Disposing of old hard drives

**sweatyhat** · June 23rd, 2013, 08:29 PM

All computers that enter our home are under sentence of death.
Once adjudged obsolete they're never given away or sold. I always physically
destroy the hard drive. That way I know it won't end up on a Nigerian market stall.

You will need:
Star drives, hammer, pliers, sandpaper & sodium hydroxide

Unscrew the bolts on the HD case cover then run a knife all around
to break the airtight seal. Then you can remove the disc(s).

Abrade both disc surfaces, bend in half then place in a solution of
concentrated sodium hydroxide. Allow this to fizz away for a few
hours or overnight. Caution: Fumes ~ Ensure adequate ventilation.

Rinse away the alkali and place the disc in a flower bed
where it will corrode over the course of a few months.

I did this using the materials and resources available to me. I'm sure
there are alternative and/or better methods of achieving this aim.

How do you do it?

**pharoahegypt** · June 23rd, 2013, 09:22 PM

Hammer, or jagged saw blade & hard surface; once you've removed the disc from the housing............. once the disc is dented or imperfect in any way you ain't never gonna read the data again..... trust me, I do this for a living now. Some perfectly good looking hard discs don't always want to be read as it is.

Biggest influx of customers to computer shops is either Hard Drive or OS failures. Even more so than Virus's. So do yourselves all a very big favour, and back up your info guys; it just isn't worth taking the risk, as your HDD can give up without a seconds notice.

**hos** · June 23rd, 2013, 09:29 PM

sweaty, how long does it take until the new HD grows? how often do you water the seeds and which fertilizer is recommended?

__

ontopic:
i simply store all my old drives in my cellar. when i'm dead, i don't care.

**MrInBetween** · June 23rd, 2013, 09:29 PM

Wow! I have to say I really admire your thoroughness there. And the illustrations are brilliant - I'd like to see them in the form of an Eastern European stop-motion animation, ending with the disks burying themselves in the ground. Definitely be up for an award.

I never seem to get rid of anything anymore, but when I once did try to dispose of a hard drive, I discovered that I didn't have the right tool to undo the screws and so resorted to smashing the casing with a sledgehammer. What I eventually got out of it was a spindle with multiple platters attached. I didn't dismantle this but contented myself with hitting the platters in all directions until they were distorted enough to seem unplayable.

Having seen what you do, though, my efforts start to look a bit inadequate. I believe the Ministry of Defence had some guidelines that finished off with a bolt being driven at right angles through all platters and the whole thing then set in concrete, but your method seems more achievable for the ordinary mortal.

**chip** · June 23rd, 2013, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pharoahegypt

Biggest influx of customers to computer shops is either Hard Drive or OS failures. Even more so than Virus's. So do yourselves all a very big favour, and back up your info guys; it just isn't worth taking the risk, as your HDD can give up without a seconds notice.

You ain't kidding! The other night one of my drives decided it didn't need most of it's partition table anymore. I was horrified to find out that somehow drive-1 had conveniently decided to misplace partitions F through O, totaling a loss of about 788GB. Now mind you this is all data I intended to back up as soon as I got my hands on some discs or another drive.

I figured for sure I had a timed virus or something I was downloading had a nasty in it. A full scan turned up nothing. A drive health assessment basically said "hi I'm fine and happy, and look at all the free space I have now". After almost a full days worth of scans for data recovery possibilities and lost partition recovery I was able to put the table back to pretty much where it was and everything was back.

Whenever I need to get rid of a drive I always use a harley-wrench (hammer).

lola · June 23rd, 2013, 11:07 PM

Beware with hard disks. According to an expert I know, the dust from the disk is moderately toxic if inhaled. So take precautions before sawing, sanding or drilling it.

**lagerlout** · June 24th, 2013, 02:58 AM

I immerse them in water and bleach, drill several holes through them put them in an old coffee tin and throw them in the metal recycle bin the night before it's picked up from a business a couple of doors down the road

**DTravel** · June 24th, 2013, 03:03 AM

Computer components are considered "Hazardous Waste" because of heavy metals.

As for making HDs unreadable, just drill a few holes thru the discs. If your using a powerful table drill you don't even need to open the case, just drill right thru it.

**FatesWarning** · June 24th, 2013, 08:18 AM

I took a hammer to mine, was a total mess there after.

**TCO95** · June 30th, 2013, 05:58 PM

Just a word to the wise. The components inside a hard disk are often worth more than the drive. The rare earth magnets, magnetos, actuators and even the casing itself all have value. The magnets are often encased in nickel or an alloy called permalloy and the circuit boards are of higher quality than the computers mother board. The casings are often a high grade aluminum or stainless steel as are the screws. One place around here pays $3 lb for just the casings.

Same goes for the old computers. The chips, batteries, circuits and wires all have value. Old computers contain a lot of silver and gold. The power supplies and fans can be re-purposed and so are of interest to hobby shops and electrical supply outlets. The older crt monitors and televisions people are so quick to throw out are also a good source for copper wire, electrical circuits and other valuable items. Be careful disassembling monitors and televisions as the capacitors, which if not burned out are valuable, can still contain a charge.

You may not get rich but free money is free money.

