"Debbie" wrote in message news:77098.29233.qm@web30304.mail.mud.yahoo.com... > PICers > > I have a bunch of CDs and hard drive discs that I need to destroy. As in > physical destruction rather than mere erasure. > > 1/ The plastic CDs & DVDs ... i've been wrapping them in an old cloth and > smashing them with a sledge hammer. Good fun but slow and highly labour > intensive and there's a hundred or more to go. :( You can buy shredders at office supply stores that have a cd/dvd slot. That's a lot less effort than smashing them with a hammer. > 2/ I dismantled the HDD units and removed the actual metal disc from each. > I > have 6 of the older, large 13cm diam ones and 8 of the smaller 9.5cm > discs. > Not sure what the metal is - it's tough like steel but light like > aluminium. > The big ones are copper coloured. > > Do people have ideas for destroying these? (It's a security issue.) Since you've already dismantled them, I guess a really good HD erase program is out of the question. Throw them on top of a really hot fire (charcoal grill)? Smash them with the sledge until they're so bent up there would be no hope of reading anything off of them? > I thought with the plastic CDs I could dissolve them in acetone but then > I'll > have to dispose of the chemical waste. A shredder will make quick work of CD's without the toxic mess. Jeff -- A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. -- Einstein -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist