How to Destroy Old Hard Drive Permanently?

Overview: As, you need to understand that technology is becoming advanced. So, protecting your data becomes crucial for saving your own identity. If you simply delete files or format your hard drive, it will not be enough as your data can still be accessed which risks identity theft or data breaches activity. To avoid this, it’s important to understand how to wipe a hard drive securely. This guide will cover the aspects like how to destroy old hard drive & why hard drive destruction is important and provides effective methods to do it safely.

Reasons to Dispose Old Hard Drives

There are several benefits which you get while you try to destroy a hard drive. Let’s read those points below.

• It prevents unauthorized ways of recovering sensitive data.
• It complies with data privacy laws like GDPR and HIPAA.
• Also, protect your personal information which are stored in hard drives such as banking details and passwords.
• After you destroy your hard drive, it can also be used for recycling purposes to make the environment eco-friendly.

If you’re looking for related solutions, check out how to erase and factory reset MacBook without password for step-by-step guidance.

How to Destroy Old Hard Drive Using Manual Methods

Here, we will give you various destruction methods to dispose of your old hard drives. Follow these methods to securely protect your sensitive data.

1. Magnetic Destruction (Degaussing)

What it is:

When a strong magnet or degausser is used to interfere with the magnetic fields. This is where the data is stored on the hard drive platters. A degausser creates a strong electromagnetic field that disrupts the data bits on the drive.

How it works:

After exposure to a degausser, the hard drive is completely rendered, unable to read, and can’t be operated. This destroys the platter alignment and you can’t boot or be recognized by any system.

Why use it:

• Good for a fast kill on many drives.
• No need to take the drive apart.
• It is ideal for businesses with sensitive data such as in healthcare, defense, or finance.

Note: Degausser machines are expensive and industrial strength units and are not practical for use at home.

#2. Physical Destruction

Know about this:

Physical destruction is the physical submission of the hardware that involves disassembling and breaking of the internal components. Like it will break it down into pieces with a screwdriver, hammer, drill, etc.

Steps to Function:

• Open the hard drive cover.
• Smash platters with a hammer or drill holes into them several times.
• Scrape or snap the mainboard to destroy the drive.

Need:

• It is cost-effective and doable at home.
• As, it provides peace of mind when you can see the damage.
• There is no need of any electricity or technical tools.

Tip:

Wear gloves and glasses as the edges of the platters are sharp. If it struck, then they can shatter you.

#3. Shredding

Definition:

Shredding requires an industrial shredder for electronics which is made specifically to damage electronics. It destroy old hard drive into tiny pieces that you cannot recompile or read.

Ways to Do it:

From the time it is fed into the shredder, the hard drive is ripped into tiny shreds by rotating metal teeth. The particles which are leftover are further discharged or recycled according to environmental laws.

Why to use:

• It is one of the hardest ways to destroy.
• It is suitable for batch disposal in companies.
• Make sure that it’s in line with all the industry standards such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, etc.

Note:

To apply all this, you need a expensive shredders which are usually only available in data centers or in recycling centers for waste electronics.

#4. Incineration

Overview:

The hard drive is incinerated in an industrial burner at high temperatures. So, that it melts the components completely and can destroy them.

Process Flow:

The heat in fact, isn’t just melting the casing and the circuit board. But it’s causing the platters inside to warp or vaporize. After doing this,  it tends to eliminate all the remaining magnetic field for absolute zero possibility of data recovery.

Reasons to Use:

• To wipe everything out from all the way to the bake lite, circuits, and platters.
• For secure or military/government data destruction.

Be Careful:

Don’t burn hard drives at home because it emits toxic chemicals and needs controlled industrial environments with the right air filters.

#5. Crushing

Short Summary:

Physical destruction crushes the drive to press the external case and internal platters to break it. This is accomplished through use of a hydraulic press or disintegrator to destroy old hard drive.

Action Steps:

The crusher exerts enough force to bend, break or destroy the drive. And once crushed, the platter inside can no longer spin up to store or read data anymore. 

Benefits:

• Speedy, not to mention less messy than taking it apart by hand.
• Can be used frequently which is applied by IT disposal companies.
• All the magnet teardown and leaves no doubt about the drive’s fate.

Important Note:

This machines are expensive and are typically not accessible to any individuals.

#6. Data Sanitization

Introduction:

Rather than physically destroying the images, data sanitization refers to utilizing software tools to write over the data in the images with random characters (multiple passes). This approach guarantees no possibility of data retrieval with any tool or software.

How it Function:

Instruments execute a number of passes (DoD 5220.22-M or NIST 800-88) to make sure data is securely erased. After this process, even the most sophisticated recovery methods available are not able to get the files back.

Purpose:

• It’s Eco friendly like you can reuse the drive.
• Very affordable and suitable for individual use.
• It complies with industry security standards.

Warning:

It’s time consuming and may not work for a damaged or unreadable drive. The drive  should be in working condition while using this method.

These are six methods that can permanently destroy your sensitive data which makes recovery impossible. Choose the best method based on your security needs.

How Does a Hard Drive Store Information & Its Types

Basically, hard drives store the information in various forms including images, videos, music, and data which contain things like social security numbers, banking details, and passwords and etc.

• Computer programs: Software that helps your computer run and store data.
• Operating systems: Software that manages your computer’s resources.
• Internet history: Data from websites visited, cookies, and other stored info.
• Software applications: Programs like word processors or games.
• Databases: You can search collections of information.
• Media files: Images, videos, music, and other media on your computer.
• Email: Messages, attachments, and contacts stored on your computer.
• Documents: Files like text documents, spreadsheets, and PDFs.
• System files: Settings, configurations, and logs for your system.

Simple Steps to Permanently Destroy Old Hard Drive – Automated Tool

Follow these steps to dispose of your hard drive completely without facing any problem. Make sure to permanently delete your data. Always take backups first and then proceed:

Step 1. Open the Start menu, find our software and right-click to open it.

Step 2. Click on the Drive tab to begin.

Step 3. After that, Select the Drive you want to wipe and click Next to scan it.

Step 4. Choose a data-wiping method.

Step 5. Click Wipe to start the process.

Step 6. Check the details of the wiped Drive on the screen.

Conclusion

Here, in this article we have discussed various manual & automated steps to destroy old hard drive. It is vital for protecting sensitive data and prevents unknown access. While data wiping works for the purpose of reuse, physical destruction. It means that you cannot recover any  data. If you are also dealing with other system issues such as time machine mac not working, it’s essential to address them promptly to maintain data integrity. Choose the right method for your needs and consider professional help for large-scale disposal to keep your data secure.