How to access the hard drive?

[jillruss]

Thanks. That 'circular' thing turned out to be more like a figure of eight and is attached to the black slab which I think must be the hard drive.

The belt attachment is the one I can't seem to shift but, as I intend to dump the whole thing (having smashed the hard drive) I may as well just get some strong scissors and cut it out.

That'll be okay, won't it? (nothing's plugged in!)

Just seen your post, Ian - I'm now wondering if I've got the right thing because what I think is the hard drive has definitely got a belt affair stuck in it.

ADDED: now I can see your pic, Ian, I've deffo got the hard drive (phew!) but it does have a belt stuck in it! Remember, Noah used this PC on the Ark, so it may well be before your time!! Too hot for all this scrabbling about - I might prefer a round of golf!

[RJ_Paton]

If this "belt" is flat and attached to the back of the drive it is the connector cable  (see picture) and should unplug. Start at one side and tug it out or to save the effort, cut it as you are not going to reconnect anything else.

[jillruss]

One more question (I got side tracked by an injured cat!)

Do I need to try to unscrew the metal, figure of eight bit from the black slab before I smash it to pieces, as I can't see the metal bit breaking up easily? i.e. is it part of the hard drive and do I therefore need to also destroy it within an inch of its life?

[Dyingout]

Your Hard disk should look like this

The top shiny plate is quite thin smack that hard about 8 times should do it

[jillruss]

I'm looking forward to that bit!!!

[RJ_Paton]

The interior of the hard drive should look something like this image. The disc inside the casing is the target for destruction. It's actually quite a sensitive soul and the aforementioned "8 hits" should see its demise. (although made from different materials its about the size and thickness of a DVD but not as flexible)

PS although extremely therapeutic - especially if you recall the hassles it has given you in the past please remember to wear some form of protective face or eye gear

[andrewalston]

The spinning platters are actually made of a sort of glass, because it is very smooth and doesn't bend easily.

It does, however, break very much like the glass you use in windows if you clobber it.

Leaving the lid on will reduce the risk to eye damage, and also the mess, although eye protection is HIGHLY recommended.

In places were I worked, we had to have the drives with the most sensitive data physically shredded. The contractors brought along a machine quite like those you see shredding up tree branches, but with stronger teeth and better enclosed. We were the ones who got to throw stuff in the inlet - very satisfying.

YouTube has many videos of shredders being used to chew up large objects, including whole vehicles.

[jillruss]

I'm failing at the final hurdle. I tried hammering the thing without separating the black bit from the metal bit but I hardly made a dent!

So I undid the 6 screws which look as if they held the two pieces together - but it remains clamped together! My thinking was that, if I could get into the interior,  I could smash the CD-like disc to pieces as it looked as if I don't have the strength to smash the whole thing. How disappointing!!

i even found some plastic safety glasses! Do I now need to find something to prise the black slab and the metal bit apart?

(This is turning into War And Peace - sorry!)

[Michael J]

The inside has had all the air evacuated so there is no drag on the disk & arm; having removed the screws all you need to do is break the vacuum.

Also, on the drive I took apart the disk was made of metal with a very smooth shiny finish - I had to use a pair of pliers to deform it.

Michael.