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marmelising old hard drives

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AJC5001
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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#371377

Postby AJC5001 » December 30th, 2020, 6:16 pm

What's that Christmas favourite?

Ah yes, I remember...

"Hard Disks roasting on an open fire" :lol:

Adrian

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#371417

Postby jfgw » December 30th, 2020, 7:51 pm

jfgw wrote:I can see how boiling water could work if the drive is left submerged until the water has cooled. Hard drives usually have breather holes (hermetically sealed ones are available). Boiling water will expand the air in the drive. When this cools, it will contract and draw in some water.

After doing a bit of reading, it seems that water will not render the platters unreadable.

Laptop drives, it seems, usually have glass or ceramic platters. Throwing the drive onto a hard surface might work (check that it rattles). 3 1/2" drives normally have aluminium platters.


Julian F. G. W.

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#372335

Postby malakoffee » January 2nd, 2021, 12:25 pm

FYI :

The first time I have ever tried overwriting an old magnetic disk drive (80Gbytes).

Using the Linux "dd" command, with input file /dev/urandom & output file <the target drive>

No ongoing feedback without the "status=progress" parameter [ which I will use next time(s) ].

Without the ongoing feedback I terminated early, after 80 minutes . . . . to be informed that 65 Gbytes had been output. :roll:

I'll have to do it again.

I ran Ubuntu Linux from a pendrive and ONLY had the target mag. disk connected. I wouldn't trust myself otherwise. :o

servodude
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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#372496

Postby servodude » January 2nd, 2021, 10:34 pm

malakoffee wrote:I'll have to do it again.


Seeing as you've blatted the first part of the drive
use a start offset of 64GB or so (in addition to the progress flag) and you'll be all good

-sd

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#387341

Postby torata » February 17th, 2021, 6:36 am

I had to do this today as an external HDD used as a backup fell while being written to, and would only intermittently connect with the PC so couldn't be wiped using software.

It's a bit like disposing of old credit cards.
You know, when you cut it in half, and throw the two pieces in the bin.

...then you retrieve them and cut them into little shreds, making sure to cut the chip in half and shave the numbers so they can't be stuck back together by those dustbin men hackers, and making sure that half of the bits of plastic go in a plastic recycling bin and the other half in household waste.

Anyway, after taking apart the drive using a small star bit and pulling out the two disks (yes, I was surprised but it makes sense - 2 x 500GB) with my very dirty fingers, I used a super strong magnet on one side of the disk to pull around a super strong magnet on the other. Then wrapped it in tissue paper, put it in an envelope and snapped it in half.

You'll note that the previous sentence says 'it' rather than 'them'. And that's the learning experience...
Trying to bend a disk that isn't aluminium as you thought sends an explosion of shards of glass/plastic around the room.

All in all though a very satisfying experience. And the room got a good hoovering.

torata

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#387379

Postby bluedonkey » February 17th, 2021, 9:39 am

terminal7 wrote:Thanks kiloran - incidentally anyone have views on the boiling water/vinegar treatment?

T7

Tier 4 area - nothing of this ilk open

I had been told that as well, though with washing up liquid rather than vinegar. At least the washing up liquid will make the equipment smell nice!

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#387388

Postby quelquod » February 17th, 2021, 9:58 am

The MoD used to mill the disks to fragments in a machine built for the purpose. Mind you that was back when you could take the platters out of the several cwt disk unit.

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#387397

Postby Infrasonic » February 17th, 2021, 10:15 am

https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/goo ... ta-centers
Google has deployed robots to destroy decommissioned hard drives in its data centers • Industrial robots puncture and shred the drives much faster than human technicians can • Automating this function has been especially helpful during mass upgrades, Joe Kava, Google’s VP of data centers, told Data Center Knowledge
Cont.

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#387419

Postby Stompa » February 17th, 2021, 11:13 am

quelquod wrote:The MoD used to mill the disks to fragments in a machine built for the purpose. Mind you that was back when you could take the platters out of the several cwt disk unit.

Yes, you just need a shredder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb3Xa1h_RqM

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#387442

Postby quelquod » February 17th, 2021, 12:15 pm

Stompa wrote:
quelquod wrote:The MoD used to mill the disks to fragments in a machine built for the purpose. Mind you that was back when you could take the platters out of the several cwt disk unit.

Yes, you just need a shredder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb3Xa1h_RqM


My word! So it’s still the recommended method for secure destruction after 40-50 years or so. Plus ca change - not.

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Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#395802

Postby Clariman » March 15th, 2021, 3:50 pm

I have a selection of old IBM laptop hard drives which I would like to either destroy or wipe. I have nothing incriminating on them m'lud, but may have some confidential data from previous employment, so want to put them beyond use. They are as follows:


I had removed the hard disks and batteries from old laptops before throwing them out, obviously with the thought that I should dispose of the batteries safely and that I would one day wipe the disks. I should have done it at the time! :lol:

Thanks
C

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Re: Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#395812

Postby Midsmartin » March 15th, 2021, 4:21 pm

As above. Or drill a hole right through them. Or just remove the circuit board on them which you can often do with a screwdriver, which will render them inaccessible unless someone can locate the precise replacement circuit board, and solder it on correctly.

You could use software if the disk might be usable for something else afterwards:
https://eraser.heidi.ie

Finally, a long shot, data recovery companies (if there happens to be one near you) are usually grateful to receive gifts of old hard drives that they use for parts in data recovery, and will provide a certificate to say they've been securely wiped.

