destroy Harddrive

[choklate_007]

i have a 7 year old 6 Gb harddive which is now developed some problems. How can I destroy all data from this drive (physically) as data stored on it was sensitive.

[gg_3000]

step-1: Format it
step-2: Get u'rselves a nice screw drivers
step-3: Remove u'r piece of antique (HDD) from u'r PC
step-4: Open up the drive by removing all the screws
step-5: Once open, Throw away all the components except the magnetic discs
step-6: Tear the disc apart (or) Burn them (or) Do watever suits u

Thats it.. u r done!!!!!

[~Phenom~]

^^whoa!!! r u an extremist ???
hey choklate , simply do a zero level format and there is no power in this world which can recover ur data.

[black_hawk]

Nice One Choco

[wizrulz]

Originally Posted by gg_3000

step-1: Format it
step-2: Get u'rselves a nice screw drivers
step-3: Remove u'r piece of antique (HDD) from u'r PC
step-4: Open up the drive by removing all the screws
step-5: Once open, Throw away all the components except the magnetic discs
step-6: Tear the disc apart (or) Burn them (or) Do watever suits u

Thats it.. u r done!!!!!

^^^^^^^^^^
extreme method

Originally Posted by ~Phenom~

simply do a zero level format and there is no power in this world which can recover ur data.

Technical method

CRUDE METHOD--
Go to terrace and throw it down few times....should get the IMPACT an dget destroyed.....but do this after the TECHNICAL method......u will enjoy it....i did it with my 8GB HDD......

[ambandla]

Recycling method:

Do a zero level format, remove the magnetic disc (platter) and use that as a decoratory item or you can even use that as a mirror (esp. while travelling).

[ax3]

fantastic SOLUTION ............

many companies DESTROY it, instead of FORMATTING ..........

[ambandla]

yes. Destroying is the best way to get rid of Confidential data and the disc.

If you still want to use the disc, do the low level format by setting all the bits to "0"

[mehra.rakesh]

I may be wrong . But throwing it even from an aircraft wont actually destroy the data on the disc . You may damage the Hdd casing and the read/write head but the data on the mag disc ( if u find the discs ) can still be taken out , though it will require some patience .
U can destroy data using an electromagnet (simple wire coiled conductor with power supply ) it will modify the data and in most cases data wud be rendered unreadable .
OR
store full 8 GB crap like music , movies etc and then do a zero level format .

my first choice wud be gg_3000's method and can be an easy an fun to do option LOL .

[sinstoic]

Originally Posted by choklate_007

i have a 7 year old 6 Gb harddive which is now developed some problems. How can I destroy all data from this drive (physically) as data stored on it was sensitive.

What is so confidential about your data?

For most people a simple format would do while for others deleting and recreating the partition does the job.

If you are paranoid, go for secure erase. This will write "0" in every sector of the hard disk. The process is repeated seven times to make it impossible to retrieve data.

Once done, please sell or donate the hard disk to the needy. It can be of use to the others.