destroying the data on a dead HDD

[Elixer]

I would sell circuit board on fleabay.
Then take the HD itself, and just smash it with hammer, after removing the cover. Cheap & very effective.

 

[Plimogz]

Make a clock out of it and hide it in plain sight? Who's going to come mess with your clock?

 

[shadow_k]

burn it, run in over with a car, eat it or you could just keep it under you bed

 

[bbhaag]

Last one I had fail I took the top cover off and threw is away. Then I took the platters out and threw the rest away. I folded the platters over so they looked like empty taco shells and gave one to each of my kids.
They floated around the house for a couple weeks then got lost in the oblivion known as "the toy room".

 

[VirtualLarry]

Last one I had fail I took the top cover off and threw is away. Then I took the platters out and threw the rest away. I folded the platters over so they looked like empty taco shells and gave one to each of my kids.
They floated around the house for a couple weeks then got lost in the oblivion known as "the toy room".

Considering the chemicals that they use to process the platters with, I don't really think that was very wise.

(Google rare earths and hard disk platters)

 

[Rifter]

I usually mix up a batch of thermite and use it to melt the drive down to nothing.

 

[bbhaag]

Considering the chemicals that they use to process the platters with, I don't really think that was very wise.

(Google rare earths and hard disk platters)

I knew when I typed that I would get a reply like this.
The chemicals used in the production of their other toys made in China/Thailand/Malaysia/god knows where are probably far less dangerous than those platters. Right?
Guess what? I let my kids eat raw cookie dough to. OMG!!@#@!

Head on back to the Haight man. They need ya their.

 

[Kippa]

How about leaving the hd placed right next to the magnets on your hifi speakers if you have any for quite a while. Surely those feckers are strong enough to wipe a hd?

 

[moonbogg]

Use one of these: Epic Spud Gun

 

[Red Squirrel]

Alternative option:

Stop flattering yourself.

You really think you are that important or special that someone is going to spend hundreds of dollars to repair your broken hard drive in hopes they can bust you on what, some illegal downloads??

Unless this hard drive was used for something like the facilitation of child pornography, serving a piracy warehouse like megaupload, or providing communication for terrorists, the government is NOT coming for your hard drive.




If the government was really interested in prosecuting people at the lowest-level possible like this, they would stand outside every high school and confiscate ipods one by one.. what makes you think they would have more success digging through your discarded and damaged hard drives?

It's not a question of if they would do it, it's a question of, they could.

Look at how they prosecuted megaupload out of tons of other websites like that, look at how the prosecuted random grandmas and preteens out of billions of people who download mp3's. It could be you. They have zero compassion and once they grip someone they do not let go. At this point I don't think they do it by data recovery given it's easier to do it by sniffing everyone's internet, but they could easily launch a campaign at some point where they send people through dumpsters and stuff. If you already threw the drive out without doing anything to it, it's too late once you find out they are actually doing this.

While all this is very very unlikely, it's still possible, So you just want to remove those odds completely by taking 5-10 minutes to completely destroy the drive using one of many methods mentioned.

 

[oynaz]

Make a clock out of it and hide it in plain sight? Who's going to come mess with your clock?

My grandfather has made a clock like that. It is actually super cool.

 

[bryanl]

The only completely trustworthy way of preventing the data from being read is by physically damaging the disk platters.

The US military first degausses disk drives, using magnets that are far more powerful than anything available to most users, then it shreds the drives.

 

[zardthebuilder]

Salt water, dunk it for a while and let it sit. The platters rust and completely destroy the magnetic state.

i'm really glad for this thread, because i've been holding on to two dead hard drives for several years. i finally opened one up and took the platter out. using salt water seems cheap, easy, and relatively safe. i'll try this.

the other HD is a notebook drive, and i don't have a teeny, tiny hex screwdriver or bit. do they sell them? or should i just dunk the whole drive in salt water?

 

[maniac5999]

I like to save up a batch and use my AR-15 on them at the gun range...preferrably on swinging targets

I only have a M1, is that close enough to an AR-15 to ensure data safety?

