i had a hard drive burn out recently. i have already replaced it with a new one, but i wanted to ask what i should do with the old one? should i take magnet to it to make sure no one can recover anything, then throw it in the trash? there have been some electronics recycling events here, so i was thinking about taking to one of those. i guess i am mainly wondering whether i should be worried about anyone trying to scour my old hard drive for info. thanks in advance for your help.

Before you send it in for recycling, run it through this:

Darik's Boot And Nuke which will zero the F*CK out of the hard drive so it looks like a fresh one. That's if you want someone to be able to use it without discovering any hidden data, but if you want to completely destroy the drive and chuck it, go with a giant magnet.

lol gotta love the US for fear of identity theft etc....lololololol..

But if you seriously have an issue with just chucking it, take a magnet to it, then open it up take the actual disc out and wreck teh shit out of it then replace it all.

Drop it into a gallon of sulfuric acid. Make sure it's in the middle of a field or something because Hydrogen gas is very flammable and explosive. Just like other forms of fuels, hydrogen can store significant amounts of energy. Take extreme precaution when handling the gas. Hydrogen was allegedly to blame in the ill-fated flight of the Hindenburg. There was even speculation that hydrogen was a factor in the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986. Add the fact that the H-bomb is one of the most devastating weapons created by man. This leads to fears about using hydrogen in our daily lives.

Dooooooo iiiittttttttttt.....

i've watched hydrogen burn, it's badass

thanks for the suggestions. i guess magnet is my only option, cause it's burnt out and won't boot or run anymore. now i just have to find a magnet to do the job...

Just take the cover off and check out the mechanics...unscrew the disc clamp and then pull the discs out.....then you can use them for table coasters or something....no one will reassembly them....

I opt for the use of explosives... hehe.

just hit that mother F*CKER with a hammer a few times, or drill a hole or two in it.

i dunno if just taking a magnet to it would do it. there are two powerful rare earth magnets in it already (to control the side to side motion of head). and the aluminum housing would probably shield it well enough that any external application of magnets would be ineffective, unless you get some seriously C*CK magnets, the kind you need a license to buy. if your worried about sensitive material falling into the wrong hands, i would either 1) take it appart, take the platters out and destroy them, or 2) if you have a gun, just shoot the F*CKIN thing. Hell, send it to me and i'll put a 12 gauge slug through it and take pictures of the results.

These last posts have been superb! I will be using it for target practice next time I go shooting, and as luck would have it I got a couple chicks that's want me to take them shooting :)

well, i'd hit it with something more than a pistol:



note @ 1:17, that revolver doesn't make it through (i don't know the caliber). this could leave some platters intact.

i'd go with a rifle or a slug, like this guy did:

Good point yeti. I have plenty of firepower to get the job done. Ain't much that can stop a 7.62mm round.

haha, nice

Just smash up the circuit board on the hard drive if it's really dead, or DBAN the sucker if it's kinda dead

Replacing the circuit board on a hard drive is 90% of the US population can't do. It's also expensive and time consuming as hell. You'd need to get an identical drive and swap the boards OR move the platters into another drive.

But if you pissed of the CIA/FBI, I'd do what mindless suggested. It's the ONLY way to be sure that no one can ever recover the information without a time machine.

DBAN!! :D

Mindless's suggestion sounds cool, but obtaining strong enough sulfuric acid might be difficult. I'd rather shoot it to pieces, because it would be safer, more fun, and I've already purchased the ammo necessary.

ricocheting bullets is safer >.> id rather go with the acid and throw a match at it after a few mins if the container was closed off, would seem safer in teh long run lol. Other than acid splashing everywhere with fire...but thats for smokey the bear to handle because "Only you can prevent forest fires" didnt say anything about a F*CKING field on fire so he can take care of that shit.

Looked like the same .44. Problem was the HD wasn't backed up against anything. When the bullet hits all the force was used to knock it off the shelf as apposed to penetration.


I have used many computer monitors and towers for targets at the range. Makes for fun shooting. Nothing beats shooting an old television with a .45-70.

oooooh, niiiiiice. i want a marlin .45-70 like a crackhead wants a rock to smoke. i will have one.

wouldn't mind one of these, either...



.45-120?! nigga gotDAMN

I'm not trying to flame or start an argument with this, just saying... Are you really trying to say I am more likely to be hit by a ricochet than burned by hydrogen burning or splashed with acid? Really? Do you know the probability of being hit by your own ricochets? Or have you seen how quickly hydrogen burns? The amount of fun had by each can be debated, but if you knew the answer to those questions I think you'd change your mind about what's safer.