My son told me to take the hard drive out and smash it up with a hammer though.
We have just taken a previous one to the tip also,again after smashing up the hard drive.
Smashing hard drives with a hammer is dangerous and should
never be recommended.
Using the right software to wipe the disk should be sufficient (as Guy says, formatting alone doesn't work).
Removing the PCB by undoing the screws (not smashing it) and disposing of it separately makes it far more challenging to recover any data.
Opening the drive (by undoing the screws) will lead to contamination of the disk(s) sufficient to make it an expensive task (uneconomic) to recover any data.
Or leave the drive in the back of a cupboard or a drawer until it is so old the data has no value.
The hammer technique might sound like fun, but the other methods don't risk the loss of sight in someone's eye, broken bones, or the release of potentially damaging chemicals into the environment.
