Disposal of laptop/hard drive worth keeping?

Weird_Nev

TonySoprano wrote: »

Personally I would not reuse an hard disk that old say for example in a caddy the surface areas of the internal plate will have been well used. If you decided to then don't use the hard drive in a caddy for important back up data

If you do get rid either crush it in a vice or take a lump hammer to it, extreme maybe but if it gets spotted at a recycling plant here or dump abroad its unlikely to be recovered in an attempt to reuse

Apt advice from that particular user name.

MothballsWallet

I'd also check that the caddy will work with the version of Windows (or other operating system) on the system you want to use it on. I had bought a Q-tec 3.5" caddy from 2005 which I discovered wouldn't work with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (Win7 HP 64) when I got my new system.

I've also got a 2.5" caddy from an Amazon Marketplace seller that only lists up to Windows Vista on the box - whether it works with Win7 HP 64 I've yet to check.

henm2

TonySoprano wrote: »

Just a point you may like to be aware of

If you do get rid either crush it in a vice or take a lump hammer to it, extreme maybe but if it gets spotted at a recycling plant here or dump abroad its unlikely to be recovered in an attempt to reuse

Or use the very well known DBAN http://www.dban.org/ to completely wipe the disk so that no data is recoverable.

Graystreet

I bought a cheap ( sub £4) HDD Caddy a few years ago and, whilst I may have been unlucky, the quality seemed no better than a "Baccy" tin with USB sockets on it...Really bad quality, sharp edges the lot... I know this is a Money saving forum but, in my opinion, it is worth spending a little bit more to get a decent one. You can get a decent one for around £6.

Dban, whilst very good, can take hours to run. Unless you were planning to sell on the laptop with the HDD still inside it really isn't worth the time IMO.

What I did recently was drill a few holes through the HDD, making sure I got the platter as well as the controller board and then hit it several times with a large hammer.

After I'd finished the HDD rattled satisfyingly where the platter had shattered. Nothing quite like the appliance of Violence..

NiftyDigits

The caddy to which I have linked is up to the job.
All a bit too much written over an old HDD.