# How would you destroy a HDD?



## Jonyboy (Aug 2, 2007)

They say the only way to truely get data of a HDD is by physically destroying it and although MI5 arn't knocking at the door i just wanted to know the whackiest way you would destroy a HDD (Other than try and flush it down the toilet).

I would probably just unscrew it and gash up the spindels. Or put it in HCI Acid.


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## spanky (Aug 2, 2007)

I prefer chainsaw method.


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## 99F (Aug 2, 2007)

hammer


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## Jonyboy (Aug 2, 2007)

theresthatguy said:


> I prefer chainsaw method.



Why didn't i think of that?

I just thought of pouring gasoline on it and well, you know.


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## spanky (Aug 2, 2007)

Jonyboy said:


> Why didn't i think of that?
> 
> I just thought of pouring gasoline on it and well, you know.



Glad to help


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## XanderCage (Aug 2, 2007)

cons4entrated hydrochloric acid ftw.


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## jutnm (Aug 2, 2007)

eating it ? lol


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## g4m3rof1337 (Aug 2, 2007)

Frisbee...


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## nffc10 (Aug 2, 2007)

Give it Bin Laden to use inside one of his bombs.


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## kof2000 (Aug 2, 2007)

take a dump on top of it.


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## Jabes (Aug 2, 2007)

do a low level format


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## kof2000 (Aug 2, 2007)

magnet


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## Burgerbob (Aug 2, 2007)

send it to space. 
Install Win98 or ME. 
have Master Chief step on it. 
give it to a baby. 
get a superelectromagent and use it for testing. 
Take off the top, plug it in, and sandpaper it (ahhhh). 
Just a few ideas.


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## brian (Aug 2, 2007)

easy... thermite... :B


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## The_Beast (Aug 2, 2007)

thermite


http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hn8Vo2UDvj0


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## tool72 (Aug 2, 2007)

LOL. kof2000 thats funny. i would microwave it, piss on it, gas it up, light it on fire, let it go out, stomp on it, saw it in half, insert it rectally, shit it out, and then i get banned from the computer forum woo!


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## The_Beast (Aug 2, 2007)

The thermite melted the whole thing

Some guy was pissed off by his boss. The guy dumped thermite on the hood of his bosses car(BMW). The thermite melted a hole though the engine and 3" in to the black top before it stopped


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## Shane (Aug 3, 2007)

i would smash it with a sledgehammer,Run over it with the car...put petrol (Gas) and set it alite then strap it to a rocket firework and blast it away


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## brian (Aug 3, 2007)

or liquad oxygen. hamer.  (may need a vacume)


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## Shane (Aug 3, 2007)

brianmay27 said:


> or liquad oxygen. hamer.  (may need a vacume)



actualy ive seen a vid of ...they submergedit in Liquid nitrogen then dropped it down several floors and it didnt smash,It just dented.


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## brian (Aug 3, 2007)

poo! how much colder is liqual o2 then liq nitro?


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## hpi (Aug 3, 2007)

Run it over with a tank.

Shoot it with a 50 cal exploding round or armor piercing round.

Launch a tomahawk cruise missile at it.

Thered be nothing left of the hdd with those 3 methods that's for sure.


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## brian (Aug 3, 2007)

got it... will it blend... get a blend tec blender and see if it will blend

willitblend.com


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## Jonyboy (Aug 3, 2007)

brianmay27 said:


> poo! how much colder is liqual o2 then liq nitro?



Lig nitro is colder (sub-zero).

Lets crush it with a tank!


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## Ambushed (Aug 3, 2007)

Get it to look at you


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## salman (Aug 3, 2007)

brianmay27 said:


> got it... will it blend... get a blend tec blender and see if it will blend
> 
> willitblend.com



Their video's are really good, the one where they blend the toy cars is my fav.


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## tlarkin (Aug 3, 2007)

Jabes said:


> do a low level format



data is still recoverable after low level formatting.

The easiest cheapest way I would say would be to use thermite, which civilians can purchase with ease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermite


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## SuperNub1337 (Aug 3, 2007)

I would give the hdd to Paris Hilton


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## Jabes (Aug 4, 2007)

SuperNub1337 said:


> I would give the hdd to Paris Hilton



don't get that does anybody else?


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## 99F (Aug 4, 2007)

Hehe I do.


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## speedcanhurt (Aug 4, 2007)

*Toffee is good...*

Pour loads of sugar into it and then dunk it into high-concentration hydrochloric acid - instant, burning, expanding toffee!


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## PohTayToez (Aug 4, 2007)

Jonyboy said:


> Or put it in HCI Acid.



You mean HCl?  

And it depends.  If I had a hard drive that for some reason I didn't want anyone to get a hold of, I wouldn't put too much effort into destroying it, as data recovery methods are very expensive and I doubt that I'll ever have any data that would be worth thousands to someone to recover it.

I would probably just bang it with a hammer.  Or take it apart, or just force the molex connector in upside down.

But if you really want 100% of the DATA removed HCl is the best bet.  You have to break it down not only physically, but chemically.  Also you could toast the discs with a blow torch.


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## Cleric7x9 (Aug 4, 2007)

bring it to the junkyard where they have one of those huge electromagnets for lifting cars. that should do the trick...


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## jutnm (Aug 4, 2007)

throw it in a blast furnace where temps reach 1200 degrees and higher


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## Archangel (Aug 4, 2007)

use the tool from the manufacturers to check the HDD by putting a '1' on every spot on the disk ^^


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## Jonyboy (Aug 4, 2007)

Melt it and then put it in HCI


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## TFT (Aug 4, 2007)

Portable grinder or sanding disc


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## Jonyboy (Aug 6, 2007)

Take a dump on it.


