Linked Questions

12 votes
6 answers
2k views

Best method of retiring hard drives [duplicate]

What are some typical ways you guys retire hard drives? We have a hard drive that won't mount anymore (makes clicking sounds when it tries to mount). The data on it isn't necessarily sensitive (no ...
Safado's user avatar
  • 732
10 votes
2 answers
5k views

Magnet to wipe HDD [duplicate]

This question is for HDD, not SDD. Would a Neodymium magnet like this one be strong enough to wipe the contents of a hard disk drive? How long would such an act take to destroy any data so it's not ...
k1308517's user avatar
  • 1,272
0 votes
2 answers
86 views

How can you securely destroy data permanently and completely? [duplicate]

I have some extremely sensitive data on a computer, hard drive, and on a private server. I do not care about cost or method, as I have a lot of funds (though not unlimited) and I do not want to go ...
Jeff jeff's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
224 views

What is the best way to recycle an old hard drive that might still have sensitive data? [duplicate]

Six years ago, I got a Seagate Agent Flexgo hard drive, but recently it started showing signs of failure. I was unable to get it formatted. I thought of opening up the inside to find some way of ...
HeavenlyHarmony's user avatar
104 votes
8 answers
45k views

How can I reliably erase all information on a hard drive?

As storage technologies change over time, using different encodings and remappings to deal with sector errors, the best way to permanently erase/wipe/shred data changes also. Methods for flash drives ...
nealmcb's user avatar
  • 20.7k
40 votes
6 answers
9k views

How "scrambled" is the data on a RAID5 disk?

My concern is the disposal of a replaced disk from a private RAID5 disk array. I have had to replace a disk from my personal RAID5 disk-array. It had started developing errors, so out it went. But ...
Mausy5043's user avatar
  • 511
49 votes
7 answers
26k views

How to securely, physically destroy a hard drive at home?

Hard drive in question has sensitive unencrypted data but has failed and no longer responds so can't be wiped. I'd like to physically destroy the said hard drive (3-1/2" desktop, spinning platter ...
DeepSpace101's user avatar
  • 2,173
33 votes
7 answers
53k views

Can a hard drive be destroyed by drowning?

These are some ways of disposing of hard drives: Special firms, degaussing, hammering, pulling apart. Can this be accomplished more quickly by drowning it? Fill a bucket with water, maybe add some ...
Strapakowsky's user avatar
  • 3,079
9 votes
3 answers
6k views

How to erase as much as possible an SSD without ATA Secure Erase?

The question is almost completely answered. However, more details are still needed. See Update 2 down here. I've learnt that the ATA Secure Erase is uncorrectly implemented in SSDs (sources are down ...
X.LINK's user avatar
  • 141
8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Secure hard drive disposal: How to erase confidential information

When it comes to disposing of hardware that may contain PII, confidential, or other sensitive material, how do you determine what needs special handling? What process do you use? I'd like to expand ...
makerofthings7's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
2k views

Completely wiping a HDD (i.e. nothing is recoverable) [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How can I reliably erase all information on a hard drive? I'm looking to see if there's a method that can completely wipe out the content of a HDD, so that nothing previously ...
laketuna's user avatar
  • 113
0 votes
1 answer
306 views

How far beyond using Shred should I go when deleting files? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How can I reliably erase all information on a hard drive? I'm looking to securely erase my files. Is shred the best option besides ditching the hardware? To what lengths ...
Keegan Black's user avatar