Why Do You Need Hard Drive Disposal?
To solve the problem, you canreplace the old hard drivewith a new and larger one.
Is it safe to use a second-hand HDD?
After installing a new hard drive, the old hard drive disposal becomes a problem.
How to dispose of an old hard drive?
Usually, people might reutilize, sell, or throw away the hard drive.
For more detailed information about secure hard drive disposal, yo go to the next part.
How to Do Secure Hard Drive Disposal
How to dispose of old hard drives securely?
It depends on whether you want to continue to use this drive.
And there are three options for different cases.
If you have cloned the old disk to a new hard drive, its OK to erase data directly.
Otherwise, you need toback up databefore that.
To erase data, you need a reliable third-party program.
Here I recommend MiniTool Partition Wizard.
It is available on Windows computers and supports manytypes of hard drives, including SATA, SCSI, etc.
To erase data with MiniTool Partition Wizard, you’re free to refer to the following steps.
Step 1: Connect the old disk to your rig via a USB adapter.
Step 2: Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard on your Windows computer.
Then right-hit the old hard drive and selectWipe disk.
Step 4: In the pop-up window, select a wiping method according to your needs.
Then clickOKto confirm the operation.
The longer the wiping process takes, the harder the data can be recovered.
Wait patiently during the process.
After that, you’re free to dispose of the drive as your needs without any worries.
As we all know, there are many advantages to destroy data via a professional program.
For example:
Wiping a disk is one of the best ways for hard drive disposal.
How to destroy a hard drive physically?
Lets check it now.
Step 1: Disconnect the hard drive from your machine.
Step 2:Remove screws on the case of your hard drive.
Depending on your hard drives model, you might need to loosen a variety of Torx screws.
Most hard drives have a Torx screw under the paper label.
you could feel around with your finger to find it.
Step 3:Remove the case.
You might need to fire up the case with a flathead screwdriver.
If you cant open it, peek if there are additional screws on the case.
Step 4: you’re free to see the platters after removing the case.
The numbers of platters vary from model to model.
Justremove them allas well as the actuator arm.
There are some Torx screws on the spindle and it’s crucial that you loosen them.
After that, put these pieces into multiple bags and dispose of them separately.
In this way, they will be unable to be pieced back together.
By the way, destroyed hard drives end up in landfills, which can bring adverse environmental impact.
Sometimes a combination of two or more methods is used together for secure hard drive disposal.
Now, lets see these hard drive disposal services.
A proper degausser can destroy the entire magnetic structure by generating an intense magnetic field.
Once you degauss a hard disk drive, it can no longer be used to store data.
Of course, the original data on it would be inaccessible.
Hard drive degaussing companies usually provide environmentally responsible disposal and you dont need to worry about electronic waste.
Instead, they are based on flash memory and semiconductor chips.
If you want to prevent others from accessing the data on your SSD, you better try other methods.
Hard Drive Shredding
Hard drive shredding is a common hard drive disposal method.
It uses a specially built machine to break hard drives into smaller parts physically.
Quality hard drive disposal services have high-security hard drive shredders or disintegrators.
And after the shredding, you should receive a certificate of destruction.
For the price, you’re free to contact such a company and request a quote.
Disintegration
Compared with hard drive shredding, disintegration breaks hard drives into smaller parts.
If it’s crucial that you destroy highly classified information, disintegration is usually better than hard drive shredding.
Melting
Melting hard drives is to destroy the platters and housing of hard drives with hydrochloric and nitric acids.
However, both acids are dangerous to the environment and human skin.
Although it is one of the most effective hard drive disposal methods, it is not recommended.
Where can I find hard drive disposal services?
