How to protect your sensitive data NCIX style
 

Hard Drive Sensitive Data Destruction Featuring Tom NCIX Tech Tips - YouTube

Wouldn't some of that still be recoverable though? I'm thinking I would throw it into my buddies blast furnace.

I am actually extremely impressed with the build quality of the HDD's, there is no chance any other component in your computer would look that good after a nice crack with a sledge hammer. Western Digital I choose you lol

No it really would not be possible to recover data off those platters. They are bent to hell and back, you would have to perfectly bend them back which would in all likelihood further distort them. I don't think even professional data recovery services would be able to do anything. Not when the platters are so damaged like that.

Have they changed the composition of platters in the last little while? My one and only foray into removing platters for data destruction resulted in the platters shattering like a blank CD. Took me weeks to get all of the plastic slivers cleaned up from the kitchen. :)

I love to destroy old pc components in my garage with my hight powered air rifles. HDD are my favorite, i take the cover off plug them into a jumped power supply and shoot them while they are spinning. I dont know the difference but some platters are definitely made of a glass like material and some seem to be made of a coated steel.

Here is a picture of a platter from my old 75gb sata 1 raptor. http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...916_141800.jpg