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## LaRoza (Aug 6, 2007)

Install Windows Vista to it...


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## palidon112 (Aug 6, 2007)

eat it.


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## Cleric7x9 (Aug 7, 2007)

LaRoza said:


> Install Windows Vista to it...



lolol


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## Jabes (Aug 7, 2007)

Cleric7x9 said:


> lolol



what will that do?


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## Cleric7x9 (Aug 7, 2007)

Jabes said:


> what will that do?



huh? what will what do? do you mean what will "lolol" do to a hdd?


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## skidude (Aug 7, 2007)

Burn it, run it over with your car, smash it with a sledgehammer, take the pieces, put them in a bag, take a boat about 50 miles off the coast and put her to rest.


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## Jabes (Aug 7, 2007)

Cleric7x9 said:


> huh? what will what do? do you mean what will "lolol" do to a hdd?



no srry I meant what will vista do to it?


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## brian (Aug 7, 2007)

just a joke since many hate vista and thinks it is distructive


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## palaiyot (Aug 8, 2007)

I like to see a HDD after placing it in a space shuttle lunch pad.


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## compaqman (Aug 9, 2007)

take the top cover off and get the rare neodynium magnets out
 omg the are so powerful a


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## m0nk3ys1ms (Aug 9, 2007)

I would probally either:

*A.* Just throw it in a dumpster.
*B.* Hit it a couple times with a sledgehammer.
*C.* Back over it a few times.


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## ThatGuy16 (Aug 9, 2007)

touch the chip on the underside with a metal flashlight while its on


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## LaRoza (Aug 9, 2007)

brianmay27 said:


> just a joke since many hate vista and thinks it is distructive



I don't hate it, it is just bad software with a very large price tag. I use(d) it, and am well aquainted with Explorer crashing whenever, apps doing the wrong thing, and weird debugging errors (users should never get debugging messages unless it is beta, and they can actually do something).

For Windows people, stick with XP.

For others, use a Mac, or use a *nix.


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## K3rupt (Aug 10, 2007)

LaRoza. Get a good computer. Then Use Vista.

For the Hdd I would make it stare at LaRoza for a while 

That should k3rupt the data  haha

Man, send it into the http://www.willitblend.com/

They are NUTS.

haha, Or just give it too me  ill hide it  

in my computer . . .


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## Jonyboy (Aug 10, 2007)

Fly the HDD into the vacuume of space. That should rip it apart in a split second.


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## K3rupt (Aug 10, 2007)

Jonyboy said:


> Fly the HDD into the vacuume of space. That should rip it apart in a split second.



lol, Alright, just give it here, Ill chuck it from the ground alright bro?


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## Cleric7x9 (Aug 10, 2007)

Jonyboy said:


> Fly the HDD into the vacuume of space. That should rip it apart in a split second.



negative that wouldnt rip it apart at all. trust me, the measly one atmosphere of pressure on this planet is not what is holding that harddrive together.


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## oscaryu1 (Aug 10, 2007)

Drill


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## jutnm (Aug 10, 2007)

download & play Cher on it lmao


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## Jonyboy (Aug 11, 2007)

Cut the spindals up into pizza like pieces.


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## patrickv (Aug 11, 2007)

jutnm said:


> download & play Cher on it lmao



so i was reading this thread and this one caught my eye..lol
very funny, cher would totally destroy the hard drive..lol


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## thealmightyone (Aug 11, 2007)

I'd break the platters into smaller pieces, then drop them down the drain. As soon as I let go, they are lost forever.


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## Jonyboy (Aug 13, 2007)

Set it alight.


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## thealmightyone (Aug 14, 2007)

Jonyboy said:


> Set it alight.



When you get metal to burn or melt with just a lighter, call me.


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## PabloTeK (Aug 14, 2007)

My mate had a HDD failure so he chucked the thing in the firebox of this:

http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/pictures/640w/4141b.jpg

That's over 400C.


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## thealmightyone (Aug 14, 2007)

400C isn't even enough to destroy the platters, but might be enough to corrupt the date completely.

The best way to avoid authorities getting hold of your hard drive is, rather than attempt to destroy it (which is hard unless you work in a steel refinery - data can still be retrieved from broken platters), simply make it impossible to find. Chuck it in the sea, over a cliff, in an open delivery/freight truck, etc.


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## vonfeldt7 (Aug 16, 2007)

^ my dad owns a machine shop (where he has torches that are hot enough to melt steel) so im assumming the hard drive would be toast (literally?)

Anyways...I should start some business where people sell me their hdd(s) and I personally destroy them....

*edit* and then i sell the vid/pics of it for even more (its like a rollercoaster....pay x amount to get into the theme park....and then 10 dollars for a picture and 20 for a video!)


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## elitehacker (Aug 16, 2007)

Sounds like a very interesting job.  I think to totally destroy a hard drive you dismantle it and then shoot the platters.


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## Jonyboy (Aug 24, 2007)

just melt down the metal and then chuck it in the sea.


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## sendhelp (Aug 25, 2007)

I would smash the hd into pieces and then burn it


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## tlarkin (Aug 25, 2007)

Did no one read my post about thermite?  It melts lots of stuff, and is not hard to come by.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermite


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## brian (Aug 25, 2007)

ya but my parents wil not le me get it  (crying)


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## tlarkin (Aug 25, 2007)

brianmay27 said:


> ya but my parents wil not le me get it  (crying)



what thermite?  It is very dangerous, I mean it is the base for napalm and incendiary grenades.


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