How To Destroy Hard Drives: Hard Drive Disposal

When it's time for a new computer, you need to take some steps to ensure that the data from the old hard drive isn't accessible. Even if you “wiped” the drive, some of your private data, such as passwords and bank account information, may still be accessible. The only way to ensure that someone isn't able to retrieve your private information is by ensuring that the hard drive is completely destroyed so that data is not retrievable. 

How to Destroy Hard Drives

When you look up how to destroy hard drives, you'll find plenty of information. However, all the methods involve tools, a lot of work or dangerous acids. Methods include smashing a hard drive, dissolving it in acid and taking it apart to destroy the platter. A hard drive contains many small parts, so smashing it could be dangerous. If you put it into acid, you have the chance of breathing in toxic fumes. And, if you try to take it apart to destroy the platter, you may need to buy special tools.

Furthermore, as with driving nails into the hard drive, destroying the platter with tools doesn't guarantee that information is inaccessible. There's a much easier way to go about destroying a hard drive, specifically, how to destroy hard drive platter where all of the information is kept. It's much safer and you won't have to buy special tools or risk hurting yourself.

Simply have Carolina Shred shred the hard drives for you. Our truck will come to you and you are able to watch the hard drive being destroyed. In some cases, a business may require a certificate of destruction and onsite hard drive destruction. After your hard drives are shredded, you will receive the certificate showing that your hard drives have been shredded.

Identity Theft

If you don't properly destroy a hard drive, you could easily become a victim of identity theft.  Learn how to prevent identity theft by shredding sensitive information. Often, even hard drives that have been wiped, leave pieces of information. This could include personal information about you and your passwords. Even bank account information may be accessed from your hard drive. If you've ever done your own taxes on your computer, an identity thief could have a field day.

Just as you protect any information on paper documents, information on digital media should also be destroyed properly. Thus, hard drive disposal is an important factor when you upgrade, or even when a computer malfunctions. Carolina Shred provides a computer destruction service by offering secure hard drive destruction for businesses and individuals.

Treat your hard drive just as you would a file full of confidential information. It's too easy for a thief to recover information off a hard drive unless the platter is completely obliterated. Until you are able to have the hard drives shredded, they, just like documents, should be locked up in a Carolina Shred locked box or in a locked filing cabinet.

Carolina Shred Hard Drive Shredding Services

Whether you have just one hard drive or several to dispose of, contact us to discuss our hard drive disposal service. If you are a business that must follow certain regulations, including having your hard drives shredded onsite, our mobile shredding trucks with state-of-the-art equipment will come to you. Instead of taking a chance on partially destroying the platter, you'll know your hard drive will be thoroughly destroyed, which means that your data is safe.

Contact Carolina Shred to set up an appointment to shred your hard drives, USB drives and other digital media, along with any files and documents that need to be shredded.