[clug] Hard disk destruction

[Brendan Jurd]

2009/6/30 Robert Edwards <bob at cs.anu.edu.au>:
> Otherwise: just erase the disk:
> dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/sd[ab...] bs=1024k ...
>
> You could also just re-use the disk(s) by backing up some benign data
> to them (some old Debian ISOs etc.).

The drives are already disassembled ... the jpeg I linked in the OP
shows about two dozen disk platters in my hand.

Overwriting the disks was never really a good option, most of these
were quite old with IDE interfaces, so I really couldn't be bothered
setting up a box just to wipe them one at a time.  Hence proceeding
directly to total physical destruction of the disk platters
themselves.

> If you have time to dismantle the drive(s), there are some cool magnets
> worth recovering... A bit of sandpaper on the disk surfaces will remove
> most of the thin layer of rust that stores your data. A belt sander will
> do that really quickly.

Belt sander seems like a really good, pragmatic solution -- thanks for
the tip.  Not as fun as melting them, but definitely an attractive
option if sourcing the materials for thermite ends up being too much
hassle.

Cheers,
BJ