June 23rd, 2013, 08:29 PM	#1
sweatyhat Woodwose Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: In the mud and rain Posts: 10,869 Thanks: 97,859 Thanked 187,953 Times in 10,563 Posts	Disposing of old hard drives All computers that enter our home are under sentence of death. Once adjudged obsolete they're never given away or sold. I always physically destroy the hard drive. That way I know it won't end up on a Nigerian market stall. You will need: Star drives, hammer, pliers, sandpaper & sodium hydroxide Unscrew the bolts on the HD case cover then run a knife all around to break the airtight seal. Then you can remove the disc(s). Abrade both disc surfaces, bend in half then place in a solution of concentrated sodium hydroxide. Allow this to fizz away for a few hours or overnight. Caution: Fumes ~ Ensure adequate ventilation. Rinse away the alkali and place the disc in a flower bed where it will corrode over the course of a few months. I did this using the materials and resources available to me. I'm sure there are alternative and/or better methods of achieving this aim. How do you do it? __________________

June 23rd, 2013, 09:22 PM	#2
pharoahegypt Vintage Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Middle England Posts: 4,491 Thanks: 10,176 Thanked 43,620 Times in 4,154 Posts	Hammer, or jagged saw blade & hard surface; once you've removed the disc from the housing............. once the disc is dented or imperfect in any way you ain't never gonna read the data again..... trust me, I do this for a living now. Some perfectly good looking hard discs don't always want to be read as it is. Biggest influx of customers to computer shops is either Hard Drive or OS failures. Even more so than Virus's. So do yourselves all a very big favour, and back up your info guys; it just isn't worth taking the risk, as your HDD can give up without a seconds notice. __________________ Arguing with a intelligent person is hard; but arguing with a stupid person is impossible!

June 23rd, 2013, 09:29 PM	#3
hos Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: back in the dirt Posts: 10,637 Thanks: 29,726 Thanked 89,374 Times in 9,365 Posts	sweaty, how long does it take until the new HD grows? how often do you water the seeds and which fertilizer is recommended? __ ontopic: i simply store all my old drives in my cellar. when i'm dead, i don't care. __________________ You may be the most important brick in the least important wall, but really you're just a bit of something on a bit of something else.

June 23rd, 2013, 09:29 PM	#4
MrInBetween R.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Gone But Not Forgotten Posts: 3,934 Thanks: 51,364 Thanked 48,453 Times in 3,898 Posts	Wow! I have to say I really admire your thoroughness there. And the illustrations are brilliant - I'd like to see them in the form of an Eastern European stop-motion animation, ending with the disks burying themselves in the ground. Definitely be up for an award. I never seem to get rid of anything anymore, but when I once did try to dispose of a hard drive, I discovered that I didn't have the right tool to undo the screws and so resorted to smashing the casing with a sledgehammer. What I eventually got out of it was a spindle with multiple platters attached. I didn't dismantle this but contented myself with hitting the platters in all directions until they were distorted enough to seem unplayable. Having seen what you do, though, my efforts start to look a bit inadequate. I believe the Ministry of Defence had some guidelines that finished off with a bolt being driven at right angles through all platters and the whole thing then set in concrete, but your method seems more achievable for the ordinary mortal. __________________ I'm sorry Gentlemen, that's all the lipstick around the nipple we have time for To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by MrInBetween; June 23rd, 2013 at 09:47 PM..

June 24th, 2013, 02:58 AM	#7
lagerlout Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 4,505 Thanks: 31,568 Thanked 73,333 Times in 4,399 Posts	I immerse them in water and bleach, drill several holes through them put them in an old coffee tin and throw them in the metal recycle bin the night before it's picked up from a business a couple of doors down the road __________________ Nice girls are nice but BAD gals are much much better To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Please Pm me with any of my links that are not working. Please do not repost my links To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

June 23rd, 2013, 11:07 PM	#6
lola Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 321 Thanks: 21,052 Thanked 3,749 Times in 314 Posts	Beware with hard disks. According to an expert I know, the dust from the disk is moderately toxic if inhaled. So take precautions before sawing, sanding or drilling it.

June 24th, 2013, 03:03 AM	#8
DTravel Lean Mean Screencap Machine Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Better you don't know. Posts: 23,834 Thanks: 10,482 Thanked 207,431 Times in 23,743 Posts	Computer components are considered "Hazardous Waste" because of heavy metals. As for making HDs unreadable, just drill a few holes thru the discs. If your using a powerful table drill you don't even need to open the case, just drill right thru it. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I rage and weep for my country. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I can reup screencaps, other material might have been lost.

June 24th, 2013, 08:18 AM	#9
FatesWarning Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Great Southern Land Posts: 4,954 Thanks: 42,422 Thanked 82,733 Times in 4,979 Posts	I took a hammer to mine, was a total mess there after. __________________ . My avatar is porn star To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. .

June 30th, 2013, 05:58 PM	#10
TCO95 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: This member is not allowed in your country. Posts: 5,176 Thanks: 47,615 Thanked 64,805 Times in 5,130 Posts	Just a word to the wise. The components inside a hard disk are often worth more than the drive. The rare earth magnets, magnetos, actuators and even the casing itself all have value. The magnets are often encased in nickel or an alloy called permalloy and the circuit boards are of higher quality than the computers mother board. The casings are often a high grade aluminum or stainless steel as are the screws. One place around here pays $3 lb for just the casings. Same goes for the old computers. The chips, batteries, circuits and wires all have value. Old computers contain a lot of silver and gold. The power supplies and fans can be re-purposed and so are of interest to hobby shops and electrical supply outlets. The older crt monitors and televisions people are so quick to throw out are also a good source for copper wire, electrical circuits and other valuable items. Be careful disassembling monitors and televisions as the capacitors, which if not burned out are valuable, can still contain a charge. You may not get rich but free money is free money.