Old Computers: Destroy Hard Drive, Anything Else?

[SWalt]

We all know that you only need a soft rag to wipe a server.

Windex electronic wipes work pretty good too.

I have an old lap top that came with Vista which has sat for maybe 3 yrs. Just for ***** & giggles I turned it on last night. Apparently it doesn't have an OS anymore which was resident on the hard drive. But yet the BIOS still had the correct date and time so that survived 3 yrs. Cooling fans are bad on it and 1 reason I stopped using it. So to the recyclers it goes but I ain't gonna worry about the RAM only the HD. Don't see any reason to worry.

[Abu Riyah]

Just remove and destroy the HDD/SSDs and you are good. No need at all to remove RAM or CMOS battery. The BIOS never contains any user data, just hardware settings for the system. The data in RAM is gone within seconds of pulling the plug on the system, though some data may survive in RAM on a live system between reboots. Some systems may have a TPM module on the system board that may contain encryption keys for drives, but there is no risk if the drive is removed and destroyed.

Again, pull the drives, either destroy them or do a forensic wipe (not a Hillary wipe with a cloth) and you are done.

[stilly]

I have a couple old computers to recycle.

I will remove and destroy the hard drives.

Just wearing my , do I need to destroy any other boards?

Thanks.

IF you are REALLY that paranoid about everything, then you should hunt down all RAM sticks and obliterate each and every memory module on them as well...

Otherwise, there are prolly some good magnets inside those hard drives. AND the platters are excellent at hanging in your trees and scaring the birds away.

Or you could just be that guy and drill a hole through the drive and platters and not give a damn...

I honestly prefer to take apart the drives and remove the magnets and platters. I like the silver shiny things. They are neat and last longer than CDs do in the trees...

[meno377]

remove the memory sticks, and the Bios battery.

Not necessary. Memory doesn't hold information when you shut it off. And the CMOS battery is strictly there for bios configuration settings. No personal info loaded other than settings. Just FYI. OP. If you want to destroy the data, heat the platters to their curie point. That's the point where the material looses it's ability to hold a magnetic field, and the data will be totally wiped out.
OR:

Drilling holes in the platter, on the other hand, generates heat that can easily cause universal damage. “You're potentially distorting the platter itself. You're doing things that might cause all of the rest of the platter to change slightly,” Budman says. “And it doesn't need to change a lot in order for the data to be completely invalid.”

When in doubt, he advises using simple chemistry: acid. “You let the acid peel away everything's that's of value on the platters,” Budman says.

The best method is the CG way. Take them out and shoot them.

[WaltKowalski]

From an audit standpoint we are required to destroy HD, RAM at a minimum. The Bios battery was just for good measure. Modern DDR has capacitors. While highly unlikely, if someone with malicious intent gained access to the memory before the capacitors lost their charge, information may be able to be retrieved. Yes, newer MoBo''s keep some data in NVRAM however not anything to be worried about, battery removal is just for date/time, etc.

The best way to get rid of everything, OP... is to pack the case full of tannerite and take it to the desert.

[A-J]

Otherwise, there are prolly some good magnets inside those hard drives. AND the platters are excellent at hanging in your trees and scaring the birds away.



I honestly prefer to take apart the drives and remove the magnets and platters. I like the silver shiny things. They are neat and last longer than CDs do in the trees...

And here I thought I was the only one who did this.

[Jimi Jah]

Maybe check with Seal Team 6 in that?

[stonith3901]

Just ask Hillary. She apparently can wipe it such that even god cannot read it.


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Pretty nice burn however Killary forgot to send the memo to get her cloud backups destroyed as well. Yeah DATTO I am looking at you, do the right thing for mankind.


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[Zorba]

Tinfoil. Ram doesn't store anything long term, and the bios battery would reset the bios to factory defaults; time, clocks, and other system data, but nothing identifiable to anyone.

Exactly. RAM loses everything the instant the computer is unplugged. The only thing to check as far as BIOS is if you put your fone-number/address/etc in one of the "system ID" fields (or similar), you might want to erase that. Removing the BIOS battery, may - OR MAY NOT - erase that data, esp. in laptops.

[Fastattack]

RAM doesn't save memory when powered off. Battery is for the clock.
Take it to the range and shoot it! That would be fun. Just clean-up after yourself.

[DaveInOroValley]

Some of my fondest memories back a few years ago was buying an old Apple II that still worked and had all the ladies back and forth communications with an accident attorney that detailed explicitly her injuries sustained in a MVA.

Was quite a read I might add. Always thought after that it would have been funny to do a low level format of a hard drive then put bogus info on it like I had discovered space aliens for the government or some other wild event then turn it back in to the thrift store and entertain the next purchaser.

I guess I have way too much free time on my hands.

[jcri0006]

Steps to follow:

1) Submerge in water for 52 minutes
2) Apply Heavy magnets to all components
3) Destroy all components with hammer
4) Burn with fire
5) Acid Bath
6) Repeat until not a trace left

Forgot Thermite!

[Huntsprig]

Tie 10 lbs. of weight to it and drop it in the Monterey Trench.






.

[cdtx2001]

I've got a 40# bag of thermite one can melt their old hard drives with...

Satisfying AND sparkly at the same time.

[bohoki]

RAM doesn't save memory when powered off. Battery is for the clock.
Take it to the range and shoot it! That would be fun. Just clean-up after yourself.

once i was shooting and my red dot died luckily i found an old computer out there that had a 2032 in it