How do I Properly destroy a HDD

A 10 lb sledgehammer. One quick swing, done. Simplest of all, and assuredly the most destructive in terms of overall non-recoverable damage.

Of course, you could miss. :D
 
Ockie said:
I call bullshit on this.
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It's true, actually. What someone else said is defacto truth: if magnetic material exists on the platters, they can be read, but it's an incredibly extensive and expensive proposition. I hardly doubt any non-governmental agency would ever have the resources to do such a thing, or would foot the bill for such an activity.

Hell, even the formula for Coke wouldn't be worthy of that data recovery job. :D
 
Joe Average said:
It's true, actually. What someone else said is defacto truth: if magnetic material exists on the platters, they can be read, but it's an incredibly extensive and expensive proposition. I hardly doubt any non-governmental agency would ever have the resources to do such a thing, or would foot the bill for such an activity.

Hell, even the formula for Coke wouldn't be worthy of that data recovery job. :D
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Again you saying it doesn't make it true. Prove it or it's bull shit. I blew up a computer with a lantern propane tank and I can tell you first hand that no one would recover anything on that computer. The heat alone would ruin it.
 
Ockie said:
I call bullshit on this.
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You can call whatever you want with this, but that won't make it true. At the time he was working for NASIC and working on his PhD in EE at AFIT. They tried various methods of field-expedient destruction methods - sledge hammers, 5.56mm rounds, C-4, etc. As long as there was physically something to recover, they could get data off of it (albiet in their very high end lab). It may not have been complete, but that doesn't mean it's not useful. He said the C-4 warped the platters badly, but they were intact. Of course, this was also in the days of aluminum platters which are more tolerant than current glass platters, and the arial density wasn't as high. Current NSA approved destruction method is an industrial microwave that effectively strips the magnetic material from the platters.
 
Second the opinion on thermite.


Purdy hard to pull any data from an HD when the centre has been completely obliterated.

And yes.. size / amount DOES matter. You really, REALLY don't need that much to get the desired effect.
 
Take it apart for the rare earth magnets, then put the platters in the microwave and watch the light show. :)
 
If the magnetic media exists on the substrate, it is possible to read it. The substrate could be in fairly small pieces, but it is still possible to read the data.

Now, you did not see practical, cheap, easy, or doable with free utilities available on the net in the above 2 sentences. Only that it is possible.

Don
 
Sanding the platters is indeed the most straightforward way, but the thermite method is just so much more fun~ :D
 
"liquid hot magma > hard drive"

But had it been made of that righteous mineral dolomite...


PS I'm guessing no one will get this. :(
 
swatbat said:
Thats pretty much the best way to do it.

Use to use a nail gun and put a few nails through the platter. That should be good enough.
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The parts where the nails did not penetrate can still be read.

The magnetic surface has to be destroyed or at least completely reorganized. Certain devices to wipe HDDs do this using a strong alternating magnetic field, which reorients the magnetic particles on the platters many times per second, making it virtually impossible to ever read the data on it.
 
Elledan said:
The parts where the nails did not penetrate can still be read.

The magnetic surface has to be destroyed or at least completely reorganized. Certain devices to wipe HDDs do this using a strong alternating magnetic field, which reorients the magnetic particles on the platters many times per second, making it virtually impossible to ever read the data on it.
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Question for ya Elledan, could writing random ones and zeros a few times be enough to wipe an HDD?
 
CptFalcon said:
Question for ya Elledan, could writing random ones and zeros a few times be enough to wipe an HDD?
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That's what they call a DOD erase. It write a few different patterns to each sector a few hundred times to ensure that no trace of the original data can be recovered.
 
Awwwwwww c'mon OP! You know that the stuff on the HDD isn't medical records.... It's porn isn't it! Admit it! How many years are ya' facing if the data is recovered by the FBI?

Personally I'd just flatten it with a hammer and toss it in the trash.
 
Set it on a post, walk about 10 feet back, turn around, aim the 12, pull the trigger.
 
ryan_975 said:
That's what they call a DOD erase. It write a few different patterns to each sector a few hundred times to ensure that no trace of the original data can be recovered.
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*nods*

In theory a few hundred cycles should be enough, but you'd be surprised at the stuff they can still retrieve even after a few dozen of such cycles. Admittedly, the data degrades with every cycle, but if you search long and hard enough (and with really expensive equipment) there's always a chance you might find some residual traces, also because the platters of a HDD aren't normally fully accessible to the app (spare sectors and such).

