this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2024
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I'm assuming this is actually to render an old drive inoperable, in case of sensitive contents?
Just spit balling, but it might be possible to flatten the platters out to recover some of the data, maybe even enough to piece together what was on there. The proper method for destruction is to wipe the drives, then shred them.
Aren't the discs made from a material that shatters like glass?
That I'm not sure, I know the premise is that data is read and written magnetically, which would lead me to believe there is some kind of ferrous metal in there somewhere, but I couldn't tell you the actual composition of the platters.
A quick google search resulted that the actual platter is a non magnetic material like glass which is covered in a magnetic coating
Interesting, thanks for that. So perhaps folding the drives like that may indeed shatter the platters.
In principle yes but I never managed to shatter or break a disc platter... But then I never had a sledgehammer
It depends.
With tearing apart drives over the years, 3.5" always used aluminum platters, while the 2.5" ones used glass. (With greater data density and higher speeds however, this may have changed)