How To DESTROY an external hard drive! No chance of recovery

So you've got an external hard drive and want to make sure it's clean of your personal data before you recycle it. You're in the right place! Now before we start, I HIGHLY recommend picking up a Torx drill bit set if you don't already have them (you'll need likely between T-5 and T-9 bits). I show you how to do it if you don't have them that small, but it will make things a LOT easier. Links to 2 kits I recommend below.
Step 1: Back up all your data off the drive. Pretty self explanitory.
Step 2: Wipe the data digitally using www.dban.org. They have a free option that works well. If you've got a little bit of a budget and are super serious about this, they have a premium package that's diesel.
Step 3: Open the drive, find the platter and use sandpaper to scratch it up.
Step 4 (optional) use a drill with a metal-cutting drill bit to bore holes in the platter.
Here are links to the two cheapest Torx bit sets that I would recommend - one is good if you'll use a drill, and the other is a stand-alone kit that works on it's own (affiliate links, so at no cost to you I'll get a tiiiiiny commission if you use the link to buy it):
Torx screwdriver bit set (if you have a drill): amzn.to/3dWbPSw
Torx screwdriver kit: amzn.to/3dSz2oX
Twitter:
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@The_ChrisBryant
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www.EmpireStudiosNYC.com
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www.Studio12Academy.com

[@marisaburt9609]

Was helpful. The most helpful part was look for ways to open it! I pried it open. Then destroyed it like you showed.

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

So glad it helped you! Yeah, getting the thing open can be a chore for sure. =)

[@jorgejorhoe3129]

My screwdriver set (Radio Shack 6400185) has more sizes, and makes it easy to remove the hub screws, to get the platters out. I ran the neodymium magnet over all of the platter surfaces, but have seen info that this might not be as effective as you think. I then took an Exacto blade, and made spoke lines on them. Sandpaper is a good idea, thanks! In the future, some archaeologist will retrieve it, throw it in a machine that scans it in, and will probably be able to see 80% of what's there.

[@jorgejorhoe3129]

I then threw out the platter in the garbage, while taking the rest of the HD to a metal recycling place . . . now I'm thinking . . . I'll just do the above, forget the sandpaper part, too much work . . . and include the platters in what I take to the metal recycling place . . . and they will physically destroy it that way for me The case parts have some good metal in them, on my to figure out list is, is there a way to get more money for them, than at the metal recycling place?

[@RobDymott]

I was hoping for more hammers, flames & general smashing... 😉 useful video dude thanks

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

Ha! I'll have to remember that for next time. =D Thanks, Rob, glad you found it useful. =)

[@bmla88]

What did you do with the bits and pieces of the destroyed hard drive? Best buy?

[@victorfigueroa9385]

Just power on the driver while open, then while its running, sand it down with some sandpaper.

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

I understand the thinking behind that, but it's just too easy to get your fingers caught or pinched in a bad way. I wouldn't recommend that.

[@FoxRivers778]

Wiping is not an option when the drive fails mechanically so you have to physically destroy it anyway. Now some WD drives do not have torx screws. It's some other type. How do I remove these?

[@crystalrainbow19]

A lot of fluffing around here. I think I'll just use a nuclear bomb on mine XD

[@skykingimagery899]

Very nice but what if you have 10 drives? Too much work. Once you bent the disc you were done.. In the end who is going to go to all the trouble of trying to read this disc once discarded?

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

10 drives requires a bit more work for sure, but it also means there's x10 data that's out there for someone to try to get. Chances are probably pretty good that no one will try reading the disc once it's discarded, but you could also think of it this way: if you threw your wallet in a garbage can, who would find it and try to do some damage with it? A discarded hard drive can look a lot like a full wallet to the right person. For me, it's not worth taking that chance, no matter how small.

[@skykingimagery899]

@@ChrisBryantVideo Still think this is overkill. No need to open the drive. Just discard the entire memory board so there is no interface to the drive. I then take to local recycling center where they shred everything. All drives with no interface board.

[@Nobody8687]

hello my harddisk 1tb disk 0 and 2tb disk 3 so change disk 3 disk 0 help me

[@Sal4Ro]

Thanks, Chris, great info. I'm always skittish about chucking hard drives. Were you the guy responsible for deleting Hilary Clinton HD's? Lol jk, I just couldn't resist! 😜

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

Thanks, Sal! Yeah, I used to be, too, until I learned this. You never realize just how much personally identifiable information is on your drives until you do a search for all .doc, .pdf files and see what you've got. Not uncommon for PDF versions of old tax returns, bank statements, etc. Scary if a drive that only had it's contents deleted gets in the wrong hands. I wouldn't expect you miss the opportunity to bring up her hard drives. =D

[@Flintlock85]

What is the point of the Boot & Nuke if I am just going to drill holes in the disc plates and/or cut them into multiple pieces with a grinder?

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

I wanted to ensure there's no way anyone could recover anything... it's a failsafe in case areas of the platter were missed when damaging it. Technology is always improving, and my thought is that certainly there's a way to read data off a portion of a recovered platter. Boot & Nuke will help eliminate that concern. Basically it's a CYA kind of thing.

[@Flintlock85]

@@ChrisBryantVideo Makes sense...thanks!

[@dthompson9355]

I have a WD external HD that does not work so I cannot use Dban to erase it. How can I destroy it? Shred it wants to charge me $250 for the one hard drive. Thanks

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

If it was me, I'd just skip the Dban step and move on to physically destroying it.

[@ruthdavis103]

Hi Chris, what if your desk top computer doesn't come on. Do I just destroy the hard drive?

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

A desktop that won't turn on could be any number of things (although a corrupt hard drive is near the top of the list). It could also be the power supply itself, an issue with the RAM, or simply a loose cable inside somewhere. That said, if the computer is truly unrecoverable, you've backed up the drive already and want to get rid of the computer, yes - go ahead and destroy the drive. However, if you haven't backed up the drive and have things on it you'd like to save, I'd recommend getting a hard drive docking station like this (amzn.to/3iYzqVB). Just make sure it's compatible with the size of your hard drive. This way you bypass the computer, and can use another computer (laptop, etc) to essentially allow you to use it like an external drive (or big USB stick). If the drive is recoverable this way, you'll be able to pull off the data from it. Good luck, Ruth!

[@ulinawiadanvdo]

Can I send mine to you and pay you to destroy mine? I am not able to do all of that. I have 3 that are dead.

[@BrittyRo12345]

Pretty sure it's unreadable without the sandpaper homie it was literally bent at a 90 degree angle.

[@bobbright4391]

Why i didn't fownd you sooner !?

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

Ha ha! Well I'm glad you did. =D Hope it helped you, Bob!

[@bobbright4391]

@@ChrisBryantVideo yes it was thx aloot 💟

[@HeenaPatel253]

Do how to destroy an ssd

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

The short answer: use a hammer and physically destroy it. Drilling holes in it will still allow some data to be read. Note: it's illegal in most places to burn it (not to mention also REALLY bad to breathe in the fumes).

[@HeenaPatel253]

Chris Bryant ok

[@joshwayop]

I mean just having the disks unaligned makes them unreadable 😂😂😂

[@ChrisBryantVideo]

A motivated person can easily remove the disks and insert them into an undamaged drive housing and read the data.

[@joshwayop]

@@ChrisBryantVideo if its a multiable disk platter the disks have the be aligned with one another or esle its not readable

[@cryp0g00n4]

This is too much work

[@mooncricket1376]

Wow! You go on and on to say something simple. Did not have all day to listen. Ugh. Moved on to another video.