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How to destroy data on failed hard disk

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:55 pm
by seodevhead
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.

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:02 pm
by feyd
Degaussing magnets are used in industrial applications. Very useful, very powerful. Do not use them near any other electronics you wish to keep.

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:07 pm
by volka
Or you could pay for the new hdd and destroy the old one. Depends on how much the data is worth to you ;)

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:42 pm
by seodevhead
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.
How and where can I get access to a degaussing magnet? Sounds like it would be some work to even find one... ??

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 11:01 pm
by The Phoenix
seodevhead wrote:
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.
How and where can I get access to a degaussing magnet? Sounds like it would be some work to even find one... ??
Not at all. Google for it. Numerous places sell them. You will be charged around $1k-$4k for your desired privacy however.

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 11:06 pm
by seodevhead
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?

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 11:20 pm
by feyd
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.

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 11:44 pm
by volka
For the future you might be interested in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truecrypt

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:23 am
by alex.barylski
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 ;)
Thats exactly what I was going to say. :)

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. :P

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:11 am
by Jenk
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 :)

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:39 am
by feyd
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 :)
Power is fairly regulated in frequency. I doubt there's enough interference to do any damage to the drive.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:41 am
by Chris Corbyn
You can rip the thing open and take and industrial grinder to it :P I did this last year and nearly set fire to my trousers :oops: I'm not too sure how happy the manufacturer would be about receiving a disk in that state though.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:07 pm
by seodevhead
I was actually thinking about doing the grinder thing. But like you said, who knows what the mfger will do, keep my money I hope not.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:20 am
by matthijs
If you are worried about the data, just don't send back the disk. If they then want money for the new one, pay that. A bit of reassurance that your data is safe is worth a few dollars, isn't it?

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:56 am
by smudge
Shooting them with 22's are very effective. I know from experience :D