Like many of us who have been computing for years, I have a pile of older IDE and SATA drives that are now obsolete or are dying through mechanical issues or accumulation of bad sectors. These drives can still be accessed and may still have files, emails, and pictures. I’ve already backed them up but they are still private. I could try to wipe them but they are going into the recycle bin regardless. As some of them are also failing mechanically I would prefer they become the scrape they for good.
Three simple methods are around and I will discuss each of them. In all cases you should position the drive on a wood block or other safe surface. Take the usual safety precautions as well.
To destroy a drive with a drill keep the following in mind. Make sure your hole is in the radius of the platter under the drive cover. You will see the circle of the spindle that is in the center of the platter and just use that point as a guide. You need to make sure your hole is deep enough to pierce the platter.
If you are not the owner of a drill you can still achieve the same result with a decent Phillips screwdriver and a hammer. Again, find the spindle center on the top of the drive as with the drill method. Pound the point of the screwdriver through the cover into the platter. Make sure the hole goes deep enough.
Finally, if you are limited to a hammer, such as the ball-peen hammer in the picture. Strike firmly until you make a deep dent down into the casing. I usually turn the drive over and also strike the controller board on the bottom several times also.
In all of these you will be able to gauge your success easily. Just shake the drive and you should hear a sound like grains of sand. What you are hearing is bits of the destroyed platters that hold your data rattling around.
The Laptop Attic 