Wiping Mechanical Hard Drives

[olds]

I have a couple of mechanical hard drives laying around that I don't use. Normally I'd drill a couple of holes through them and get rid of them. If I used a magnet, how strong would it have to be to ensure the data was wiped without hooking the drive up and looking?
TIA

 

[TheELF]

You need a magnet...

You can look up plenty of videos on youtube that deal with that, basically you need a magnet that could take off your fingers to destroy a hdd.

 

[olds]

Drill it is.
Thanks

 

[pcgeek11]

I've also tested the magnet wiping data using an industrial demag unit for >30 minutes.

Hard drive - No effect at all.
Floppy disk - No effect at all.

neither lost a 1 or a 0.

 

[mindless1]

^ Huh? I can erase a floppy disk with just about any random permanent magnet. HDD, not so much, maybe if in direct contact with the platter.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Drill it is.

How about baking in the oven? Just remove the PCBs to avoid the melted goo.

 

[olds]

How about baking in the oven? Just remove the PCBs to avoid the melted goo.

Never heard of that one.

 

[tcsenter]

How about baking in the oven? Just remove the PCBs to avoid the melted goo.

Would require at least 600 'F to reach the Curie point. I mean, if you're going to destroy/remove the controller/interface board, is that not a sufficient barrier for just about any effort to recover the data short of someone who doesn't have a curious amount of free time and money on their hands to either replace the controller/electronics or remove the platters to install into a data recovery device/unit? What could he have on there that anyone would feel is worth such undertakings, nuclear secrets?

 

[igor_kavinski]

if you're going to destroy/remove the controller/interface board, is that not a sufficient barrier

Yeah. Destroying the PCB works too. I just suggested the oven in case he really has some cat pics on there he doesn't want the world to see Drilling, to me at least, seems more effort than just unscrewing the PCB off the HDD. But of course if someone enjoys that activity...

 

[Shmee]

You could wipe them with 0's or random numbers a few times, and then give them away.

 

[olds]

You could wipe them with 0's or random numbers a few times, and then give them away.

I don't have an enclosure to put them in to fire them up.

 

[TheELF]

Would require at least 600 'F to reach the Curie point. I mean, if you're going to destroy/remove the controller/interface board, is that not a sufficient barrier for just about any effort to recover the data short of someone who doesn't have a curious amount of free time and money on their hands to either replace the controller/electronics or remove the platters to install into a data recovery device/unit? What could he have on there that anyone would feel is worth such undertakings, nuclear secrets?

Data recovery companies keep a archive of boards for just that reason, having to repair a disk where the board has burned that is.
Shouldn't be an issue for most people, just saying it exists.

 

[sdifox]

Open a hole, pour sand in, power up the drive.

 

[igor_kavinski]

UNTHA hard drive shredder: How to destroy hard disks in seconds - YouTube

That's a seriously grim way to go, even for a hard drive

This is not that gory: 104 Hard Drive Shredder - YouTube

 

[bononos]

Is drilling or multiple pass wipes necessary?

Disk wiping and data forensics: Separating myth from science | TechRepublic

Strongly held opinions about the proper method to wipe data from hard drives reflect bygone eras. Learn about disk wiping for modern platter hard drives, and securing data on solid-state drives.

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