Data on discarded hard disk

peterm1 said:
My only hope, given the new SSD will not be in a slot specified for this use is that it will stay cool enough not to cook its innards - computer chips have lots of current coursing though them, hence give off lots of heat.....................I should have sought assurances on this but did not think of it till later.
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I have the 'new' SSD chip in my computer, I don't know about the slot position as it was new to me. I've had it for about five years no problems, and it is faster. The SSD chip I have has less space and I was a little apprehensive about it as it was new tech. All and all I happy with it.
 
Lump hammer? C’mon folks, this is a photography forum — one should use a Canon FTBn QL to smash the platters! I can’t think of a suitably robust rangefinder camera that measures up to the task — sacrifice a Yashica Minister?
 
My collaborator on some high-end computing work said that SS drives are wonderful, but when they fail, they fail completely and spectacularly. No warning, no recovery, no nuthin. Everything just goes black and that's it -- and chances are that happens on a day when you have critical work to do.

He uses a strategy that has been hinted at somewhere above -- use SSD's to hold operational stuff (Operating system, software/programs, temporary files), and high speed disks of traditional form to hold data (imagery, datasets, results of analyses). A weak link in the strategy is the transfer rate from/to the older spinning disks (He uses high RPM and a very fast bus/protocol of some kind -- used to be SCSI). Still, this is probably the best approach. And of course he incorporates redundant disk arrays and stuff like that as well.

I had my personal/home office machine set up similarly: SSD for OS and programs, HD for actual data. It works out nicely that large capacity HD's are not terribly expensive, while high capacity SSD's are crazy expensive.
 
If you have sensitive info, CC numbers, social, financial, health on a hard drive you’re replacing be sure to destroy it. The hard drive that is!
 
David Hughes said:
Thanks; I should have made it clear that that was what I do when I decide a computer can't be trusted and should be dumped. Deleting and then restuffing with old photo's is what I do to fill up the "deleted" spaces.

I was hoping that the process could be done with software but I still have my doubts.

Regards, David
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If you wipe (format) the drive and then fill it up with non-sensitive data, that's better than nothing. It adds a layer of difficulty that puts it beyond casual recovery. However, physical destruction is the ultimate solution and not difficult.
 
Two days ago I replaced slowing down HDD with new SDD two days ago. I just kept HDD disconnected as shelf for SSD. And as conveniently located backup.
Computer is as fast as new now, but CPU is at 70% and higher. It is only two cores. I'll get used x4 or x6 cores one later on.
 
Re format which should over write everything then smash with a large hammer. The problem then is where can you safely dump it.
 
robert blu said:
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I'm curious to know what do you do with the discarded hard disks. Do you simply leave them anywhere and forget them?

Do you simply initialise them to cancel the data? Does it works or it simply erase an index and the data are still presents?

I thought to use it for additional backup but it seems me a bad idea to use an old HD which could be subject to failure for an important task as a back up! I prefer to have multiple backups on new hds.

...
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My old, obsolete external HDs are used as archives. Keep them all. I make a REDME.TXT file that describes the drive's history and context. I also affix a label to the drive enclosure. However, these are not my primary back ups. My everyday backups are newer conventional or SS drives. Some of these archived drives are at my son's house as off-site backups. It is true they may fail or even become unreadable. However, last month I needed to look for an old file from about a decade ago and found it on one of these ancient, slow external HDs.

Wiping of a HD is trivial with OS X. The OS X Disk Utility application will over-write the entire drive with random data seven times. This method complies with the Department of Defense 5520-22M security standard. For a large drive this process could run overnight. I use this when I sell or gift an old computer. There is also a three-pass option that meets Department of Energy compliant security standard.

The newest versions of OS-X use The Apple File System - APFS, which supports FileVault 2. FileVault 2 offers XTS-AES-128 encryption with a 256-bit key. In this case an old drive is as secure as the method one uses to store the encryption key.

I know nothing about Windows OS, but no doubt Windows OS has similar tools.


A hammer, blow torch or drill are quick and easy ways to destroy old HDs. I resort to these methods when a HD fails. Luckily this has only happened twice in about 20 years.
 
ajtruhan said:
Drill a hole though it.
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For mine, most of the data would not interest anybody (outside of a small circle of friends) but my brother had one that he was concerned about, so he drilled many holes in it and threw it from a ferry into a large body of salt water.
 
Trask said:
Lump hammer? C’mon folks, this is a photography forum — one should use a Canon FTBn QL to smash the platters! I can’t think of a suitably robust rangefinder camera that measures up to the task — sacrifice a Yashica Minister?
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Drop a Nikon F4E on it.
 
ruby.monkey said:
Drop a Nikon F4E on it.
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I was thinking an SL2MOT might do the trick too.......

I ran a small project that shipped a HD shredder around India and several countries in the Pacific Rim to shred local hard drives. Hard drives go in, 1/4" chunks come out.

I'm going through this challenge as I look to shrink my external drives that just sitting around. I'm going to use the Mac secure erase in the OS function.

I'm thinking take them apart, use some sparkler dust to toast the magnetic coating on them as an option.

B2 (;->
 
Isn't this all a bit extreme? Do RFF folk really have data that sensitive?! :rolleyes: I've used computers for work for a quarter of a century and never felt the need to physically destroy a drive to protect myself!

Surely software data wipes like Window's Format /P command is sufficient?
 
RichC said:
Isn't this all a bit extreme?
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Extremism in the defense of hard drive data is no vice!

I can't afford to let my photos fall into the wrong hands.
I won't settle for anything less than complete destruction.
I use Korean People's Army surplus atomic hand grenades.

Chris
 
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