# How can you physically destroy a hard drive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059 "2003-01-16T21:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/21 "2003-01-16T22:17:01Z")
Thanks **pravnik**. I think half the people on the floor just came into my cubicle to see what was suddenly laughing at. ---
**Author:** ![Bean\_Counter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@Bean\_Counter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bean_Counter)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/22 "2003-01-16T22:24:50Z")
So exactly what is sailor trying to say? I just can’t get the point. Maybe one more time? ---
**Author:** ![Slartibartfastt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5e9695/32.png) [@Slartibartfastt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slartibartfastt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/23 "2003-01-16T22:27:05Z")
I was thinking along the lines of feeding it into one of those wood chipper thingies that will munch up limbs up to six inches thick. I dont think there would be enough metal in a hard drive to stop it and the results would be a very hard jigsaw puzzle to put back together. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/24 "2003-01-16T23:04:41Z")
Are there utilities that will completely erase the files from the disk? ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/25 "2003-01-16T23:20:50Z")
/me tapes a “sarcasm” sign to Jackmannii’s post before people start replying ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/26 "2003-01-16T23:23:30Z")
If only there were utilities that would completely erase the files from the disk, then we wouldn’t need all this talk of burning, smashing and drilling… ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/27 "2003-01-16T23:23:34Z")
Jack, I think PGP will do that for you. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/28 "2003-01-16T23:24:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ftg \* > **Overwriting the data with multiple random patterns, as some utilities do, would stop ordinary people. This is okay if you are donating/selling your PC and having a working hard drive is needed. But it will not stop special hard drive data recovery methods.** Nope…that’s pretty much all you need. Heck, it’s good enough for the DoD and they have reason to believe there ARE people out there who would go to extraordinary lengths to recover data off their drives. I once had to send a screwed up harddrive to a data recovery place that cracks open the case and pulls your info off the damaged drive (they had pictures on their site of laptops melted in a fire that they recovered data from). Anyway, I asked the guy how they could recover data from a track that had data overwritten on it. he said it is possible to look at the tracks next to the spot where the data was stored and deduce what used to be there due some residual magnetic something or other that flipped the dingus on the quantum platter sector (or something like that). I don’t pretend to understand it but he pretty much said that sort of data retreival was pretty much reserved to major science labs (aka the NSA). He also said that the write/overwrite deal pretty much hosed it even for the NSA. Anyway, you might check around as there might be a utility that will do this for you somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/29 "2003-01-16T23:31:21Z")
We should probably ask Pee Wee Herman and Pete Townsend. I am sure they know what NOT to do now. I was told that erasing the hard drive, then simply defragging the hard drive afterwards would do the trick. Guess I was misinformed? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/30 "2003-01-16T23:33:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AndrewL \* > \*\*Really? A high-powered magnetic field won’t erase magnetic media? Just why is that? \*\* It certainly worked on _The Dukes Of Hazzard_ ---
**Author:** ![Novus\_Opiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/858c86/32.png) [@Novus\_Opiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novus_Opiate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/31 "2003-01-16T23:38:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by **Whack-a-Mole** \* > Anyway, you might check around as there might be a utility that will do this for you somewhere. I hear there are utilities which will completely erase files from disk. I think PGP may be one of them. 😉 Novus ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/32 "2003-01-16T23:41:21Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Novus Opiate_ > **I hear there are utilities which will completely erase files from disk. I think PGP may be one of them** Nonsense; somebody would have mentioned it if this were the case ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/33 "2003-01-16T23:45:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Really? A high-powered magnetic field won’t erase magnetic media? Just why is that? It’s pretty well-established that even a hard drive overwritten with random bits multiple times can have data recovered off of it by people with deep pockets and determination… what makes you think a high-powered magnetic field will do the trick if that doesn’t? ---
**Author:** ![banks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/banks)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/34 "2003-01-16T23:47:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AndrewL \* > \*\*Really? A high-powered magnetic field won’t erase magnetic media? Just why is that? \*\* Yes. It will erase it. No, it will not make it un-recoverable. Just as waving a smaller magnet over the disk will not make it un-recoverable. The NSA, and certain private data recovery concerns, have built up a good deal of proficiency in pulling data from the magnetic rubble. In fact, unless you got your friend at the junkyard to wave the crane-magnet around in the air over the disk, the degree of disruption on the platter would probably be less. Now, wave the crane-magnet around, turn it on and off a few times, while waving it, then you might be in business. Personally, when I had a HD that needed to be destroyed beyond recovery, I sanded down the surfaces of the platters, and then mixed up some thermite and slagged the bastard. Now THAT’S secure. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/35 "2003-01-16T23:48:01Z")
1. Delete all the files and overwrite them with other files (possibly using a super-multi-overwriter program to do the job extra well). 2. Take the cover off the hard drive, remove the platters, and bend them, then throw the whole mess away. Not only will bending the platters make them very difficult to read because of their shape, lots of the outer coating will likely flake off where it bends. The sandpaper and torch suggestions are also pretty sure to work on the platters as well. I wouldn’t trust the magnet method, since it’s difficult to tell how much exposure and how strong a field is required in order to really erase the data. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/36 "2003-01-16T23:50:03Z")
Wouldn’t the government ban a a program to do this? Just like cell phones can’t have a descrambler the government isn’t able to unscramble. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/37 "2003-01-16T23:55:48Z")
A low level formatting of a IDE drive can do plenty. It’s not like a regular format… ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/38 "2003-01-17T00:01:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Markxxx \* > \*\*Wouldn’t the government ban a program to do this? Just like cell phones can’t have a descrambler the government isn’t able to unscramble. \*\* As with most things removing data from a hard drive can be used for good or ill. Lets say a hospital is upgrading some computers that were used to hold personal medical information. I would want to know that my medical information is not available to the people that the hospital sold the computers to. Also I would not really want the hospital to scrap working hard drives if they could sell them to someone else as that is wasteful. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/39 "2003-01-17T00:16:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Markxxx \* > \*\*Wouldn’t the government ban a a program to do this? Just like cell phones can’t have a descrambler the government isn’t able to unscramble. \*\* I hear they are looking into banning flames as people use them to securely dispose of paper documents ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059/40 "2003-01-17T01:31:16Z")
Stop banning the flames, **Mangetout**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-physically-destroy-a-hard-drive/149059.md?page=3)