Easy Way to Destroy HDD with bad sectors and private data?

[Infohawk]

In the past I've run dban on old drives and then donated them to recycling places. I had an HDD with bad sectors and dban wouldn't run on it.

Is there an easy practical way to destroy a harddrive so that nobody could read the data if they find it? I'm looking for something that does not involve explosives or firearms or equipment that is only found at construction sites.

 

[boochi]

Take it apart and remove the platters. It is not that hard. if you want to go the extra mile rub the platters on concrete, asphalt or use some sandpaper.

 

[JSt0rm]

[image removed]

This is not ATOT. Don't thread crap with PB, especially if you actually have nothing to contribute to a serious thread.

Moderator jvroig

 

[jjmIII]

Really? You don't have a hammer?

 

[Concillian]

- Roll over it with a car
- Squeeze it in a bench vise
- Go to the local hardware store and buy a bag of premix concrete. Take drive cover off, mix up some concrete, pour it in, and put the cover back on.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

[image removed]

pb always makes me lol.


Thank you for quoting that so I had yet another post to clean up.

Please refrain from doing so in the future, and please do not participate in furthering existing thread derails.

Moderator jvroig

 

[OrganizedChaos]

I use a cordless drill. take 2 min and drill some holes through the platters.

 

[Belegost]

Dunk it in water, and leave it outside for a few days. You'll get some nice oxidation on the platters turning those fancy magnetic particles into rust.

 

[C1]

One of ways to ensure no one will try to steal your data is to attach to the HDD the price quote from a reputable service for recovering what's on that drive.

 

[taltamir]

Do a full surface scan with windows so that all the bad sectors get reassigned, then dban it.
If it still doesn't run dban, do a full format with windows vista or later. Full format with vista+ writes 0s to entire drive, recovery from that is argued by some theoretical physicists to be "theoretically possible" in the same way that faster then light travel could be achieved via space-time warp is possible.

 

[JSt0rm]

THIS IS NOT A JOKE (I wouldn't do such a thing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ckechIqW0

^^^ this is how you get rid of a hard drive.

 

[taltamir]

THIS IS NOT A JOKE (I wouldn't do such a thing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ckechIqW0

^^^ this is how you get rid of a hard drive.

waste of time, money, effort, is unsafe, and potentially illegal.
To top it all off, it is less reliable then writing all 0s. Because writing 0s to entire drive destroys all data, this could, depending on how the thermite flows, leave some portions of undamaged platter. Granted it would take a ridiculous expense to recover any data from something like that.
The military uses a proper furnace to completely melt drives into a liquid.

 

[JSt0rm]

waste of time, money, effort, is unsafe, and potentially illegal.
To top it all off, it is less reliable then writing all 0s. Because writing 0s to entire drive destroys all data, this could, depending on how the thermite flows, leave some portions of undamaged platter. Granted it would take a ridiculous expense to recover any data from something like that.
The military uses a proper furnace to completely melt drives into a liquid.

well, its how I get rid of all my electronics.

 

[taltamir]

well, its how I get rid of all my electronics.

pics or it didn't happen!

 

[DirkGently1]

1) Kill it with fire
2) Nuke it from orbit

 

[bryanl]

Fire or water may actually not destroy the data.

Nothing short of opening the HDD and mechanically damaging the platters will assure data security. Follow the suggestions to drill, sand, or bend, or shatter them.

 

[taltamir]

Fire or water may actually not destroy the data.

This is true.

Nothing short of opening the HDD and mechanically damaging the platters will assure data security.

this is false, mechanical damage to the platter provides inferior data destruction to magnetic destruction (writing 0s). although realistically physical damage with sanding and drilling as you suggest would be effective as well.

 

[Jacky60]

I've used nuke and boot before but cannot attest to its efficacy in data erasure. Its software available free on net.

 

[Emulex]

you use a magentic shredder like the U.S.A. google for it - it is badazz

 

[Modelworks]

Remove the cover of the drive. Take a fridge magnet or any magnet reasonably strong, no need to go crazy, move the magnet across the platters back and forth a few times. The data will be corrupted beyond recovery.

 

[Burner27]

A couple of whacks with a 15lb sledgehammer ensures data loss.........for me.

 

[hal2kilo]

This is true.


this is false, mechanical damage to the platter provides inferior data destruction to magnetic destruction (writing 0s). although realistically physical damage with sanding and drilling as you suggest would be effective as well.

Tell that to the NSA where classified hard drives are sent to be ground up in big grinder.

 

[Phynaz]

I use a cordless drill. take 2 min and drill some holes through the platters.

This.

 

[taltamir]

Tell that to the NSA where classified hard drives are sent to be ground up in big grinder.

I would but they are too stupid to listen. Speaking of government security... Tell me, how effective as the TSA been?
Also, do you have an evidence that the NSA actually does as you say?
I can show you http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOD_5220.22-M
which describes the data shredding technique via writing random data and approved by the US DoD.
EDIT: PS. you and others suggested buffing it, drilling it, and hitting it with a hammer. None of you suggested melting it in a proper kiln (completely melting it) or grinding it to dust, both of which are things a government / army has the means to but the OP and the average home user doesn't. Grinding it to dust and hitting it with a hammer are completely different.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

i physically open the case and take my anger out on it but hritting it with a big hammer....HAMMER TIME . and i also throw old laptops out the window tosee it explode