Thinking about upgrading or replacing your old computer? Or maybe you are just replacing an old hard drive with a new one. Have you given any thought to what you are going to do with the old ones? If you are going to give them to a trusted friend or relative, I don't think I would worry to much about it. However if you are going to throw them away or donate them somewhere, you need to consider erasing the hard drives. You have probably forgotten much of what is on your hard drive, there might be some very personal and confidential information on them. This is one way the bad guys are stealing peoples identities.
There are several methods for erasing your hard drive, such as reformatting and reinstalling an operating system. You can also purchase programs that are designed to completely erase the content on your hard drive, or at least that's what they claim. There are some really sophisticated recovery programs out there that are capable of recovering information that is supposed to be gone.
I have listed a couple articles written on this subject for you to look at and make up your own mind on how to erase an old hard drive.
Hard-Disk Risk
Clean the Hard Drive Before Dumping Your PC
As for me, I will take a hammer to it and bust it into as many pieces as I can.
WAIT !!!!, I have recently found a new use for those old working hard drives, take a look at this article I recently wrote. Read More