WD hd is half dead....can I erase it?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Wayne Tarzwell
  • Start date Start date
W

Wayne Tarzwell

My WD Caviar 205BA was diagnosed as dying and I managed to get WD to replace
it as is was within 3 years since I bought it.
My problem now is that I do have some sensitive information in the HD that I
would rather have erased before sending the HD to them.
Is there any way I can simply erase all the content?
I just don't feel comfortable sending my hd to them knowing they do
recover/refurbish dead hds and that they can access the info on my HD. I
don't think my clients would like to see their info given out like this and
I would feel extremely embarrassed if that ended up in the wrong hands....
Any tip, help is appreciated.

Thanks,

FayeC
 
If you really have a problem with privacy, in this instance, put the drive
up to a big magnet. Look in your local yellow pages. Find a junk dealer or
trash yard. They use VERY big (read: powerful) magnets to move cars/etc...
I didn't tell you that...


-
Wayne Tarzwell stood up, at show-n-tell in
[email protected] and said:
 
Wayne said:
My WD Caviar 205BA was diagnosed as dying and I managed to get WD to
replace it as is was within 3 years since I bought it.
My problem now is that I do have some sensitive information in the HD that
I would rather have erased before sending the HD to them.
Is there any way I can simply erase all the content?
Click to expand...

If the drive is too dead to do a write zero and the info really is
sensitive, I'd just buy another drive and smash/drill holes in the old one.
 
Wayne Tarzwell said:
My WD Caviar 205BA was diagnosed as dying and I managed to get WD to replace
it as is was within 3 years since I bought it.
My problem now is that I do have some sensitive information in the HD that I
would rather have erased before sending the HD to them.
Is there any way I can simply erase all the content?
I just don't feel comfortable sending my hd to them knowing they do
recover/refurbish dead hds and that they can access the info on my HD. I
don't think my clients would like to see their info given out like this and
I would feel extremely embarrassed if that ended up in the wrong hands....
Any tip, help is appreciated.

Thanks,

FayeC
Click to expand...

http://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/

is your friend
 
Security isn't free or convenient. Only you can decide if the risk of
someone recovering your data is worth more the than $150, or whatever,
it would cost to buy a new disk and destroy this one with a big hammer.
This happens more often that you might guess.
 
Open that baby up and take a real big magnet to the platters! Then gouge
them up good! Saw them in pieces!
 
Strontium said:
If you really have a problem with privacy, in this instance, put the drive
up to a big magnet...
I didn't tell you that...
Click to expand...

Good thing you didn't. If you had told him that, you'd be guilty of sharing
useless an erroneous information. Putting the drive near a big magnet would
not destroy his data.
 
John P. said:
Good thing you didn't. If you had told him that, you'd be guilty of sharing
useless an erroneous information. Putting the drive near a big magnet would
not destroy his data.
Click to expand...

Oh, the guilt! Oh, the remorse! Never to be well again!
 
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