Backups: DVDs or flash drives?

[Nords]

I got weird looks from my neighbors today, smashing hard drives in the front yard. Nothing prevents identity theft like a 5 pound sledge!

I sure hope you were done using them... or is this some kind of IT-related stress-relief vengeance?

 

[Danny]

Bury in the backyard anything you don't want people to find

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Make sure you open the drive so that you can see if you actually did any damage to the disk itself. I've whacked a few disks to smithereens only to pry the lid back and see a completely undamaged platter.

Best option I've seen for non destructive disposal is to stick it in the diaper genie and make it part of the diaper genie 'sausage'. I dont think anyones going to poke around in there for valuables.

 

[Nords]

Best option I've seen for non destructive disposal is to stick it in the diaper genie and make it part of the diaper genie 'sausage'. I dont think anyones going to poke around in there for valuables.

You've clearly never been around submarine auxiliary-systems machinist's mates...

My excuse is that I was required to inspect the tanks prior to bolting the covers back on.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ever find any disk drives in there?

 

[Nords]

Ever find any disk drives in there?

When I left sea duty in 1992, everything equipped with a disk platter or a computer chip was too big to fit through a submarine toilet's 3" flushing valve.

I'm sure that flash drives & cell phones have brought some unwelcome changes on that front...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

When I left sea duty in 1992, everything equipped with a disk platter or a computer chip was too big to fit through a submarine toilet's 3" flushing valve.

I know a challenge when I hear one.

 

[laurence]

If anyone recovers data from those drives, I deserve to have my identity stolen! I start with the onboard chips, usually 2-3 blows to crack those up. Then I turn them over and just happily pound away until the center is pounded down enough to pop open the sides to see in. Scratchy scratchy with the flat head screw driver, and we sleep well at night. Plenty of hard drives thrown away with no damage done to them. Like the saying goes, I don't have to outrun the bear, just the other guy.

BCWipe is a great tool to run on your drives before you take the mallet to it.

 

[chinaco]

Suggestion: Do a yearly DVD backup... and intermediate Flash backups throughout the year. If you backup the all your docs on the flash drive, The most you might lose is 1 year of data. I would suggest that you do the yearly DVD backup right after you file your taxes.

Alternately, you just backup new documents and documents that have changed, you can get by with a much smaller flash drive. But... remember, flash drive do fail!

Oh... put the DVD somewhere other than the house if you want to protect yourself against loss from fire.

 

[FinallyRetired]

I would open up the hard drive by removing all the little screws and putting a large magnet to the plates inside. Afterwards, destroy those plates. If those plates are still in tack, information can be retrieved from them (not by the average person of course).

Here's an easier solution for the average person:

YouTube - apologies to Office Space

 

[saluki9]

Here's an easier solution for the average person:

YouTube - apologies to Office Space

To all the youngsters out there, let me share this lesson.

Shooting a metal object at near point blank range is a good way to prove Mr Darwin right.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Dont laugh...competition for the "almost a darwin award winner" is very strong this year.

SK Man Hurts Himself Trying to Loosen Lug Nut -- With a Shotgun : Code 911 : Kitsap Sun

 

[TromboneAl]

YouTube - apologies to Office Space

Anyone notice that his first two shots, from four feet away, missed completely?

 

[FinallyRetired]

To all the youngsters out there, let me share this lesson.

Shooting a metal object at near point blank range is a good way to prove Mr Darwin right.

Well, give the dude a break, he's not the best shot. Did you notice his first two bullets from a few feet away missed? If he had shot from much further away he may have hit half the neighborhood.

 

[samclem]

Dont laugh...competition for the "almost a darwin award winner" is very strong this year.

SK Man Hurts Himself Trying to Loosen Lug Nut -- With a Shotgun : Code 911 : Kitsap Sun

Let he who has never wanted to shoot his car chamber the first round.
The most surprising thing about this story is that it didn't happen in a southern state. Washington State--who'd a thunk it?

 

[Kwirk]

I built a Windows Home Server recently. It's mostly intended as a 5 TB bit bucket for DW's HDTV 'collection.' It sits in the basement with no keyboard or monitor, just a wired network connection.

It has additional benefits. It automatically backs up all networked computers each night. The file server makes copies of all photos and other irreplaceable files on 2 separate hard disks. And, it comes with a domain name that makes it accessible from the internet via HTTPS.

You can build your own now with OEM software or look for the commercial products becoming available. Enthusiasts have built servers with junk parts lying around.

Windows Home Server

 

[FinallyRetired]

Let he who has never wanted to shoot his car chamber the first round.
The most surprising thing about this story is that it didn't happen in a southern state. Washington State--who'd a thunk it?

Why is that surprising? Only difference, if it had been in a southern state it wouldn't have made the news.

 

[samclem]

Okay, here's an approach to data backup that is fairly unique. Just print out the digital data as a bitmap onto a piece of paper, scan it in to reconstruct it. 5KB of data will fit on an 8.5" x 11" page.

PaperBack