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StuartMW
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06

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Re: How Google wipes their hard drives

said by MagnusM:

How do you destroy the data on old drives?

If the drive is good I do a write-zeroes to all sectors and reuse it (have a number of external drives for backup etc).

If the drive is bad it gets the hammer treatment.
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

1 recommendation

peterboro (banned) to Dustyn

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said by Dustyn:

Fire. And lot's of it.

I was going to post I use my cutting torch to melt them and you beat me to it. The fact I am computer illiterate and don't know how to wipe a hard drive other than with a damp cloth may have something to do with it. That or I'm a pyromaniac.
equivocal
join:2008-01-23
USA

equivocal to MagnusM

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Kinda hard to tell whether the drives are missing their platters or just have the motors punched out. Maybe they used one of those things used to kill cattle. I, on the other hand, bought a set of tiny screwdrivers from harborfreight and surgically removed the platters. Oh, what to do with mirror-finish holey discs? In any event, separating the circuit board from the rest seems like a better e-waste practice.

ashrc4
Premium Member
join:2009-02-06
australia

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said by MagnusM:

So if you really want that extra piece of mind, don't just wipe the data... destroy the drives the Google way!

You mean simply replace the "old drives" data to a new one, after it's already been shared with numerous third parties, then, create the illusion of safely discarding the drive with the impression that the data (yours and mine) is all that much safer.

The latest missive came on Tuesday in Europe, where regulators told Google to revise a 7-month-old change to its privacy policy that enables the company to combine user data collected from its different services.

Even as it allows anyone with a web browser to peer into its data centres, Google intends to closely guard physical access to its buildings.

»www.theage.com.au/it-pro ··· sa7.html
said by MagnusM:

How do you destroy the data on old drives?

Just encrypt the data first then remove the great fridge magnets inside.

exocet_cm
Writing
Premium Member
join:2003-03-23
Brooklyn, NY

1 recommendation

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I take em to the shooting range. A few bullets through the platters at 25, 50, and 100 yards destroys data and helps with keeping proficient.

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

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I use a Garner which from the picture, looks like Google also does.

But first the degaussing:
»www.garner-products.com/ ··· 3WXL.htm
then the finishing crush:
»www.garner-products.com/PD-4.htm

This is best method. Then all the parts go to recycling.

I do have some regrets as there are recovery services that pay top dollar for intact controller boards and heads. You see, if you lose a hard drive in your server or computer, a recover facility might have a matching (in series, firmware and size) board to allow recovery. Kinda sad that I have to destroy perfectly good drives...

Yes, the magnets in these (I was taking apart hundreds till I blew through T5, T6 bits) are powerful fridge magnets...

BTW, those 2.5" Hitachi/IBM notebook drives have glass platters... doesn't take much to lose your data!

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
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join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

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said by MagnusM:

So this picture is from a Google data center:

[att=1]

What you see here are 2.0 TB Western Digital Black drives... with a big hole in the middle where the hard drive platters used to be. So if you really want that extra piece of mind, don't just wipe the data... destroy the drives the Google way!

The full set of images from the data center is available at »imgur.com/a/xQPKq - really fascinating to look at.

How do you destroy the data on old drives?

what a waste.

MagnusM
Premium Member
join:2001-07-07

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said by exocet_cm:

I take em to the shooting range. A few bullets through the platters at 25, 50, and 100 yards destroys data and helps with keeping proficient.

I wish I could do that. Unfortunately guns are (very) illegal here.

Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

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Someone I knew who used to work for IBM in the 80s said that he supports our second amendment because it's the only good way to destroy hard drives and to guarantee data destruction.

exocet_cm
Writing
Premium Member
join:2003-03-23
Brooklyn, NY

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said by MagnusM:

said by exocet_cm:

I take em to the shooting range. A few bullets through the platters at 25, 50, and 100 yards destroys data and helps with keeping proficient.

I wish I could do that. Unfortunately guns are (very) illegal here.

Aww, that sucks.

The coolest was running a PSU from an inverter via extension cord, powering up the HDDs with the cover removed, spinning up the platter to 7,200 RPM, and shooting them with 5.56. Those rounds hit the platter causing it to shatter while spinning and the things sparkled as the pieces fell to the ground. Wish we had a video of it. That was fun!

Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

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And probably 90% of that HDD heap used to store the internet's porn search queries.

angussf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-11
Tucson, AZ

1 recommendation

angussf to KodiacZiller

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said by KodiacZiller:

Who would pay for someone to run D-ban for them?

They're called "clients" and they are willing to pay us to do things for them so they have time to do what they do better than us geeks.

OldCableGuy
@planetcr.net

OldCableGuy to AVD

Anon

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We degauss, then use a drill press with a bore bit on the platter, finally we remove the SATA/SAS connectors with a pair of dykes. Fun way to spend an afternoon!

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

AVD

Premium Member

said by OldCableGuy :

connectors with a pair of dykes. Fun way to spend an afternoon!

whatever floats your boat.

antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

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I reuse them if they still work if possible.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

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Thermite is legal as far as I know. That will make a drive 100% impossible to recover. There is not a tool known yet that can deslag a pile of different metals.

rightone
@ntlworld.ie

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this is not wd 2tb black. its is wd 2tb RE4 and seagate 2tb ES
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