Broken Hard Drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ob La Di, Ob La Da
  • Start date Start date
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Ob La Di, Ob La Da

I got a 200G Seagate HD about a month ago from Outpost.com. It was
working well for a while but I took it out to use in a different PC and
a tiny piece of plastic fell out of it and something inside was
rattling around. It no longer works in any PC, just making clicking
noises. Clearly it's toast. My question is: what happens to your
information when you return a defective hard drive? I know *I* can't
access the information on the disk, but is it accessible to THEM? I
don't want to waste my money, but I also don't want to put my private
information out there.

Any insight into this? Thanks!
 
I got a 200G Seagate HD about a month ago from Outpost.com. It was
working well for a while but I took it out to use in a different PC and
a tiny piece of plastic fell out of it and something inside was
rattling around. It no longer works in any PC, just making clicking
noises. Clearly it's toast. My question is: what happens to your
information when you return a defective hard drive? I know *I* can't
access the information on the disk, but is it accessible to THEM? I
don't want to waste my money, but I also don't want to put my private
information out there.

Any insight into this? Thanks!
Click to expand...

a. they will not recover the data.
b. if it does not work for you and is obviously toast then they will
probably crunch it. I doubt they would rebuild it.
c. if you are worried that your data may get in the wrong hands, which it
could if the disc was rebuilt, then just crunch it yourself.
 
a. they will not recover the data.
Click to expand...

True, not without reason it wouldn't make sense, and they
could not use such data without permanent damage to their
core business including lawsuits.
b. if it does not work for you and is obviously toast then they will
probably crunch it. I doubt they would rebuild it.
Click to expand...

They do replace new drives with refurbs, identified by a
label with a turquoise stripe around it. They will know far
better than I, what type of drive problem makes a drive
suited for refurbishment/repair/etc. Regardless, without
question they will wipe the drive of all data.
c. if you are worried that your data may get in the wrong hands, which it
could if the disc was rebuilt, then just crunch it yourself.
Click to expand...

Yep, if there's something illegal on there, better to "cut
it out" and scrap the drive.
 
kony said:
True, not without reason it wouldn't make sense, and they
could not use such data without permanent damage to their
core business including lawsuits.


They do replace new drives with refurbs, identified by a
label with a turquoise stripe around it. They will know far
better than I, what type of drive problem makes a drive
suited for refurbishment/repair/etc. Regardless, without
question they will wipe the drive of all data.


Yep, if there's something illegal on there, better to "cut
it out" and scrap the drive.
Click to expand...

Or the drive could be sat on a very strong magnet such as that found in a
loudspeaker for a week - if the data was still readable after this it would
likely only be with the help of some specialist recovery software.

Paul
 
Or the drive could be sat on a very strong magnet such as that found in a
loudspeaker for a week - if the data was still readable after this it would
likely only be with the help of some specialist recovery software.

Paul
Click to expand...

Have you been able to erase drives in this manner?
I know a similar strength magnet will erase a floppy but was
under the impression it'd take far stronger to effect a HDD
platter.
 
kony said:
Have you been able to erase drives in this manner?
I know a similar strength magnet will erase a floppy but was
under the impression it'd take far stronger to effect a HDD
platter.
Click to expand...

I've not tried it on a HDD as I've always been able to use the manufacturers
utility software to erase ailing drives in the past (or just returned them
for exchange with "non-sensitive" data still present). I've only tried the
magnet trick with a few corrupt floppy disks using an electromagnetic sheet
metal folder bed and that worked a treat in about 5 seconds. That thing had
a very powerful magnetic field though.. I've also seen a magnetic eraser in
operation with video tapes and that worked well. This was a hollow box that
the tapes could be quickly passed through which would totally erase them.
Aside from the fact that HDD platters are glass/ceramic or aluminium alloy
coated with a ferrous substance rather than a coated plastic film and they
have more shielding around them (and magnets in them), I cant see why such a
plan shouldn't work. Having said that it comes down to how much of a gamble
the OP would be willing to take. I dare say that the manufacturers
reclamation process with regards to initial stages of testing and handling
back at the factory would be automated or at least performed in such a
manner that people cant read the contents of drives (even if they wanted
to) - as mentioned all in the interests of building customer confidence and
minimising any liability for the co.

Paul
 
I've not tried it on a HDD as I've always been able to use the manufacturers
utility software to erase ailing drives in the past (or just returned them
for exchange with "non-sensitive" data still present). I've only tried the
magnet trick with a few corrupt floppy disks using an electromagnetic sheet
metal folder bed and that worked a treat in about 5 seconds. That thing had
a very powerful magnetic field though.. I've also seen a magnetic eraser in
operation with video tapes and that worked well. This was a hollow box that
the tapes could be quickly passed through which would totally erase them.
Aside from the fact that HDD platters are glass/ceramic or aluminium alloy
coated with a ferrous substance rather than a coated plastic film and they
have more shielding around them (and magnets in them), I cant see why such a
plan shouldn't work. Having said that it comes down to how much of a gamble
the OP would be willing to take. I dare say that the manufacturers
reclamation process with regards to initial stages of testing and handling
back at the factory would be automated or at least performed in such a
manner that people cant read the contents of drives (even if they wanted
to) - as mentioned all in the interests of building customer confidence and
minimising any liability for the co.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the opinions, everyone. I'm not concerned with illegal
stuff, just personal information (I'm not sure there IS any personal
info on it, but I can't tell anymore). I DO have some cloned s/w disks
on it, but it's all MY s/w and was kept there as backup in case
something ever happened to the original disks (I once was installing
WinXP, dropped the disk on the floor, backed up to pick it up and
rolled the chair right over it, rendering it useless, learning my
lesson in THAT dept). I'm more upset about losing a lot of digital
photos that I hadn't gotten around to backing up. THAT lesson is now
learned, too.
 
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