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clicking and really slow.
It's been in the freezer (no clear difference) and I've taken on all the data then formatted it (not "quick format")
I don't really care about the data security (should I try to DBAN or whatever ?) but do I have to dispose in a specific way (guessing landfill's not OK) ? Is it likely my local tip will take it ?
Hammer + local tip small electricals bin for me
Just smash it to ****.
Dismantle it and take the magnets out. They can be pretty strong, nice to play with anyway.
+1 for hammer and local recycling, whatever arrangement they have for small electricals.
I drill through the platters then bin it.
As above take it apart. Keep magnets, in case you need a really strong one sometime. Also, string the platters together and hang them outside your windows to keep the sun out on really hot days. You may need more hard drives.
string the platters together and hang them outside your windows to keep the sun out
will that deflect the 5G deathrays too ?
(I have the magnets out of one in the garage - great for fishing quicklinks out of a pot of degreaser). DBAN running currently - christ, it's slow. I think that's prob why I wasn't very keen
DBAN running currently – christ, it’s slow. I think that’s prob why I wasn’t very keen
Just drill through the drive or even just put the controller beyond use, no one is going to spend hundreds of pounds on data recovery transplanting the platters to a new drive for a random drive* from the tip!
*unless you live near Sailsbury Cathedral, or GCHQ, or take it to the tip in a red briefcase.
unless you live near Sailsbury Cathedral
Da, tovarisch
Takes about 10 secs to put a 5mm drill through the controller, the case and all the platters - way faster than trying to delete the contents.
Just let my wife have it, she seems to have a knack of destroying these 🙁
If you have the time and inclination to take it apart then most of it is aluminium so recyclable. Including the casing, spacers between the platters, platters are also aluminium (or maybe glass if 2.5" drive) with very thin coating of metals like platinum.
The cover and fasteners are stainless steel which is also recyclable.
The motor is usually an aluminium case, copper windings, ferrous stator, stainless steel bearing.
The magnet is rare earth (neodymium) usually coated with nickel and on a stainless steel bracket, useful thing to have around for finding where studs in walls are, etc.
That leaves the PCB, which us the least recyclable bit, but probably won't have any lead or mercury in it if made relatively recently for EU market.
There's so much bollocks around HDD disposal.
Take it to the local tip recycling centre, it's then their problem. If your concern is Green then that's literally what they exist for.
Yes, you could DBAN it to a military level secure erasure, drill holes in the platters*, take a hammer to it*, give it to @dropoff's wife or my girlfriend*, or otherwise attempt to muller it. but realistically no-one would care unless you're being specifically targeted. A hacker could attempt to recover data from a discarded HDD that's only been zeroed the once but why bother when there's a buttload that aren't. The reality is that no-one is going to be climbing through a landfill looking for a hard disk full of your 1990s porn outside of state-sponsored threat actors and corporate espionage.
(* - not secure)
... taking one to bits is fun though.
will that deflect the 5G deathrays too
No. That must be done at source. If you can't get to China, you must destroy all local towers in purifying flame.
(* Do not really do this. )
On the upside they are also good for preventing birds crashing into your Windows.
The reality is that no-one is going to be climbing through a landfill looking for a hard disk full of your 1990s porn outside of state-sponsored threat actors and corporate espionage.
this is my take on it. I format them then peel off the seal and put some salt in and spin them up until they make horrible grindy noises, then put them in the recycling. The NSA could extract the data from it, but nobody is going to waste time trying to recover data from a random trashed hard disk.
The reality is that no-one is going to be climbing through a landfill looking for a hard disk full of your 1990s porn outside of state-sponsored threat actors and corporate espionage.
Only the other day I was with a friend who in Carrefour who was rumaging throgh the electrical recycling box, got a couple of kindles, from which he got their personal details inc credit card number etc. NB He then wiped them and re-used them rather than use their CC details to buy a load of stuff. He collects working stuff an sells it on Ebay..
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I love the fact that he’s rummaging around in a bin. While wearing a mask. 😷
🤣
To be clear,
I'm not advocating not employing any sort of security practices at all. You should always format or otherwise erase a hard disk before getting rid even if it's going to "secure" disposal. Just tossing it in an open bin outside a supermarket is reckless.
Data recovery is often possible. But it also hard. A criminal isn't going to spend hours / thousands in the vain hope that they might retrieve your Facebook password, they'll just toss it out and move on to the next one. That's the point I was getting at, unless you're likely to be specifically targeted for some reason then just wiping it is sufficient.