Page 1 of 1
When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:37 pm
by unfaithfulsfan
that have been on the shelf for a few years, making sure no one can EVER access the data again, be careful with old IBM DiskStars.
What I have been doing in my spare time and in between repairs is disassembling the 150+ old drives to try to clean up the back of the shop and regain some shelf space. I'll remove the controller board, mangle and destroy the pins, flex the board a few times to break as many traces as possible. Then on the drives I can get open, I take a hammer and a punch and whack the platters a few times before pitching the remnants.
I opened the aforementioned DiskStar and gave it a good whack. Little did I know that the platter was made out of glass!

So I spent the next 10 minutes cleaning up little shards from all over the back room. Guess no one will be able to steal any data from *THAT* one!!
I'm just glad nothing flew into my eyes!
Jack
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:49 pm
by skier
unfaithfulsfan wrote:
I'm just glad nothing flew into my eyes!
Jack
ouch, that would not be fun, you couldn't tell it was glass before smacking it?
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:59 pm
by unfaithfulsfan
I had my own little production line thing going trying to get as many done this afternoon as I could. Honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention.

Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:04 pm
by InspectahACE
ouch, that would not be fun, you couldn't tell it was glass before smacking it?
that's the beauty of smacking it, to find out what it is

Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:16 pm
by DMB2000uk
Wow, a glass hard drive. How big were the platters?
Might have made a nice decorative piece.
Dan
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:01 pm
by unfaithfulsfan
It was a standard sized platter. I had no idea!
Jack
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:15 pm
by martini161
Why not use Boot 'n nuke?
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:56 am
by Tim Burton
Take it out to the forest, shoot it 5 or 5 times and then bury it a foot or two deep in a wet nasty place.
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:53 pm
by vicaphit
Or just put it outside in a box labeled FREE...
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:12 pm
by bubba
Silcon platters are just as brittle as glass, and just as hard to pull the splinters from it from your skin. My sister worked for a local company cutting silicon.
Best way (for destructive disposal) is to drill it, then drive the box of junk to the recycle center. DO NOT THROW THEM IN THE TRASH OR BURY THEM IN A HOLE this is bad. Drilling through the case is easy, destroys the platters inside the drive case (no shards to the eyes) and makes for nice easy clean up.
I'll admit, shooting them is fun, but its easier clean up after drilling them.
If they are usable drives, Boot and Nuke is the way to go. Re-gift to family or sell in garage sale's, you will be amazed how fast they go.
Re: When you're destroying old hard drives......
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:16 pm
by Darkstar
wow an IBM DEATHSTAR, i havent seen one in years, i figured they pretty much self destructed anyway
