Rendereing Old HD Unreadable for Recycling

I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

On 19/11/2015 21:34, Bill wrote:
I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

Hello Bill

I suggest that instead of recycling your old hard drive, you dig a deep
hole in your garden and bury it.

Seriously! :-)

On 11/19/2015 03:34 PM, Bill wrote:
I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill




Drill a hole through it.

done

On 11/19/2015 4:34 PM, Bill wrote:
I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

I use mine for target practice 45acp works well.

--
Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin

Wolf K wrote on 11/19/2015 4:56 PM:

Take a sledgehammer and bash the daylights out of it.
You know, I tried that with my sledge, and as big as I am and as good as that big ole buddy is, I had one hell of a time
doing much damage to it. I did, but it's not like breaking a coke can! LOL

"Bill" wrote in message
...

I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

1. Recycling involves reconditioning for future
use. Destruction does not.
2. If you intend to destroy this and lack the right
screwdriver bit, why not cut it in half with a bandsaw?
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Many thanks to all that responded! Shooting a hole through it sounds
like a good idea, but I don't think the neighbors would appreciate
that! Thanks again!

Bill

On Thu, 19 Nov 2015 13:34:22 -0800, Bill
wrote:

I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

Bill wrote:
I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

I would actually buy the screwdriver for it.

There are Torx and tamper-proof Torx. The drives
don't all use the same screws to hold on the HDA
cover. The tamper-proof Torx has a "tit" in the
center, and the screwdriver you buy has a "hole"
so it can set itself into the Torx screw. I was
surprised they were available at my hardware
store. I bought the Tamper-proof, so I could
take the cover off my shiny microwave oven.
The Tamper-proof are 1/4" drive, so there
are no messy handles for them. My regular Torx
are a set of Fuller screwdrivers, so a bit
nicer. I received those as a gift.

Now that I have the Tamper-proof, if I ever
need to take the cover off my WD-RE drive, it'll
be no problem at all :-) I just checked, and the
smallest one, fits.

*******

You can peel the gray sticker off the servo writer
port, if you want to view one or more platters
edge-on. But I don't think that gives sufficient
clearance for applying destructive force.

There are some drives, which no longer have a
servo writer port. Those drives are self-formatting
(because the tolerance for writing servo wedges
is so small, an external servo writer is no
longer accurate enough). I haven't seen an explanation
for what law of physics is used to define track
pitch and so on, when the drive defines its own
set of concentric circles.

The drive is not under vacuum. It is at atmospheric
pressure. There is a breather hole with a hepa-filter
underneath it. The only drive currently that violates
that description, is the Hitachi 6TB drive that
is filled with Helium gas. That drive is well
sealed, but for some reason, has the same
max altitude spec as conventional hard
drives.

*******

When using brute force, there is always a
small risk of hurting yourself. And it's
just not worth it.

Paul

On Thu, 19 Nov 2015 13:34:22 -0800, Bill wrote:

I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be defective
and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best way to insure
that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it? I've been told that
scoring the disk will do but I don't have the appropriate screwdriver
bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

Then try a hammer.

Bill wrote:
I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

T-8 Torx bit opens a lot of them.
The magnets make great fridge door magnets and for fishing things.
Hang the disks on string from a tree or house corner.
They make good decorations and the squirrels don't like them.
The little aluminum parts are great for putting on the floor near the office copier.

On 19 Nov 2015 23:29:39 GMT, ray carter wrote:

On Thu, 19 Nov 2015 13:34:22 -0800, Bill wrote:

I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be defective
and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best way to insure
that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it? I've been told that
scoring the disk will do but I don't have the appropriate screwdriver
bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

Then try a hammer.

Put it in a bench vise edge-wise and turn the crank ;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

In article , says...

Bill wrote:
I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

I would actually buy the screwdriver for it.

There are Torx and tamper-proof Torx. The drives
don't all use the same screws to hold on the HDA
cover. The tamper-proof Torx has a "tit" in the
center, and the screwdriver you buy has a "hole"
so it can set itself into the Torx screw. I was
surprised they were available at my hardware
store. I bought the Tamper-proof, so I could
take the cover off my shiny microwave oven.
The Tamper-proof are 1/4" drive, so there
are no messy handles for them. My regular Torx
are a set of Fuller screwdrivers, so a bit
nicer. I received those as a gift.

Now that I have the Tamper-proof, if I ever
need to take the cover off my WD-RE drive, it'll
be no problem at all :-) I just checked, and the
smallest one, fits.

*******

You can peel the gray sticker off the servo writer
port, if you want to view one or more platters
edge-on. But I don't think that gives sufficient
clearance for applying destructive force.

There are some drives, which no longer have a
servo writer port. Those drives are self-formatting
(because the tolerance for writing servo wedges
is so small, an external servo writer is no
longer accurate enough). I haven't seen an explanation
for what law of physics is used to define track
pitch and so on, when the drive defines its own
set of concentric circles.

The drive is not under vacuum. It is at atmospheric
pressure. There is a breather hole with a hepa-filter
underneath it. The only drive currently that violates
that description, is the Hitachi 6TB drive that

I just grind them off using a mini grinder, works well enough with
little effort. I salvage the magnets inside.

On 11/19/2015 04:51 PM, Bill wrote:
Many thanks to all that responded! Shooting a hole through it sounds
like a good idea, but I don't think the neighbors would appreciate
that! Thanks again!

Bill


Drill a hole, don't shoot one!

On Thu, 19 Nov 2015 13:34:22 -0800, Bill
wrote:

I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

Wolf K wrote:

On 2015-11-19 16:56, Farmer wrote:
On 11/19/2015 4:34 PM, Bill wrote:
I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Bill

I use mine for target practice 45acp works well.

LOL.

What about ricochets?

Bring along some folks you'd like to accidentally maim or kill.
Richocheting back to you would require perfect 90-degree orientation to
the person firing. However, a little angle and the richochets go
somewhere other than back at you.

Hang the HDD from a tree limb. No danger of richocets. Or use
non-jacketed bullets. Lead deforms.

Bill wrote:

I have an old Samsung 120MB HD that has been determined to be
defective and I want to recycle it for destruction. What is the best
way to insure that it is totally unreadable prior to recycling it?
I've been told that scoring the disk will do but I don't have the
appropriate screwdriver bit to open the case. Suggestions, please!

Why concern yourself over proper opening of the enclosure if your intent
is to destroy its contents? Which are you going to do: recycle or
destroy? You don't recycle and then destroy.

Use a sawsall with metal cutting blade. Add a vise to hold the HDD.
You could saw the unit in half or just saw off the top plate to peek
inside before going Rambo on it. You might want to use the platters as
coasters. There's a small hole in the side. Might have a foam or
sintered metal insert in it or just a sticky label-like cover over it.
Use a drill through the already available hole. If the bit doesn't hit
the platters, pour in some epoxy. Get a hammer and some concrete nails.
Use your imagination.

HD = High Definition
HDD = Hard Disk Drive