How to destroy data on failed hard disk
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- seodevhead
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How to destroy data on failed hard disk
Hey guys...
I had a hard drive fail recently and the manufacturer sent me a new one and asked that I ship back the defective drive. This is all fine and dandy, however, there is some important data on this drive (lots actually) that I don't want to take any chances of anyone else seeing, since most likely this data could be easily attained with proper disk recovery tools.
Does anyone know a way that I can essentailly damage the contents of this drive, without actually physically harming the drive (ie.. taking a hammer or torch to it)??? I was thinking about some kind of magnet, but I wasn't sure how effective it would be, nor how big/strong a magnet I would need, if I could even find one.
Interested in any ideas or hints you guys may have. Thanks for your help.
I had a hard drive fail recently and the manufacturer sent me a new one and asked that I ship back the defective drive. This is all fine and dandy, however, there is some important data on this drive (lots actually) that I don't want to take any chances of anyone else seeing, since most likely this data could be easily attained with proper disk recovery tools.
Does anyone know a way that I can essentailly damage the contents of this drive, without actually physically harming the drive (ie.. taking a hammer or torch to it)??? I was thinking about some kind of magnet, but I wasn't sure how effective it would be, nor how big/strong a magnet I would need, if I could even find one.
Interested in any ideas or hints you guys may have. Thanks for your help.
- seodevhead
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- The Phoenix
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Not at all. Google for it. Numerous places sell them. You will be charged around $1k-$4k for your desired privacy however.seodevhead wrote:How and where can I get access to a degaussing magnet? Sounds like it would be some work to even find one... ??feyd wrote:Degaussing magnets are used in industrial applications. Very useful, very powerful. Do not use them near any other electronics you wish to keep.
- seodevhead
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nah... too much $$$ and trouble for me. I was hoping for a solution that would take at most 2 hrs of my time and at most 20 bucks. I'm guessing the mfg'er will keep my cc payment if I send back a drive with some holes drilled in it.
You guys think there are dudes at Seagate going through people's failed hard drives looking for 'golden nuggets'? Or you think they have a strict privacy type policy set in place for things like this?
You guys think there are dudes at Seagate going through people's failed hard drives looking for 'golden nuggets'? Or you think they have a strict privacy type policy set in place for things like this?
- feyd
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Holes drilled in the material won't destroy the information, only make it have holes.
If you don't destroy the information, someone receiving a refurbished unit that was yours may be able to pull information from the drive quite easily. Pay for the new drive and have fun in destroying the drive that's failed.. 
You can build a degaussing unit by creating a powerful electromagnet that you can tune the frequency of the electricity flowing through it.
You can build a degaussing unit by creating a powerful electromagnet that you can tune the frequency of the electricity flowing through it.
For the future you might be interested in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truecrypt
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alex.barylski
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Thats exactly what I was going to say.volka wrote:Or you could pay for the new hdd and destroy the old one. Depends on how much the data is worth to you
Really how much does a new HDD cost...a couple hundred bucks at most?!?
Smashing the HDD into peices may also have positive impact on your mental well being. It's quite theraputic to bash things.
- feyd
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Power is fairly regulated in frequency. I doubt there's enough interference to do any damage to the drive.Jenk wrote:Try wrapping a power cord around the drive (whilst the cord is in use) and leave it for a while. No guarantees it will wipe everything and don't leave it unattended - coiled power cords are a fire hazard
- Chris Corbyn
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- seodevhead
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