Used Computer Hard Drive Parts

[davidyat]

OK, I can't be the only one thinking about this. I'm throwing out an old computer. Take out the hard drive and destroy all your data by torch, bandsaw, sledge hammer of the disks. I take it all apart and the disks and drive bearing hubs are machined beyond my capability for true spinning. I see that the hub and what it's attached to could possibly be incorporated into a project. Has anyone come up with ideas how to use these bearings, hubs and disks?
Grasshopper

 

[deverett]

I saved the discs for an as yet (and probably never will be) unbuilt Tesla turbine. The hub spacers would be the spacers between the discs.
The bearings have come in handy over the years for small models' crankshafts, etc.
Put one of the magnets in a plastic bag and you can use that to pick up ferrous swarf. Over teh bin, pull the magnet away and the swarf falls free.
Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

[Tim Wescott]

All you need to do to destroy the data on the disk is to go over each one with a good strong magnet. Frankly, just opening up the case and letting dust settle on everything will destroy it for all purposes other than international espionage.

 

[davidyat]

I like the suggestion of the magnets in the bag

 

[davidyat]

Deverett, how do you get the bearings out of their carrier?

 

[SmithDoor]

Good to know of parts
I use demagnetize from shop to remove the data

Dave

 

[deverett]

I like the suggestion of the magnets in the bag

It's been quite a long time since I stopped collecting hard drives, but from memory the bearings were a 'press' fit in the holders. I tried initially to bash them out but that of course didn't do the bearings much good! Using a steel ring that was a similar diameter to the race and hitting that sometimes worked. The next way was to saw through the holder almost up to the race so that the holding part can be broken open.

Good quality computer fans used to have really small ball bearings, others just oilite type bushes.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

[davidyat]

Thanks Deverett

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Guys,

There are usually two places in a HDD that have precision bearings fitted. One of them is the head spindle. They are usually a dual bearing pack and often will just drop out with the application of a little heat, some are retained with a tiny screw, remove the screw and they will push out easily.

The platter spindle bearings are much harder to recover ! They are usually super glued or epoxy used to secure them in place. Not only that but often both bearings are pressed in from one end, sometimes with a spacer making it extremely difficult to get them out without damage. I've recovered quite a few of the much older 5.25" spindle bearings without a lot of trouble.

But techniques and methods of fixing has changed over time with adhesives becoming used much more. You also need lots of heat to destroy the epoxy used to secure the bearings which also boils out any lubrication that was in them.

As far as data on the platter is concerned, the minute that you handle them its been damaged beyond anything but forensic recovery.

 

[fabricator]

OK, I can't be the only one thinking about this. I'm throwing out an old computer. Take out the hard drive and destroy all your data by torch, bandsaw, sledge hammer of the disks. I take it all apart and the disks and drive bearing hubs are machined beyond my capability for true spinning. I see that the hub and what it's attached to could possibly be incorporated into a project. Has anyone come up with ideas how to use these bearings, hubs and disks?
Grasshopper

 

[fabricator]

I have always figured if these discs are just hit with some sandpaper and sent to recycling or thrown into the the trash or sent to recycling center what are the chances that some nefarious individual would be interested in picking out random pieces of garbage and attempting to recover any data from the pieces

 

[Mike Ginn]

Guys
Please don't use a magnet to destroy data on a HDD disk platter - it doesn't work if you know how to get around it!.
The correct method depends on the level of security associated with the data but for most purposes the following work:-
Drill 2 holes through the disk about 25mm in from the edge of the circle embossed on the cover. Could also use a large centre punch to distort the platters.
Remove the platters (note some are made of glass) and rub with sandpaper/place on concrete floor and drag along with foot!
Bend platters.
All of these methods make the platters unusable and data almost impossible to recover but they are not 100%
The other method (which is 100%) is to wipe the disk with specialist software which uses a US Gov approved method.
What do I do - I take out the platters and rub them on the concrete floor and then bend them. I also mix up platters from different drives.

 

[user 1493]

Another source of fine materials are old printers and scanners. The shafts have been polished and are very easy to turn or machine. The one downside is that most of them are metric.

 

[payner]

The other thing you may want to keep is the fans intact for cooling electronic projects, the power supply gives you 5 volt and 12 volt DC for powering LED lights or maybe a power feed for a mill etc .

 

[propclock]

O.K. science guy here the spindle bearings are precise as are the head pivot bearings.
So they are pre-loaded , and are a bit stiff by design. The platters themselves are
good first surface mirrors. I was thinking one day of how to align
my edge finder quill mounted camera to the knee / vice . axis. My first attempt
was to drive the knee up and down , and I did looking at the change of cross hairs
as the knee traversed . This worked but didn't do much good to my knee motor.
So them I realized i needed a first surface mirror , then I thought hard drive platter
Yep I have those. So with the camera looking down at the disk placed flat on the vice base and the camera looking down it should be easy to align the camera to look perfectly back at itself. Yea I know science guy , And this doesn't make much sense
to most but they are almost perfectly flat first surface mirrors . Think lasers.
Once you have the platters in hand , unless you have million dollar secrets on them
recovery of data is near impossible. Just my 1.414 cents worth

 

[bluejets]

OK, I can't be the only one thinking about this. I'm throwing out an old computer. Take out the hard drive and destroy all your data by torch, bandsaw, sledge hammer of the disks. I take it all apart and the disks and drive bearing hubs are machined beyond my capability for true spinning. I see that the hub and what it's attached to could possibly be incorporated into a project. Has anyone come up with ideas how to use these bearings, hubs and disks?
Grasshopper

All that is required is to write all zeros to the disc...finished.

 

[stanstocker]

Using a usb to sata adapter you can use a linux live boot disk and the shred utility to overwrite the entire disk surface. If you aren't doing stuff where the legal requirement is to physically destroy the disk shred will zero out a disk. As others have already said, unless your life is very "interesting" once the platters are out of the drive housing they are basically useless from a data recovery perspective.

 

[cl350rr]

The discs are just the thing for building a boundary layer turbine, thank Tesla

 

[barry.hawker]

if you use a government approved wiping program you can bet the govenment can still read it!

 

[cadsculptor]

Save those super-strong magnets!!