How should I decommission my laptop?

[Mordac]

So we went from 'I have a side gig where I recover data from wiped HDDs' to 'lets just destroyed it cause proper wipe out of a HDD takes some time'!

I honestly don't understand what kind of creepy or super valuable stuff you guys keep on your laptops, but I would never even think on it twice. I wipe out my stuff with 1 pass (should take a couple of hours in an average machine with and an average sized hdd) and this will be enough to sleep well at night...

Internet banking? Internet shopping? Buying flights online? One pass might be enough. Then again it might not. If you want to take that risk, who am I to argue?
I'd do the hammer and chisel thing though. Perhaps that says more about my propensity towards violence than any actual hardware knowledge. I can live with that...

[PerfectStorm]

Sadly you are SO VERY WRONG. I make occasional good money retrieving data from failed disks which won't even spin-up any more. Any app which can reformat a disk so it can't be read will cost you more than it's worth to just remove and destroy the disk.

I hope they're not paying very good money for this advice!

Once the data is overwritten with zeros it's not coming back without a clairvoyant...

[NickFitz]

Encrypt the drive, then delete the key. Sorted.

[CryingSheep]

Internet banking? Internet shopping? Buying flights online? One pass might be enough. Then again it might not. If you want to take that risk, who am I to argue?
I'd do the hammer and chisel thing though. Perhaps that says more about my propensity towards violence than any actual hardware knowledge. I can live with that...

I don't keep any passwords stored on my HDD to start with, even any bank details I make sure to be kept encrypted (not 100%safe, but still)

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6000 using Contractor UK Forum mobile app

[ladymuck]

So...

I should have said this was a tongue in cheek decommissioning. The thing is bricked so no point giving it away or reselling it with various degrees of drive wiping discussed ad nauseum above.

Defenestration was a front runner but I live in a basement flat so no mileage to be had there. The HDD (it's an SSD) will be coming out for secure destruction and I will make sure the battery is properly disposed of if I don't opt to pierce it and set the whole damn thing on fire.

[Mordac]

I hope they're not paying very good money for this advice!

Once the data is overwritten with zeros it's not coming back without a clairvoyant...

My point being, your average punter (even some very IT literate punters) don't know how to do this. And even some that do know, can't be arsed. I certainly can't. Any ex-HDD of mine gets the hammer treatment. You're arguing "what is possible" against "what is practical".

And to answer your question, they don't pay for advice, they pay for data retrieval from failed disks, and I have a very good hit-rate.

[Mordac]

So...

I should have said this was a tongue in cheek decommissioning. The thing is bricked so no point giving it away or reselling it with various degrees of drive wiping discussed ad nauseum above.

Defenestration was a front runner but I live in a basement flat so no mileage to be had there. The HDD (it's an SSD) will be coming out for secure destruction and I will make sure the battery is properly disposed of if I don't opt to pierce it and set the whole damn thing on fire.

You could have saved us a whole load of arguing...

OK, wait until your basement flat is next flooded and claim a new laptop on the insurance.

Best I can do at short notice...

PS - Please explain how defenestration was ever a front runner? How pissed do you have to get that you temporarily forget you live in a basement flat?

[NotAllThere]

That's probably not enough... Get yourself a trip to Italy and drop it inside Etna (just to be safe)!

To be safe, you have to nuke the site from orbit.

To properly dispose of a laptop, first ensure any nearby environmentalists are distracted - point out a nearby 4x4 or something. Then build up a kettle bbq with briquettes. Place your laptop on the coals. Add a lit cigarette. Then a litre of LOX.

[Mordac]

To be safe, you have to nuke the site from orbit.

To properly dispose of a laptop, first ensure any nearby environmentalists are distracted - point out a nearby 4x4 or something. Then build up a kettle bbq with briquettes. Place your laptop on the coals. Add a lit cigarette. Then a litre of LOX.

Nah, piece of piss. I'll have your Tinder history in 5 mins. Your Grindr history can be held back for the right price...

[TwoWolves]

Actually it's true that it takes military grade software that runs for days to really zero a disk to unrecoverable.

The poor man's option is quite effective, take it out and put it in the fire for a few hours and I mean a well stoked fire with good air flow. The heat will quite effectively realign the ferrite to nonsense.