Re: wipe broken disk

peter pilsl <pilsl@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

I have several broken harddisks. (increasing amount of badblocks or
I/O-errors all the time, S.M.A.R.T-error-count >60.000 and rising ...)

The harddisks are all on a staple and are ready for the Trash. However:
before dumping I need to wipe them, cause they still contain sensitive data.

How to wipe a broken disk?

A low-level format should do it. It's even possible that the drives
are usable again afterwards (depending on what the cause of the bad
blocks ist).

The alternative is to destroy the drive mechanically. I would open
the drive, and then destroy the platters with a hammer. Make sure the
shards don't hurt you or anyone else (the platters may have a glass
substrate).

- anton
--
M. Anton Ertl Some things have to be seen to be believed
anton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Most things have to be believed to be seen
http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/anton/home.html
.

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