How to securely erase a scrap HDD

[ubuysa]

The replacement new HDD for the one that I was having SMART issues with in this thread https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/curious-s-m-a-r-t-issue.81326/ has arrived and been installed and tested. The old HDD has sensitive data on it and so before disposing of it in the bin I decided to securely erase it first.

Here's how I erased it......

 

[Steveyg]

If you have a pair of wire cutters or pliers hand you can chop up the "disc" to be extra secure

 

[Rakk]

I think that's how I securely erased some of my HDD's a number of years back
Was interesting to see all the internals of an HDD

 

[Martinr36]

years back i helped erase some discs......................they went into a smelting pot and got turned into ingots..........

 

[ubuysa]

If you have a pair of wire cutters or pliers hand you can chop up the "disc" to be extra secure

I was planning to 'chop' the platters but they're 2mm thick, I had to hammer them quite hard to get them to fold over like that. TBH I was quite surprised, platters in older HDDs I've trashed were nowhere near as thick. It was a WD Green drive but it was pretty bomb proof!

 

[rouchie]

I must admit I have just viciously battered mine with a hammer in the past, is that not secure??

 

[TonyCarter]

We used to have a degaussing machine on an MOD project, and everything (floppies, Jaz, Syquest, HDDs) went through it after the project was finished. It wasn't like there was anything TOP SECRET on them, it was just the sites normal SOP that we had to follow.

For my own ones, I used to either drill them - and take the magnets out to use in fun projects (or to cause blood blisters on my fingers) - or use the platters for rifle/pistol target practice.

Some seemed to be pure metal, and others seemed to be a light substrate with a metal coating on them - and you could tell which either by their weight, or by how/whether they shattered into smithereens when you drilled/shot them!

 

[ubuysa]

We used to have a degaussing machine on an MOD project, and everything (floppies, Jaz, Syquest, HDDs) went through it after the project was finished. It wasn't like there was anything TOP SECRET on them, it was just the sites normal SOP that we had to follow.

For my own ones, I used to either drill them - and take the magnets out to use in fun projects (or to cause blood blisters on my fingers) - or use the platters for rifle/pistol target practice.

Some seemed to be pure metal, and others seemed to be a light substrate with a metal coating on them - and you could tell which either by their weight, or by how/whether they shattered into smithereens when you drilled/shot them!

When you drill them don't you find you end up with a lot of bits on the floor? 🤭

 

[TonyCarter]

When you drill them don't you find you end up with a lot of bits on the floor? 🤭

Yes, sometimes more than others.

When we shoot them, we just leave the bits in the field!

Although I have noticed the glue holding on the magnets seems to have got much stronger, so I end up breaking as many as I recover.

My next batch are ready to go. There's nothing wrong with them, just have upgraded to multiple 4TB ones for slow storage and multiple 1TB SSDs for faster storage.

Just waiting for the 'range' to open again (it's actually a friend with lots of legal firearms and some private land).

 

[SpyderTracks]

I think that's how I securely erased some of my HDD's a number of years back
Was interesting to see all the internals of an HDD

The core structuring is quite incredible, to think it’s all done under strict environmental controls and to such nm accuracy. I find it amazing.

 

[TonyCarter]

First one disassembled...

 

[Steveyg]

I was planning to 'chop' the platters but they're 2mm thick, I had to hammer them quite hard to get them to fold over like that. TBH I was quite surprised, platters in older HDDs I've trashed were nowhere near as thick. It was a WD Green drive but it was pretty bomb proof!

2mm is mental, yeah you might need a set of bolt cutters

 

[ubuysa]

First one disassembled...

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Nice. I dont have a star-driver so I just drilled them out.

Agricultural but effective.

 

[TonyCarter]

Nice. I dont have a star-driver so I just drilled them out.

Agricultural but effective.

You'll have to equip yourself with one of the iFixit repair kits.

Although it does seem a bit incongruous to be so precise in disassembling them just to shoot a .375 round at them!

 

[SpyderTracks]

You'll have to equip yourself with one of the iFixit repair kits.

Best micro set bar none, I’d be lost without mine, I sleep with it on my pillow at night.

 

[ubuysa]

Best micro set bar none, I’d be lost without mine, I sleep with it on my pillow at night.

Nah. It's hardware innit? [emoji33]

 

[SlimCini]

My first ever PC died when i was about 23. Cheap rust bucket. But I had no clue back then how to make the hard drive in it to be securely wiped before taking it all to the tip. Didn't even know to take the machine apart. So I put the entire PC on my lawn and sledgehammered it into a thousand pieces. Good times. Surprisingly tricky to actually destroy. Durable little buggers some of those cases and components.

 

[NoddyPirate]

I find the magnets from old HDD's handy for finding the wooden studs in plasterboard walls.

 

[ubuysa]

I find the magnets from old HDD's handy for finding the wooden studs in plasterboard walls.

A wood magnet? Now there's a thing. [emoji2960]

 

[NoddyPirate]

A wood magnet? Now there's a thing. [emoji2960]

The finest! Just like the Glass Hammer and Paper Nails I was asked to fetch during my first week in the hangar!

Hanging on the end of a piece of string, a nice strong magnet will locate the nails holding the plasterboard to the studs - can take a while sometimes, but it works a treat.