Destroying hard disk - how far do I need to go?

Caveat

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Breaking up old PC for disposal and removing HDD for security - was a little surprised that to my dismay the actual disk is a pretty dense slab of tough metal!

I've battered it with a hammer, threw it on the fire for half an hour, battered it some more...do I need to keep going?

It's now a charred, buckled scratched Rasputin like thing - I'm thinking of trying to drown it now, or shoot it. :)

Seriously, would it be safe to just throw it out at this stage? If not, any suggestions?

I know I'm being a bit paranoid but I want to do this properly.
 
wow what exactly is on your hard disk :O I think you're being a bit too paranoid. There's no way anyone will get the disk working although the kgb may still be able to retrieve some data from it. Maybe the coordinates of your nuclear stash.

I hear the cia use sand blasters on the surface of the disk.
 
six inch nails and a super magnet should do it alright

Although I think the job is probably done already.
 
I was going to suggest just handing it over to a 12 - 14 year old and telling them it's full of vital information. Shouldn't last more than 5 minutes then before it spontaneously disintegrates. ;)

I would have assumed that the fire would be the most destructive method of those mentioned above and as long as it had been fairly well wiped pre 'attack' should be more than enough to make it 'safe'.

This article gives a +1 for the six inch nails for those looking for that 'extra step'.
 
You need to drill a hole or two through it, or drive a nail through it. So you break the drive platters.
 
Thanks all. I guess part of the problem is that the drive wasn't wiped - at all.
The PC just gave up suddenly and was left. I'll try the nail/drilling thing and that should be that I guess.
 
If you can get hold of a sledge hammer it will never yield it's secrets :)
 
there must be some seriously incriminating stuff on it, formatting the thing would have done!
 
there must be some seriously incriminating stuff on it, formatting the thing would have done!

No it wouldn't! Data can still be recovered, even using software freely available on the web.

What would have though is some secure erase software that will overwrite every single location on the drive. You can also get freeware versions of that.
Leo
 
Hi folks,

The data on this drive is still fully recoverable.

If you had asked I could have advised you on how to obliterate the data securely while it was still mechanically functional.

As you have most likely damaged the data and electrical connectors, the only way to removte the data is by degaussing the drive. See these guys for the necessary neo. mags, but be careful, they pinch and crush fingers. www.kjmagnetics.com

Alternatively, drill 15 holes radially, more if you have the patience.
 
Thanks all for the help - wonderful suggestions for me to get rid of stuff on the 2 hard drives I have (I assume 2 - I have 2 old system units - the stand-up ones). I think hubby, who can't hammer a nail straight into a wall in the house, might feel good as he hammers nails into the hard drive on the old system units. Woo! Hoo! (BTW - is there any way that these drives are re-usable in less fortunate countries?)
 
Hi folks,

The data on this drive is still fully recoverable.

If you had asked I could have advised you on how to obliterate the data securely while it was still mechanically functional.

As you have most likely damaged the data and electrical connectors, the only way to removte the data is by degaussing the drive. See these guys for the necessary neo. mags, but be careful, they pinch and crush fingers. www.kjmagnetics.com

Alternatively, drill 15 holes radially, more if you have the patience.

Once you drill even one hole through it, no one get going to get the data off it.
 
I read somewhere that the CIA drills holes in all hard disks it disposes of as it is the only sure method of destroying the hard disk.
 
I think they chop them like a giant paper shredder. But even with one hole through the platter, no ones going to even bother trying to get that back. Not unless it was worth a lot of money, or something massively important was on it. 99% of time there isn't.
 
I retired yesterday, and took my hard drive with me. I was advised to drill holes in it, or smash it with a mallet or hatchet. I demolished a laptop hard drive a couple of months ago, but it seems to be much harder work dealing with the drive from a desk top. I'm enjoying it though!
 
I retired yesterday, and took my hard drive with me. I was advised to drill holes in it, or smash it with a mallet or hatchet. I demolished a laptop hard drive a couple of months ago, but it seems to be much harder work dealing with the drive from a desk top. I'm enjoying it though!

The effort of drilling a hole is exactly the same. Why would be be harder?
 
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