-traveler by any chance?
Someone would have to be very desperate to tear plastic bits of broken things off a cement coffee table.
1. Remove top cover
2. Connect power to HD (only power, not data)
3. Turn on
4. Pliers
5. Spin Art!
Ah, we made some in a high school science class here in Florida. That was only about eight years ago
I figured something like that would be federally regulated. Strangely enough Google seems to add results for termites in search results for state laws.
Yeah, they throw that stuff around like sweeties at a pantomime on some TV shows like Brainiac in the UK. It can't be that illegal. Permit required perhaps?
Seriously what the hell do they make those things out of? It's like a black box or something.
you really should take the case off first and then pound the platters themselves.
Drop it in the ocean!.. im sure some salt water would take care of it in no time.
Otherwise, if you're super-paranoid, you could run DBAN's DoD standard wipe. And/or drill a hole through the drive. That'll do it too.
I don't believe it - I'm on my THIRD PS3, and my FIRST XBOX360. What the heck?
And the shooting idea is just as bad. I've seen plenty of computers, hard drives, etc. blasted to bits and left to sit in the forest. It pisses me off like you can't imagine. Some people just have no respect.
But unless the fed is coming for your secrets, you should be safe with a pass of DBAN, then destroying the contacts on the back of the disk with whatever's close to hand. If you're still worried that people are going to look at your stuff, toss the fucker in the ocean.
I tried, got all the screws out except one which was stuck in there so hard the screwdriver stripped the screw head. That thing was really built.
When the nuclear war comes there will only be cockroaches and hard drives left.
Or ya know, you could not assume everybody doesn't pick up thier trash, because a few don't. It bugs me too! As far as the ocean is concerned, yeah that is a pretty terrible idea, but it could join its friends in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, you don't want it to be lonley, do you?
dremel tool would work, too, i guess. or a drill press.
This IS Texas, but I have nowhere to safely shoot the HD to pieces.
*mops soda off laptop monitor*
No. I was never into Inuyasha to the tune of an unfinished 300,000-word fic. The fuck is your problem, accusing people of random shit like that? :P
(I'd actually forgotten about that. Now I really have to fuck up this hard drive. God only knows what'd happen if the terrorists got ahold of all those synonyms for hanyou dong.)
Remember what I said about Thermite? Just ignore it.
First over write the data: http://eraser.heidi.ie/
Second: http://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/ATA_Secure_Erase
That should cover you. If you are really paranoid you can take it to a company that specializes in data destruction that will degauss the platters and then PROPERLY destroy and dispose of them.
Also you should never burn any type of electronics (ie. with themate or the like). This can release highly toxic fumes into the air which can cause serious health problems (not to even mention ecological impacts).
This is something I was wondering about, but forgot to ask specifically. Also, the only safe places to burn stuff around here are public, so I don't particularly want to leave smoking bits of plastic where animals could sniff out remnants and eat them and spontaneously combust or something.
So what were you into to the tune of an unfinished 300,000-word fic?
Heidi eraser is good software, I second that.
(unless I want shiny, jangly rings and super magnets for something)
My professor did add the caveat to his hard drive destruction mess: "And even then, if you had the money, you could get data recovered." :P
But yes, if you're really really worried about data being recovered, get it done right by professionals.
If not, just take it apart with torx bits, and keep the parts because they're pretty fun the play with.
...............................................A Beauty & the Beast version of Inuyasha DON'T LOOK AT ME
I'm about to take the case off. Anyone have a handy guide to what's what in terms of what I need to smash, or will it be a self-evident chunk?
Actually there has been a $100k prize for a while now for people to recover any real amounts of data after a single pass of zero's last i checked it has yet to be claimed. Much less drives that have been exposed to the elements and metal spikes. C.S.I is not real people also the size of a magnet needed and time to properly kill a drive is insane. The only reason its used is because you can stick 100 drives in a degaussing machine at once.
But termite is fun and so is acid but a hammer and two trash bags is just as effective, oh and spray paint the platters for extra lulz.
<Qs23> I just need to get my dicks in a row
<prox> i work for dicks
#paforums_pax, all about the dicks.
the shiny circles inside?
those are where the informations are at.
The shiny disc bit. They are quite tough though.