The Best Hard Drive Destruction Methods That Work

Your computer’s hard disk is essentially its information hub. It is the location of your operating system (OS) and your data. Your hard disk probably contains sensitive data if you use your laptop for activities other than simple web browsing. It may be IP, trade secrets, financial data, or even health-related data.

This is the kind of information that should not end up in the wrong hands. This is why, in some circumstances, erasing a hard drive is necessary. If you intend to sell or donate the computer for reuse, you might not want to destroy the hard drive. But you should eliminate it if you’re going to sell your computer’s components or throw them away. Why? Because even if you remove files using your convenient recycling bin, they still exist; they are simply less convenient to access. This implies that you must still take additional actions to guarantee that no one can recover the data.

We’ve got you covered, so don’t worry. The key is to correctly erase data, and there are numerous ways to do it by deleting information from hard drives.

Why Should You Destroy a Hard Drive?

You do not want your hard drive to get lost or stolen, along with the data it contains. You can save everything, including financial information, contact information, sensitive data, and more, as was previously indicated.

Therefore, you’ll want to delete the hard disk and all that company data before selling your computer or throwing it away (note: don’t do that; there are safer and more environmentally friendly ways to dispose of your computer).

Regardless of the motivation behind your need to destroy your hard drive, the key lesson is that you don’t want it to get into the wrong hands. This indicates that an important part, destruction time, has arrived!

The Best Ways To Destroy A Hard Drive

The goal is to render the drive’s platters so they won’t spin; do not microwave, roast on a spit, soak in acid, or place it near a mighty magnet. The key is to correctly erase data, and there are numerous ways to do it by deleting information from hard drives.

So, the following are some techniques for physically destroying a hard drive:

Degaussing Hard Drives

Hard disk degaussing is a very efficient sanitization technique. In truth, some degaussing methods for high-security data destruction on magnetic media have been certified due to their effectiveness. Degaussers are highly tuned magnets that will obliterate any data’s magnetic trace when they come into contact with other magnetic media, like hard drives. Equipment used to destroy data that is measured in oersted is called a magnetic degausser. A degausser’s efficiency is affected by various factors, but generally speaking, the higher the oersted rating, the more potent the degausser. Magnetic degaussers come in a wide range of types and prices.

Disintegrating Hard Drives

Hard disks can be destroyed using disintegrators, a form of data destruction equipment frequently employed in the recycling and data destruction sectors. Disk Drive Disintegrators have been created to handle harder-to-manage hard drives. The hard drive is sliced into bits by hard drive disintegrators using knife milling technology until the pieces are tiny enough to pass through the disintegrators’ screen. Hard drive disintegration produces a far more refined residue and a lot greater level of security than hard drive shredding, albeit slightly slower. Even in the minor hard disk fragments, the fragments could include thousands of potentially damaging pieces of data. Producing a higher level of destruction is probably the most important when dealing with data storage devices like hard drives.

Shredding Hard Drives

Hard drive shredding requires a specific kind of shredder designed to handle the heavy metal parts involved with hard drives. Hard drive shredders use timed conveyor belts and reinforced steel cutting shafts with enlarged gap settings to prevent overfeeding. Hard drive shredding residue is far from having the same fine consistency as paper shredding residue. Significant bits of metal make up the hard drive shredder residue, which varies considerably from drive to drive depending on how it hits the shredding head. As a result, we frequently advise hard drive destruction to clients who are not attempting to satisfy NSA or other official security standards. Two similar options would be to run the hard drives through for a second pass or consider a hard drive disintegrator that produces a more minor and consistent residue.

Shredding is your best option if you don’t intend to sell hard drives and want to be confident that the data is unrecoverable. Working with a professional service is brilliant for this endeavor since they provide specific tools and trained professionals for shredding hard drives.

Wiping Hard Drives

Wiping is a great way to delete data if you don’t want to destroy the hard drive permanently. However, it would help if you did it correctly, or some data may still be present. For data to be destroyed, it must be overwritten, frequently more than once. The best action is to hire a pro, particularly if you intend to restore and resell hard drives.

Final Words

Several aspects, such as how sensitive your data is, how many hard drives you need to destroy, and how much you can spend on a solution, must be taken into consideration when deciding which technique of hard drive destruction is appropriate for you.

Eco IT Solutions provides the best solutions for your hard drive destruction needs. We will give you a certificate of data destruction of all media that has been destroyed. 

Eco IT Solutions specializes in hard drive destruction. For more information, please fill out the form below or Contact us through email or phone.

Also read: How to securely wipe hard drive data?

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)