What do you do with your dead HDs?

[Elixer]

I have managed to have around 25 dead HDs, ranging in size from 20GB - 1TB, and I am just curious, what do you all do with your dead HDs?

When a HD fails, I usually toss it in a box, and forget about it.

 

[MagickMan]

Take them apart and make wind chimes.

 

[Engineer]

Sit it around for a few years...then smash it with a hammer and throw it away.

 

[PsiStar]

same as Engineer

 

[ViviTheMage]

Sledge, co-workers take a shotgun to our dead drives...haha.

 

[Zap]

Platters are shiny!

 

[Bl0cks]

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/11/diy_hard_drive.php

 

[Red Squirrel]

I just remembered I have a dead one on my desk, it's been there for months. I should consider doing something fun with it. Just need to use my dremel to open it up... I wish they would just use standard screws.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Whatever you do, destroy them. Computer recycling is fake. They just send containers full of old crappy computer parts to China, India, etc. where the poor people take out the metals (burn away the plastic) and sell scraps and parts for a living. They could recover your data and sell your personal info or just steal your identity. There's a special on this, with tons of video footage from the other continent. It's really amazing.

 

[Russwinters]

You do THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsQd2n99zS4


Enjoy.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You do THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsQd2n99zS4


Enjoy.

I have to try this, is it really as simple as hooking up the head actuator straight to a sound source? I would assume so as it's basically the same concept as a speaker (coil) just with an arm.

Come to think of it, probably works with a DC motor too. Guess the ohms play a role though, don't want to blow the sound source.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

I have to try this, is it really as simple as hooking up the head actuator straight to a sound source? I would assume so as it's basically the same concept as a speaker (coil) just with an arm.

Come to think of it, probably works with a DC motor too. Guess the ohms play a role though, don't want to blow the sound source.

What makes you think an audio power amp would do anything interesting with a DC motor?

Interesting video, but extremely annoying!

 

[Elixer]

You do THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsQd2n99zS4


Enjoy.

LOL, and since I have 25, I can have a full orchestra?

 

[Red Squirrel]

What makes you think an audio power amp would do anything interesting with a DC motor?

Interesting video, but extremely annoying!

I'm thinking it would make it go back and forth making it possibly produce sound, though I suppose it really depends on the type of motor. Think it would have to be a brushless with no special circuitry. I need to experiment some time. :biggrin:

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

I'm thinking it would make it go back and forth making it possibly produce sound, though I suppose it really depends on the type of motor. Think it would have to be a brushless with no special circuitry. I need to experiment some time. :biggrin:

Yeah, I was thinking of the motors I had in my R/C truck. They rely on magnetism to push/pull and power to amplify the magnetic push/pull forces so that they spin up in one rotational direction. I don't think those motors would do anything with an AC audio signal.

 

[taltamir]

have them sit around collecting dust for years... until very recently when I threw them all in the trash.

 

[Emulex]

STASH!! (remove a platter or two)

 

[Binky]

I just throw them away. If I can't get it working, the chances that somebody else can make it work are slim. Hell, if they can get it working again, they can have my porn collection on the drive.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

take them apart and pull out the motor and the magnets. The motor is a stepper motor, so you won't have a ton of luck using it unless you are really savy. I had planned to turn my old bricks into a hovercraft, but I haven't gotten the time to work on it. the magnets are pretty cool though, very powerful...watch your fingers.

 

[gammaray]

one of my friend builds robots (decorative ones) with dead hard drives, it's actually amazing.

 

[Unheard]

I've been working on trying to make a clock out of one, drilling out the center post, and installing a clock mechanism behind the HD.

 

[RebateMonger]

Do you mean, "What do you do with your dead Maxtors?"

I was going over my stack of dead drives and they are pretty much all Maxtors or Quantums (which became part of Maxtor).

 

[faxon]

STASH!! (remove a platter or two)

this is a great idea lol. i have a couple maxtor 30gb IDE drives i should try this with lol. they have been dead for a couple years, not sure why i even still have them lol