Hard Drive Destruction

Just wondering how people here, have found the most cost effective way of hardware destruction. I was thinking of picking up a drill press...

If you're offering data destruction up as a service, it's hard to go wrong with a $30 drill from Harbor Freight and a 3/8" bit. Cheap, fast and easy. I would take the high-grade board off the drive *first*.

If you're into that sort of thing, when you dismantle them there are some pretty powerful magnets inside that apparently have value on the eBay market. The magnets are powerful enough that you definitely don't want to get your fingers pinched between two of them.

--Geoff

Ballpien hammer trick sounds do able. Destruction will be the only way for a potential client in talks with, there a pretty large bank with lots of branches out my way. I have to add security cage, and safe in my warehouse to house the information till destroyed also.

Ballpeen hammer does do the job but takes a lot of arm power and you can tire out easy if you have a lot to do. Also you can't be 100% sure that your hits broke every platter. For what you are talking about I don't think its a very good option. THe best option for what your talking about I think would be the log splitter that people talk about on here. You can crush 2-3 drives at a time all for the flick of a button.

To maximize your money you could take the boards off split them in half with the splitter than separate the aluminum and stainless and magnets if you wanted to. If you didn't want to fool with it take the boards off split the drives and then sell it as breakage. If you wanted to give them proof take the serial numbers of the drives down when you pick them up then take pictures of the drive crushed with the serial number visable.

I was thinking log splitter too. Is that a safe alternative way to do it indoors?
Thanks all for opinions...

Documentation is probably the hardest part of destroying a drive for $. A video is the best for proof of destruction. Security cameras from tiger or even from harbor freight might do the trick. Mount the camera on a stand above the splitter and show the complete action. Then give them a thumb drive or dvd of the process. I want to make a small shredder, but I usually need that money for food or gas.

Just thinking out loud here, but do they make a metal cut-off type blade that can fit on a 10" chop saw? Build a jig that will hold the drive (or 2-3 at a time) then cut them in half. Probably can do this off the back of a pickup on the customer property if drives are already removed or easy to remove quickly onsite. I would guess that it would do the trick. I also know they make a big machine that grinds hard drives into small pieces, but do they make a more economical one that would allow onsite destruction? I was thinking that during an ecycling event i could hook one up and run it every 30 min...let the kids throw them into the bin and watch it do its job. Kids (and some of us scrappers) love to see destruction in action

I personally shed a tear every time I have to destruct a perfectly good hard drive that 120gb or bigger for desktops, but especially for laptops. LOL

Originally Posted by shendog

Just thinking out loud here, but do they make a metal cut-off type blade that can fit on a 10" chop saw?

Yep! I've used those for years on an old 10" Ryobi miter saw, works like a charm. You can also find them which fit circular saws, or maybe use the 10" one on a 7" saw after it's worn down a bit, not positive if the arbors are the same though