 

[Turbonium]

Nice plethora of responses.

Ideally, I'd zero/wipe the drive thoroughly using DBAN, then put a huge magnet to it, followed by torching the platters, before finally shredding them. Obviously, this isn't practical (hence the OP).

 

[Homeles]

I liked the salt water idea.

 

[exdeath]

Keep in mind we are talking about these extreme measures for inaccessible HDDs that can't be wiped. It's not so much conspiracy theories as the fact that there is data on there and you can't access the file system to wipe it because the drive is dead.

If the HDD is accessible, a 3 pass DoD overwrite wipe is sufficient.

If I can't access a drive at work to wipe it, then the company eats the cost of the drive (instead of warranty RMA) and physically destroys it. Keep in mind the drive already has PGP WDE on it...

 

[exdeath]

How about leaving the hd placed right next to the magnets on your hifi speakers if you have any for quite a while. Surely those feckers are strong enough to wipe a hd?

No.

The materials used in hard drives are VERY high magnetic permeability and retention. If a speaker magnet was enough to mess them up, they would be useless for their intended purpose of reliably retaining data. In fact most HDDs have a powerful magnet in them already to hold the parked heads on the loading ramps when powered off.

Even if you had a very powerful magnet, you still couldn't get close enough to the platters through the distance of the external housing.

If the armature was made of something ferrous, you'd probably bend and damage the armature before you affected the data on the platter.

A HDD at the microscopic level isn't simply a bunch of iron filings swaying easily in the slightest magnetic field like many envision. You aren't "flipping bits" or moving anything, you are changing the magnetic domain (pole orientation) of the embedded material itself, nothing "moves". And with the materials used it takes a very close and very powerful deliberate and concentrated field from the r/w heads.

 

[_Rick_]

Obvious reply: Never let unencrypted sensitive data get on a disk in the first place.

Practical reply: disassemble and dump at the recycling center, with other electronic trash.
If they're out there looking for your kiddie porn and snuff videos, they've probably already pulled a backup of your disk while you were out earlier last week.

 

[sm625]

Take the drive apart. You want to do this anyway since the magnets in them are very strong and quite useful for many things. Who knows, 20 years from now those magnets could be worth $20 apiece. Take the platter(s) out and destroy them any way you see fit.

 

[A5]

It's not a question of if they would do it, it's a question of, they could.

Look at how they prosecuted megaupload out of tons of other websites like that, look at how the prosecuted random grandmas and preteens out of billions of people who download mp3's. It could be you. They have zero compassion and once they grip someone they do not let go. At this point I don't think they do it by data recovery given it's easier to do it by sniffing everyone's internet, but they could easily launch a campaign at some point where they send people through dumpsters and stuff. If you already threw the drive out without doing anything to it, it's too late once you find out they are actually doing this.

While all this is very very unlikely, it's still possible, So you just want to remove those odds completely by taking 5-10 minutes to completely destroy the drive using one of many methods mentioned.

That wasn't the government, those were civil actions taken by the RIAA. All the evidence in those cases was gained by honeypots (or monitoring torrents and gathering IPs that way...it's super easy to do) and subpoenas of ISPs to associate an IP address with a customer, not by digging hard drives out of garbage dumps.

The correct term is "sued", not "prosecuted". You should learn the differences between civil and criminal court actions before spouting off your crazy nonsense.

 

[smakme7757]

Once the platters are shattered it's game over.

Drive a nail punch through the drive 2 to 3 times in different spots so you know you have hit the platters. No mess at all, just throw it in the bin or hand it in to your local electronic disposal outlet.

 

[PowerYoga]

break open drive

Take platters out

smash/salt/light on fire/run magnets all over it.

 

[exdeath]

Belt sander or cutoff wheel with a wire brush would be fun. The rare metal oxide layer that actually holds the magnetic patterns is just a very thin coating of emulsion. Acetylene torch will go well above the curie point and the magnetic polarization will collapse. Be fun and creative.

 

[zardthebuilder]

my platters have been soaking in salt water for over 3 days. no visible sign of rust or corrosion. how long are they suppose to soak?