I like to disassemble spinning hard drives to destroy the data. My true motive is to salvage the neodymium "supermagnets" from inside those drives. Nearly all spinning hard drives have two flat, crescent-shaped, neodymium magnets inside. They are useful for crafts, projects, repairs, tools, etc. I have a small jar of them. Here are a few helpful notes and hints:
I have encountered situations where a room was full of drives and it was not sensible or practical to take them apart for the magnets. In those cases, I brought a small benchtop drill press and some old "fat" "throwaway" drill bits to work. I put five holes randomly through the platter sections of metal drives, and can hear the broken glass that happens when you drill that first hole on the drives with the glass platters in them (most old laptop drives). Be sure to drill through all the platters in the drive, and remember to contain the broken glass platters that will leak out the holes on the smaller drives. Wear eye protection!
I have also used hard drive shredders. You put the drive in a chute (like a post office mailbox) and watch the machine slowly grind your drive into tiny metal filings. Sometimes the drama itself hammers home the proof of data destruction.
- DANGER! KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN!
- If swallowed, those powerful magnets can injure or kill a child.
- They can easily pinch off skin. No joke. When two magnets come together it happens fast.
- To separate two of them, rotate them while stuck until they repel each other or you can slide one off.
- WARNING! GLASS DRIVE PLATTERS WILL SHATTER ... TAKE CARE TO CONTAIN THE SHARDS!
- Drive platters can look like metal, but they are glass that can shatter and fill the air with razor sharp microshards that spread to every corner of any room, maybe up to the size of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Use caution and care.
- I take the platters to the outside trash can, put them in a heavy thick plastic bag and then flex them from the outside of the bag to contain the shards in the bag.
- WEAR EYE PROTECTION!
- Separate, Bend and Scratch Metal Platters
- If the platters are metal, they will bend and not break.
- Be sure to take them apart into separate individual platters, then bend and scratch them with pliers.
- -> Separation is important; do not leave the platters bundled together.
- Once multiple platters are separated, bent, and scratched, the threat is essentially zero. In that state you can safely put them in the trash unless your security officer has briefed you otherwise.
- A set of Torx ("star") drivers is essential.
- FYI: Some screws are hidden under stickers.
I have encountered situations where a room was full of drives and it was not sensible or practical to take them apart for the magnets. In those cases, I brought a small benchtop drill press and some old "fat" "throwaway" drill bits to work. I put five holes randomly through the platter sections of metal drives, and can hear the broken glass that happens when you drill that first hole on the drives with the glass platters in them (most old laptop drives). Be sure to drill through all the platters in the drive, and remember to contain the broken glass platters that will leak out the holes on the smaller drives. Wear eye protection!
I have also used hard drive shredders. You put the drive in a chute (like a post office mailbox) and watch the machine slowly grind your drive into tiny metal filings. Sometimes the drama itself hammers home the proof of data destruction.