Wiping hard drives before donating

[Cameramonkey]

As of Jan 1, 2011 it is no longer legal in Indiana to dispose of computers in the trash.
As stated mid page here: Recycle Indiana: Indiana Regulations Affecting Electronic Waste (e-Waste) Unless I misunderstand the regulation.....

Or take it to the office and toss it in the dumpster. There is a small output exemption for businesses that need to dispose of a few computers, cell phones, etc. in the course of normal business.

"Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators (for businesses that generate no more than 220 lbs of hazardous waste per month)"

Not saying destroy the earth, Just dont sweat throwing away an odd e-waste item in the landfill here and there.

But if you can find an e-waste recycler, please use them.

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

My ole buddy who passed what a computer genius & we shot up several drives with an AK & he then disposed of them at his work, which was a computer/electronics repair place in Louisville.. I'm sure his workmates asked "What happened to those?" They looked like destroyed scrap.. and yes there some super magnets in each one..

 

[eldirector]

I'll just echo a lot of the above. Pull the drives, scavenge the magnets, destroy the platters, and recycle the rest.

My favorite is buckshot. Simply obliterates the drive. Destroyed an old cell phone that way. Could only find the back cover. One moment it was on the target stand. The next, gone.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

I'll just echo a lot of the above. Pull the drives, scavenge the magnets, destroy the platters, and recycle the rest.

My favorite is buckshot. Simply obliterates the drive. Destroyed an old cell phone that way. Could only find the back cover. One moment it was on the target stand. The next, gone.

Pull them. Destroy them. We've used a paper shredder service that had a machine to shred them into 'bits' (pun intended).

 

[JettaKnight]

Why disassemble? (unless you are reclaiming the most awesome magnets in the world) Drill multiple holes clear through in the part around the spindle so that you penetrate the platters. (A hole where each finger is)

THIS.

I have magnets all over my garage and a four inch tall stack of disk. The latter aren't as useful unless you want to make some sort of medieval armor...

 

[Cameramonkey]

THIS.

I have magnets all over my garage and a four inch tall stack of disk. The latter aren't as useful unless you want to make some sort of medieval armor...

Ones from old SCSI drives below 75gb are the best. I've actually ended up with blood blisters when finger tissue gets stuck between two of them as they decide to stick together. And to get them apart requires hand tools. Crazy strong.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Ones from old SCSI drives below 75gb are the best. I've actually ended up with blood blisters when finger tissue gets stuck between two of them as they decide to stick together. And to get them apart requires hand tools. Crazy strong.

On a side note... Saw some old drives from a DEC Alpha years ago and thought they would easily put holes in them at the range. Think again, those suckers were tough. Just dents. They took some serious beating before turning into a pile of junk.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I use tin snips on the metal discs. Cut them into pieces as small as you like, depending on the "sensitivity" of the material you had on it.

 

[rhino]

Ones from old SCSI drives below 75gb are the best. I've actually ended up with blood blisters when finger tissue gets stuck between two of them as they decide to stick together. And to get them apart requires hand tools. Crazy strong.

About 10 years ago, a student brought a pair of brick-sized magnets from a big wind turbine to class and gave them to me (they're probably still in the physics lab). They made a huge noise when they slammed together. Getting them apart is tough because they're inside polymer cases that were molded around them that have too much friction to let you slide them apart easily.

 

[jkaetz]

About 10 years ago, a student brought a pair of brick-sized magnets from a big wind turbine to class and gave them to me (they're probably still in the physics lab). They made a huge noise when they slammed together. Getting them apart is tough because they're inside polymer cases that were molded around them that have too much friction to let you slide them apart easily.

I think these would do the trick. Some of them could nearly pick up a small car. Super Magnets : United Nuclear , Scientific Equipment & Supplies

 

[edporch]

At the VERY LEAST, wipe the hard disk with a magnet and have a computer with it's full hardware that just needs an OS installed.
It wouldn't be worth it for somebody to buy an old computer, then have to buy another hard disk for an old computer.
And it could be that if it's old enough, finding a hard disk that would work on it could be a hassle to find.

PLUS, if you insisted on getting a full install disk when you got it, you could re-install the OS and have a working computer which would be a low cost computer for somebody with limited funds.
Which to me would be my main motivation for donating an old computer.