So, I kept lugging a bag of drives through each move.
My friend Clinton has recently returned from Europe, and he brought me a gift: a Swiss-made Victorinox, the 'CyberTool'. After playing with it for several minutes I noticed it came with a Torx 8, 10 and 15 bit. This was a reminder that one method of mostly disabling a hard drive is to destroy the platters.
Other methods I have heard are to use a hammer and nails - which I unfortunately don't have in our tiny apartment. Whilst finishing Dexter I started pulling apart the box of hard drives, and it surprisingly didn't take long to disable them.
Step 1: Remove Torx screws
![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YpY4amWquRA/TpgIGpDverI/AAAAAAAAC8U/Rq27CWRE8hk/s400/IMG_20111014_185852.jpg)
Hint: Don't forget the screw covered under the paper.
Step 2: Use a flathead and pop off the cover
![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0XqZzoX27qI/TpgIQ7j5uWI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/zB79bsdNxRs/s400/IMG_20111014_185947.jpg)
Step 3: Stare at the shiny platters
![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HJytEYXLAQw/TpgIR6huCCI/AAAAAAAAC8c/5-8PC3d5AYY/s400/IMG_20111014_190003.jpg)
Step 4: Scratch platters with flathead, and bend platters if possible
![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XBZO6KBJ5H8/TpgISxasnVI/AAAAAAAAC8g/V3H6a6kIuJg/s400/IMG_20111014_190303.jpg)
Step 5: Dispose of bits and pieces
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J7PTu0XIepM/TpgITwd7srI/AAAAAAAAC8k/Xo-GJgHvF3k/s400/IMG_20111014_192607.jpg)
Warning! The CyberTool didn't have a Torx small enough to open the 2.5" hard drives, but I could just use a pair of pliers to lift up the cover and jam a flathead in there. However, and here's the warning, 2.5" platters are sometimes not made of metal. I forgot about this on the third 2.5" hard drive and covered the desk I share with YS with shards of glass.