[lug] drive free space "wiper" recommendation

[Glenn Murray]

If I never thought the disk would be used again, then why not destroy
and recycle it?  However, if it's an old computer that you are
repurposing, selling, or giving away, then why not just erase?  It
doesn't seem particularly risky to me.

Cheers,
Glenn

On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 8:14 PM, Chip Atkinson <chip at pupman.com> wrote:
...
> Initially there was a requirement(?) that the drive not be destroyed
> because of not wanting to be wasteful.  However, are you really going to
> use these tiny drives ever again?  Are you not being more wasteful by
> occupying space that you are paying for (rent or mortgage) with drives
> that will never be used?
>
> It seems that the optimal way to handle old disks is to find the fastest
> way to make the data inaccessible, either through destruction or dd.
> Then strip the circuit board, send the disk to metals recycling and the
> circuit board to electronic recycling and you are free.