Hard drives differ in their technology, with most being either hard disk drives (HDD) or solid-state drives (SSD). HDDs use magnetic storage technology to store data, with the actual storage component being a small, silver-colored disc (commonly called a “platter”). Dinging or shattering the platter into small pieces renders the hard drive useless.

Solid-state drives, on the other hand, contain no moving parts to destroy and instead store data using flash memory. SSDs can be destroyed by brute force, such as with a hammer, but professional ITAD services can ensure that they’re destroyed quickly and thoroughly.

Yes! Once hard drives have been thoroughly destroyed, the constituent parts can be recycled. This doesn’t mean you can simply recycle an entire hard drive, however. The hard drive should be disintegrated or crushed before being recycled.

Do not dispose of unprocessed hard drives in a landfill. This contributes to the growing e-waste crisis, and in many states, data disposal laws prohibit improper disposal of electronic waste and can issue significant fines or penalties for failure to comply.

Old hard drives hold scant scrap value due to the rapid obsolescence of computer technology. They aren’t completely worthless, however. Redundant IT assets may be wiped and resold on the second-hand market or salvaged for scrap metal, but this isn’t a realistic DIY job.

ITAD companies such as Wisetek provide value by ensuring maximum monetary return on old IT assets, thus putting more money back in the pockets of businesses.

It depends on the size and strength of the magnet. A common refrigerator magnet will not likely do much on a hard disk drive (HDD), but a large, powerful magnet known as a degausser has the ability to render magnetic media completely useless and all data irretrievable when exposed to the strong magnetic forces.

Wiping a hard drive via software or applications can result in the removal of all sensitive data, but there’s no absolute guarantee that a savvy thief won’t be able to retrieve some or all of the data thereafter. That’s why physical destruction is a sure, time-proven method of securely destroying hard drives.

Deleting all files (e.g. moving everything to the ‘Recycle Bin’) or formatting the hard drive do not securely destroy sensitive data. These methods are ineffective and should not be considered for security reasons.

Simply removing a hard drive from one computer does nothing in terms of data access. Hard drives can be installed on other computers, permitting users full access to all data stored therein. It doesn’t matter if the computer has been idle for weeks or years, all data can be accessed at any time on any computer connected to the hard drive.

Not necessarily. In terms of relevant data for your company, such as text documents, spreadsheets, photos, and all other files, these are often stored on a hard drive. Nowadays, many businesses choose to store data on large servers or on the cloud (internet storage).

Nevertheless, any sensitive data stored on your computer’s hard drive should be kept secure and disposal of the hard drive should be handled with professional hard drive disposal services.