DIY Hard Disk Degausser

[bazzy]

Hi

Does anyone know if there is any way to make a DIY hard disk Degausser perhaps with an electro magnet powerd by AC or something?

Regards

Barry

[Fernbay]

Power drill

If you still want the drive to work later, there are plenty of software options available, or set a file encryption password

[bazzy]

I have already run dban however one seems to have suvived so i was wanting to destroy data using degausse if possable. run them all through degausse to make sure data is gone

Regards

Barry

Power drill

If you still want the drive to work later, there are plenty of software options available, or set a file encryption password

[Fernbay]

I should also point out... Dives are in a metal case to prevent magnetic exposure....
To degauss would require opening up & exposing the discs to air... You need a proper 'clean room' for that

[mickstv]

If you really want to delete a hard drive give this a go.

Get a copy of Killdisk. Look for a dodgy version as you'll have more options than the free. Link below for the free version.





Mick

[bazzy]

My thinking is Software is off the board as i have already gone down that path and one of the machines had recoverable data on it. besides i would like to ensure that even if the drive is faulty the data is destroyed.

I need a phisical solution, you can buy hard disk degaussing machines however be expensive so they are available so it would have to be possable to make one.

Does anyone know how? for example if i was to make a coil arround some sort of container that the hard disk drive can slot into for 5 minates exposed to a high powered electromagnet using AC power to power it?

If the magnet is strong enough i would have thought it should penetrate the material the casing is made of i would have thought.

[Drift]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXxyhVtATw8&feature=youtube_gdata_player]‪Can Crush 17KV / 15µF / 2,2KJ‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

That will solve your problem. Plans for such devices abound on the web.

[LeroyPatrol]

The can crusher we made at work was a little more elegant and refined than that. We had a coil (wound like a torriodal transformer) that was kept off the desk with 100mm PVC pipe that was cut about 80mm tall. We then use to cut the top off the aluminium can and stand up inside the pipe and coil. I can't remember the energy we discharched into the coil but it crushed symetriacally around the can so that it was shaped like a goblet!
I'll try find the cans as I still have a couple and post pics.

Leroy

[mickstv]

Hard Drive Degaussers

After doing some more reading on various sites...This is the problem with degaussers is that not only do they clean your data but they also remove the factory pre-recorded servo tracks, thus rendering the hard drive unusable. Or in other words you turn a good hard drive into scrap metal.





My method of formatting. If the drive is suspect faulty and you wan't to make it's info unrecoverable use a sledgehammer to destroy.

If it has info on it that must be removed and the drive is usable I normally low level format, then overrite the whole hard drive with garbage info, then use Kill Disk to secure erase.



Mick

[SystemRat]

I've tried using degaussing wands on a large number of hard drives and in most cases it had little or no effect on the readability of the data. There are a few secure wipe programs around but the problem with these is they take a long time to do their thing. For old drives with little re use value mechanical shredding or burning to the extent the alloy case melts and the magnetic domains in the platters are reset or a sledge hammer which is low tech but works well.

I wonder how a large electro magnet with a super cap discharged through it would go. It might damage the drive plus you would have to re low level the drive to make it usable again which on its own would wipe the data effectively but not to the extent required for protected information.