I have an external hard drive that died. I've replaced it. Because my iMac can't see the old drive, I can't erase the contents. How do I permanently disable the device before bringing it to a recycler? I don't want there to be any chance anyone can access the data on the drive.
iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 11.6
If it is a mechanical drive, I like to take them apart and rub the platter on a concrete floor.
As a practical matter, you can probably just yank off the connector.
A heat gun to the electronics to the point of melting the solder would work, too.
Two effective options:
Yes I've considered the hammer. The suggestion of a drill may be better. Thanks.
What external hard drive?
Sometimes the enclosure fails and sometimes the drive fails.
Some you can take apart and some can be busted open.
Generally I take them apart or crack them open and test them separately.
If only the drive is bad, I destroy the drive and then reuse or toss the enclosure.
If the drive is good, I put it in a drive dock, erase it and reuse it for redundant backups.
Thanks. There are more than one. I've retired previous hard drives But I have never known how to permanently disable them so I now have four that need to be destroyed.
They are all small Seagate portable drives. I'm not interested in saving any of the parts. But none of them have screws I can see so I don't see how to take them apart.
I guess I'll just have to use a hammer or a drill.
You need to get creative:
If SATA you can grab the plastic tab and break them off:
You are welcome.
For safety, use something other than your hand to clamp and hold the drive if using a drill. The variations in material hardness inside a drive may cause the bit to grab. So no hand-holding stunts please!
For either, wear eye protection. You will be making small pieces the are moving fast.
Belt and suspenders, ya know!
Geoff1954 wrote:
Thanks. There are more than one. I've retired previous hard drives But I have never known how to permanently disable them so I now have four that need to be destroyed.
They are all small Seagate portable drives. I'm not interested in saving any of the parts. But none of them have screws I can see so I don't see how to take them apart.
I guess I'll just have to use a hammer or a drill.
Yeah' a couple of holes about a inch off center should do nicely.
Thanks for the warning.
It's not clear to me how the connector could be removed. The connecting cord has a prong that goes into the hard drive housing. There is nothing on the housing to grab on to, to yank.
Are they SSD or magnetic?
I know they're not solid state so I guess they must be magnetic.
destroy external hard drive
