It's Gone, Right?

Well, let's say your computer is packed with incriminating evidence, whether it's emails detailing business transactions or credit information that-- let's just say you forgot to file on your taxes. Bottom line, you’ve got to get rid of it. You pop the hard drive in the oven for a few hours, throw it in your pool for a few days, and heave it against a brick wall a few times. That solves that problem.

Not quite. Modern data recovery companies are able to get data off even the most physically damaged hard drives, and actually getting rid of files can be difficult. There have been cases in which drives were exposed to hazardous chemicals, burnt, covered in water for extended periods of time, and even struck by lightning and still were pronounced recoverable by tech savvy data recovery services. However, there are a few simple ways to destroy data from a hard drive—you just have to have a little knowledge of what you’re dealing with.

Knowing What To Look For

Like I said, it’s not easy to get rid of a hard drive unless you know what you’re doing. And you don’t. Luckily, it’s not really complicated.

A hard drive consists of small “heads” that read and write information on “platters,” which are small discs inside the drive. These are extremely sensitive magnetic devices, and they hold all of the data you need to get rid of. Once you get to them, you can make short work of your drive, simply by physically damaging the little discs beyond recognition.

Silver Platters

To get to these platters, you must first disassemble the hard drive. Unscrew everything and dismantle the drive until you can see the platters. You may have to use a special screwdriver; your local hardware store should have you covered. Once inside the drive, you’ll see metal discs. These are the platters. These babies are what you’re looking for: destroy them. Use any necessary method; my favorite is running a belt sander over them and then throwing them at the neighbor’s dog, but anything that sufficiently scratches the disks will work. Breaking them is great too, because you can scatter the pieces and wait for Hard Drive Trees to grow. (Note: I haven’t gotten one to grow yet). Since they're highly magnetic, it's a good idea to grab a large magnet (off the back of a set of speakers, perhaps) and run that along them.