Ergo this method is AFAIK not approved for super-secret government files :)
 
While I've been using SpinRite since v1 many years since past, I still find issue with the fact that Steve Gibson considers or even labels it a "data recovery" application because in essence, it's not. It's a drive recovery and restoration tool because it does not offer any abilities of actual data recovery as we know the practice in use today. Data recovery means recovery of data from whatever media it currently resides on to a "safe" stable location - and SpinRite only restores drive functionality 99.999% of the time (meaning that's what it does, what it was designed to do).

Yes, I've saved a few thousand drives over the years and restored them back to functional operation, most of them for a limited amount of time, by using SpinRite, but once a drive is "functional" then the real data recovery operation begins: copying/moving the data from that still questionable and temporarily functional state device to a safe stable location/media.

So, while I've bought and paid for every release of SpinRite over the years, as someone that's been using it quite effectively and with nearly 100% success - even SpinRite can't save a truly dead drive - I still say it shouldn't be called a data recovery application. It's a bit of a misnomer these days because people will buy it expecting it to "save their data" and give them backup/restore options, and that's simply not what the program is for or was designed to do.

Just my $.02...

ps
Highly recommended for a tech toolkit, of course. Almost indispensable, actually...
 
"Ergo this method is AFAIK not approved for super-secret government files "

government also has god awful rules with classified crap... I HATE dealing with their BS when they claim a device is defective adn want to destory it on site and then return it for a new one. "Yeah we need to destroy this motherboard because it came from a classified system, you're coo with that right?" God i hate that.
 
bexamous said:
"Ergo this method is AFAIK not approved for super-secret government files "

government also has god awful rules with classified crap... I HATE dealing with their BS when they claim a device is defective adn want to destory it on site and then return it for a new one. "Yeah we need to destroy this motherboard because it came from a classified system, you're coo with that right?" God i hate that.
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I spent some time in the Air force back in the day working on SECRET level stuff. Believe me, money and hassles are not an issue when you start talking classified crap. For instance, if you wanted to take notes on a notepad, every page on the notepad had to immediately be labeled with secret because you might be able to read the impression of the writing on the pages below.

Back then, we had NO approved way to erase magnetic media. It had to be incinerated.

I can't imagine the hoops they have to jump through to deal with TOP SECRET crap. I remember when I had to go pick up messages at the base Comm. Center. It was built like a bank in South LA. The guard who let you in had his hand on his side arm the whole time you were there. I'm glad I didn't sneeze. I would prolly be dead if I had. :D

Don
 
Definitely remove the 2 rare earth moon shaped magnets from the inside. They are super strong and super handy to have around. The platters can be used as little mirrors.
 
DonDon said:
I spent some time in the Air force back in the day working on SECRET level stuff. Believe me, money and hassles are not an issue when you start talking classified crap. For instance, if you wanted to take notes on a notepad, every page on the notepad had to immediately be labeled with secret because you might be able to read the impression of the writing on the pages below.

Back then, we had NO approved way to erase magnetic media. It had to be incinerated.

I can't imagine the hoops they have to jump through to deal with TOP SECRET crap. I remember when I had to go pick up messages at the base Comm. Center. It was built like a bank in South LA. The guard who let you in had his hand on his side arm the whole time you were there. I'm glad I didn't sneeze. I would prolly be dead if I had. :D

Don
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Glad to still have you around to tell your tale :D
 
I use to work at compuUSA 'fixing' computers. It was acually standard practice that if the harddrive failed tests (and with the customers permission to replace it) to hold the harddrive on its side and hit it very hard on the ground (so that the disks inside would become beyond repair or usability, barring taking it apart in a clean room to remove the data). The trick is hold it like |_| position and hit it on its side, if you hit it flat its much harder to dislodge and do damage to the disks. If you do it correctly it wont leave any damage on the outside of the drive (no scratches, the trick is hit it flatly on its side, a rubber matt works best).
 
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