Best way to physically destroy a drive?

[snowdrift]

... Short of incineration, is there any other way to physically destroy a modern hard drive? If so, how?

[snowdrift]

http://www.boydcreative.net/1/5-ways...ur-hard-drive/

#1. Hydrochloric (Muriatic) Acid Burn
#2. Burn It With Thermite
#3. Smash It With A Hammer And Hacksaw
#4. Grind It To Powder
#5. Fully Bork It With Magnetic Degaussing

[stapp]

Hammer and six inch nails works okay.

Cover in thermite paste - light- STAND WELL BACK

An acetylene torch will turn a hard drive into a melted mass.
A surface grider can be used to grind one down to a coarse powder. Works on CDs too.
Rick

[EASTER]

Portland Cement.

Mix up a batch and pour into small box (can be cardboard), double the size of the hard drive, while setting up but still gooey, insert or poke your hard drive down into it till you think it's center. Then find a nice deep river with a bridge and toss it overboard. In a few thousand years it might be fossilized by then.

On a more serious note, follow the steps above offered. They should more than disable that small metal instrument to your satisfaction.

I never destroyed one or had a need to for that matter, but i always wondered how it would fare if you took it to a scrap yard and ask the yardmaster to pick it up and hold it for about 5 minutes with their super magnet. Project to test some day.

[Mrkvonic]

Hello,
If you ask me, a nice little BBQ, followed by a digital steak.
Mrk

[19monty64]

I would say, that the quickest & easiest way, is put on microwave-tray, hit start & watch the display!!!

[Paranoid2000]

See PCPro: What Does It Take to Destroy a Hard Disk? for an account of what data recovery experts can (and can't!) deal with.

[LoneWolf]

How about placing it on some railroad tracks and watching a train flatten it.

[cheater87]

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!! Or maybe putting it in a bag of water and putting it in the freezer.

[LockBox]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

How about placing it on some railroad tracks and watching a train flatten it.

That was funny.....but it's also not a bad idea!

[FadeAway]

First off, I drill several large holes clear through it with a
high speed bit. After that, it's your choice.

[dave88]

Hammer Time!

[pugmug]

Got to love these agent 86,Maxwell Smart people,the world is out to get you and your dirty little secrets.LMAO!

[Dogbiscuit]

Originally Posted by pugmug

Got to love these agent 86,Maxwell Smart people,the world is out to get you and your dirty little secrets.LMAO!

No? Would you believe...

[ChicknDip]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

How about placing it on some railroad tracks and watching a train flatten it.

Or perhaps he should have stayed on the tracks himself, so he wouldn't have to destroy it.

[strangequark]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

How about placing it on some railroad tracks and watching a train flatten it.

With my luck the only thing that would be found after the massive train crash would be one HD in perfect working condition.

Originally Posted by herbalist

A surface grider can be used to grind one down to a coarse powder. Works on CDs too.
Rick

A dishwasher takes care of CDs, a friend of mine did the experiment only a few days ago [ah boredom the mother of discovery], they come out as nice clear plastic coasters.

And of course the most thorough way to destroy a HD, or anything else for that matter, is to give it to a 2 year old child.

[MikeNash]

Originally Posted by snowdrift

... Short of incineration, is there any other way to physically destroy a modern hard drive? If so, how?

Put your only copy of some important data on there, don't back it up and wait...

[tradetime]

Originally Posted by snowdrift

... Short of incineration, is there any other way to physically destroy a modern hard drive? If so, how?

http://www.datadev.com/v94.html

[EASTER]

Originally Posted by MikeNash

Put your only copy of some important data on there, don't back it up and wait...

Isn't that a fact. LoL

Another Method. If you happen to live within reasonably close proximity to Sicily, Italy, bundgy cord it into mouth of Mount Etna Volcano, instant vaporize.

Sicily, Italy

37.73 N, 15.00 E,
summit elevation 3350 m
Shield volcano

Mt Etna has the longest period of documented eruptions in the world. Etna is noted for the wide variety of eruption styles.
The volcano is at its most spectacular when when both summit and flank eruptions occur simultaneously.

[Escalader]

Originally Posted by snowdrift

... Short of incineration, is there any other way to physically destroy a modern hard drive? If so, how?

Rats, this is no good you guys have stolen all the good ideas! However, the OP said fire was not acceptable. My favorites are animals, physics.

So I would take the drive to a sea world stuff it in a bad meat roast and feed it to the sharks.

My grandson can destroy anything electronic with bubble gum. he did it on my floppy drive ( old PC thank,,,,)

Acid is good, the stuff you get at home depot to clean concrete paint, I would fill a bucket and toss in the HD.

Take it to the nearest brewery and hurl it into the vat that breaks down the malt

Magnets are a good idea, I've got an old one that was used to wipe magnets tape, it is so strong it sucks the car keys out of your pocket at 10 feet!
Run that over a few time...

Salt water over a few years can do wonders!

If I really wanted to do it,

1) Break up into very small pieces with metal drill and sledge hammer
2) Put pieces in with magnet over nite
3) Micro wave the pile
4) Acid bath bucket
5) Give Grandson the rinsed bucket and plenty of bubble gum
6) Add engine oil, crazy glue and bury bucket

[steve161]

Where does one go about getting thermite. And this thread seems to be digressing into thermite vs. magnets. I personally prefer the avg acid bath over the avast super magnets.

[Dark Shadow]

Bring to a firing range pin up at 10 Ft shoot it with a 357 mag hollow point watch it explode.please wear safey glasses and duck from the flying pieces.you might want to let other people around to watch out for flying hard drive.the only downside besides flying pieces you may not be allowed there again

[clambermatic]

Best way? ...Is "au-naturel" (with added benefit of an organic source) way.

The caveat is you gotta ask a couple of friends to contribute... P*ss & save your urine on a container big enough to contain the HDD you wanna destroy. Ask your friends to contribute theirs (more if the container is big enuf) so you can collect up to 2 inches high of the liquid. Then loosen up the HDD screws & bolts, drop it on the urine-filled container... lock, stock & barrel, to permeate for 24hrs.

Voila... you got an unrecoverable HDD!

[strangequark]

Originally Posted by Escalader

My grandson can destroy anything electronic with bubble gum. he did it on my floppy drive ( old PC thank,,,,)

mine doesn't even need the bubble gum

If any one has ever read the guarantee for Pelican cases you'll see they've been on to the evil exploits of children under 5 for years.
http://pelican.com/support/guarantee.php