Whether you're an individual looking to dispose of a hard drive or an IT professional tasked with destroying sensitive data for an entire organization, there are many options for securely erasing hard drives. Follow this guide to learn about the most popular methods for securely disposing of a hard drive, from the hands-on approach to software solutions.
How to destroy a hard drive
If you're trying to destroy a hard drive, the last thing you should do is hammer it with a metal object. Not only will this have little to no effect on your hard drive, but it's also dangerous. One slip and you could end up with a metal spike through your hand. The best way to destroy a hard drive is to use a shredder. But don't go and buy a shredder for distroy your hard cause its expensive and why you need shredder for distroy one or two hard drive in this situation you can send you for how. Recycling have shredder machine they will destroy your hard drive esily free of cost.
Why you need to dispose of a hard drive safely
At some point, it’s likely that you’ll need to dispose of a computer or hard drive. If you’re breaking it down for parts or recycling it, then no problem.But when it comes to disposing of a hard drive, the process can be time-consuming and expensive. A suggestion for each method can be found below: File-level erasing methods Data cleaning software Remove your data from the hard drive Safely and repeatedly formatting the hard drive Erasing the drive with a program like Eraser Tool Remove your data from the hard drive With the aforementioned programs, you can free up a considerable amount of time by erasing your data from your hard drive remotely. While this method takes some of the guesswork out of the move, it’s obviously not ideal. As a solution, you’ll also find remote eraser programs that can lighten your load. Although the methods we’ll be discussing here all work remotely, there is another option for securely erasing a hard drive remotely: Data encryption software. There are several different options for securely encrypting your files, and each method has pros and cons. One of the oldest methods for securely disposing of data involves the use of data encryption software. A program like File-level Encryption software (Lavasoft encrypts the data on your hard drive before overwriting it with new data), or Data Cleaning Software (Macromedia FreeUPG or ECrypt), will overwrite a file with a new one when a hard drive is formatted. Note: If you delete a file and then encryption and then backup the backup on another computer, your data will not be unencrypted. On the other hand, if you completely overwrite a file and then simply backup the backup, then your data is not encrypted.
A few things you need to remember when destroying data on a hard drive
The only way to make sure that your data is completely destroyed is to use a degausser to physically erase the data on a hard drive. The degausser will destroy any magnetic fields that are left on a hard drive and make it impossible for the data to be recovered.Before You Start
Erasing data
The first step to safely and securely erasing a drive is to take the time to carefully open it up. There are six primary parts to the exterior of a hard drive:
The platter (or head)
The controller (brain)
The magnetic heads
The heads themselves
The magnetic fields (signals)
“Safely” erasing a hard drive takes careful investigation and preparation, as any “unprotected” data on the drive could still be recovered. So, before erasing multiple files, make sure you know what files you're trying to erase. Then, put your hard drive in a safe place, away from potential sources of moisture or cybercriminals. If your hard drive cannot physically be removed from the computer, then securely erase any sensitive data before you destroy it.