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Re: Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#395813

Postby paulnumbers » March 15th, 2021, 4:23 pm

This should do the trick, the free version

https://dban.org/

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#395872

Postby chas49 » March 15th, 2021, 6:23 pm

Moderator Message:
I have merged the latest topic on this question with a recent one on the same issue (chas49)

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Re: marmelising old hard drives

#395877

Postby absolutezero » March 15th, 2021, 6:29 pm

I thermite mine.

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Re: Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#396001

Postby Clariman » March 16th, 2021, 8:57 am

Thanks for the answers and for merging my topic with another. However let me ask a more specific question in relation to the list of devices that I want to wipe. I should have also said that I have used DBAN softwares to do this before, but to use it I need to attach the drives to a modern day laptop. So my specific question is how would I attach these to a laptop today so that I can write to them?


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Re: Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#396013

Postby Infrasonic » March 16th, 2021, 9:29 am

Clariman wrote:Thanks for the answers and for merging my topic with another. However let me ask a more specific question in relation to the list of devices that I want to wipe. I should have also said that I have used DBAN softwares to do this before, but to use it I need to attach the drives to a modern day laptop. So my specific question is how would I attach these to a laptop today so that I can write to them?



You'll want a powered USB to PATA (IDE) 40 + 44 pin and SATA adapter...https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=USB+ide+sa ... _sb_noss_2
For the IBM Microdrive I presume it's PATA/IDE if CF compatible with a PCMCIA adapter. So a cheap PATA/CF adapter should do the trick.
If the drive is the same physical size/pin layout as a standard CF card you might get away with a USB - CF reader /writer.

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Re: Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#396067

Postby Breelander » March 16th, 2021, 10:58 am

Clariman wrote:.... to use it I need to attach the drives to a modern day laptop. So my specific question is how would I attach these to a laptop today so that I can write to them?...


A SATA & IDE adapter cable, complete with external power supply for the 3.5" drives. eg:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=ide+and+sa ... sb+adapter

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Re: Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#396190

Postby Clariman » March 16th, 2021, 3:50 pm

Infrasonic wrote:
Clariman wrote:Thanks for the answers and for merging my topic with another. However let me ask a more specific question in relation to the list of devices that I want to wipe. I should have also said that I have used DBAN softwares to do this before, but to use it I need to attach the drives to a modern day laptop. So my specific question is how would I attach these to a laptop today so that I can write to them?



You'll want a powered USB to PATA (IDE) 40 + 44 pin and SATA adapter...https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=USB+ide+sa ... _sb_noss_2
For the IBM Microdrive I presume it's PATA/IDE if CF compatible with a PCMCIA adapter. So a cheap PATA/CF adapter should do the trick.
If the drive is the same physical size/pin layout as a standard CF card you might get away with a USB - CF reader /writer.

Can I check that I am ordering the right kind of thing...

For the Travelstar items listed above, I can see how they would connect to the type of device you suggest. I think this will do the job https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078GZG4ST/ Yes?

However, I cannot see how that would connect the first 2 items in my list where the disk is inside a caddy. You can see the type of connector on the second photo on this Ebay ad https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-IBM- ... 3831000162 . I cannot see how that would attach to the above reader. Or do I need to take the drive out of its caddy and it will have connections that are compatible?

For the microdrive, I bought a CF reader, but the drive was too thick to fit into the slot. It is marked as being a Type II CF+ . It looks like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdriv ... e_7621.jpg . I couldn't find anything that matched your suggestion of a PATA/CF adapter.

Thanks

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Re: Destroying Old Hard Drives - Security

#396202

Postby Infrasonic » March 16th, 2021, 4:15 pm

Clariman wrote:
Infrasonic wrote:
Clariman wrote:Thanks for the answers and for merging my topic with another. However let me ask a more specific question in relation to the list of devices that I want to wipe. I should have also said that I have used DBAN softwares to do this before, but to use it I need to attach the drives to a modern day laptop. So my specific question is how would I attach these to a laptop today so that I can write to them?



You'll want a powered USB to PATA (IDE) 40 + 44 pin and SATA adapter...https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=USB+ide+sa ... _sb_noss_2
For the IBM Microdrive I presume it's PATA/IDE if CF compatible with a PCMCIA adapter. So a cheap PATA/CF adapter should do the trick.
If the drive is the same physical size/pin layout as a standard CF card you might get away with a USB - CF reader /writer.

Can I check that I am ordering the right kind of thing...

For the Travelstar items listed above, I can see how they would connect to the type of device you suggest. I think this will do the job https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078GZG4ST/ Yes?

Yes.

Clariman wrote:However, I cannot see how that would connect the first 2 items in my list where the disk is inside a caddy. You can see the type of connector on the second photo on this Ebay ad https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-IBM- ... 3831000162 . I cannot see how that would attach to the above reader. Or do I need to take the drive out of its caddy and it will have connections that are compatible?

Yes take them out of the caddy. Hopefully they are 44 pin PATA (standard old school laptop). I can't tell from your pictures what that caddy connector type is but it looks custom not standard PATA/IDE.
Worst case scenario is use the lump hammer or drill solution suggested upthread. I wouldn't waste too much time chasing down now redundant adapters for a one off use situation. Waste of money.

Clariman wrote:For the microdrive, I bought a CF reader, but the drive was too thick to fit into the slot. It is marked as being a Type II CF+ . It looks like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdriv ... e_7621.jpg . I couldn't find anything that matched your suggestion of a PATA/CF adapter.

Okay, that looks like it's actually part of a PCMICIA card set up, not a PCMICIA to standard CF card adapter. You can get USB to PCMICIA card adapters but again I'd question whether it is worth doing it for a one situation like this, just physically destroy the drive.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/usb-to-pcmcia- ... 7024872101
CF card explainer here...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompactFlash


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