Technology Thread.

[jaffka]

Just take a hammer to your old pcs hard drive etc. Worth nowt and you can bin without worry.

[Montreal Wanderer]

Just take a hammer to your old pcs hard drive etc. Worth nowt and you can bin without worry.

Might well be the way I'll go Dibs.

Fantastic difference in the Dell unit. Old one was E Systems and needed a shovel of coke every hour or so. This is fast and has Windows XP Pro. Life's good and we're rolling again.

Reformatting is less physical labour but possibly less satisfying then the Dibs approach.

[thebish]

Just take a hammer to your old pcs hard drive etc. Worth nowt and you can bin without worry.

Might well be the way I'll go Dibs.

Fantastic difference in the Dell unit. Old one was E Systems and needed a shovel of coke every hour or so. This is fast and has Windows XP Pro. Life's good and we're rolling again.

Reformatting is less physical labour but possibly less satisfying then the Dibs approach.

and - probably more effective, as reformatting doesn't actually delete very much... (as you said previously)

[Dujon]

If you are throwing away the old drive(s) TANGO then I'd take the ossifer's advice. Formatting a drive will not stop someone with the capability from rescuing 'deleted' information. It'll take you a few minutes, but the physical damage you can do to them will normally discourage even the keenest of snoops. Rather than a hammer I prefer a screwdriver, emery paper and a bit of physical distortion. It's usually easy to dismantle the case of a hard drive and, once that's done, even easier to 'vandalise' the workings inside. Over the years a small number of my outdated drives have suffered this indignity - not because there was anything illegal on them but to destroy, as has already been pointed out, any private information such as passwords etc..

[TANGODANCER]

If you are throwing away the old drive(s) TANGO then I'd take the ossifer's advice. Formatting a drive will not stop someone with the capability from rescuing 'deleted' information. It'll take you a few minutes, but the physical damage you can do to them will normally discourage even the keenest of snoops. Rather than a hammer I prefer a screwdriver, emery paper and a bit of physical distortion. It's usually easy to dismantle the case of a hard drive and, once that's done, even easier to 'vandalise' the workings inside. Over the years a small number of my outdated drives have suffered this indignity - not because there was anything illegal on them but to destroy, as has already been pointed out, any private information such as passwords etc..

Aye, I've been inside the cases a few times,Dujon, cleaning, adding extra memory etc, so that's no bother. Demolition begins tomomrrow. Thanks for the advice everybody.

[Dujon]

No, TANGO, I'm typing about the hard drive itself, not the case which contains the hard drive(s), motherboard, power supply and other bits and bobs. Apart from the hard drive(s) there is nothing else inside the computer case that requires attention.

[TANGODANCER]

No, TANGO, I'm typing about the hard drive itself, not the case which contains the hard drive(s), motherboard, power supply and other bits and bobs. Apart from the hard drive(s) there is nothing else inside the computer case that requires attention.

Aye, got you Dujon.

[Annoyed Grunt]

Got this free through the iTunes 12 days of Xmas app:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/score!- ... 52152?mt=8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Decent enough to kill some time.

[Prufrock]

Aye, had a go on that AG, good fun.

[Annoyed Grunt]

Free episode of the Beebs Sherlock today..

[boltonboris]

Aye, had a go on that AG, good fun.

Massively addictive

[a1]

If you are throwing away the old drive(s) TANGO then I'd take the ossifer's advice. Formatting a drive will not stop someone with the capability from rescuing 'deleted' information. It'll take you a few minutes, but the physical damage you can do to them will normally discourage even the keenest of snoops. Rather than a hammer I prefer a screwdriver, emery paper and a bit of physical distortion. It's usually easy to dismantle the case of a hard drive and, once that's done, even easier to 'vandalise' the workings inside. Over the years a small number of my outdated drives have suffered this indignity - not because there was anything illegal on them but to destroy, as has already been pointed out, any private information such as passwords etc..

that's not true.

Blancco.com or some different such freeware company make software that deletes proper unrecoverable* deletes, or just blanking it then fully filling it with ginormous files like films and music "goes over" were the 'passwords' and such were.

no point adding to landfill, when the drives are perfectly good. theres a "e-waste" campaign advocating doing that ^ rather than chucking out stuff.

* theres rumours you can 'unrecover' even these with electron microscopes. but no one is gonna spend a million pound buying one and engineering the software and go skip diving just to maybe recover a credit card number with £400 max limit on it and a coupla photos that arent on facebook coz lens flare spoiled them.

using these softwares seems faster than unscrewing a hard disk piece by piece and scratching it with sandpapers

[Dujon]

I beg to differ, a1.

It's true that there are programs around that will overwrite a disc to the point of a reasonable level of security, but a standard re-formatting via the operating system will generally not. That was my point; if I was being unclear in my comment then I apologise.

Unfortunately, a1, - whilst I agree with you on recycling - who really wants an old 25Gb drive, even for temporary storage, these days? Should TANGO be giving his old computer away "as is" then, yes, using one of the mentioned programs would be the solution.

[TANGODANCER]

I beg to differ, a1.

It's true that there are programs around that will overwrite a disc to the point of a reasonable level of security, but a standard re-formatting via the operating system will generally not. That was my point; if I was being unclear in my comment then I apologise.

Unfortunately, a1, - whilst I agree with you on recycling - who really wants an old 25Gb drive, even for temporary storage, these days? Should TANGO be giving his old computer away "as is" then, yes, using one of the mentioned programs would be the solution.

It's old and well knackered Dujon. I wouldn't be doing anyone any favours. If I thought differently I'd think about giving it to a school maybe, but it isn't worth it. I'll scrap it after a dose of hammer rash.

[a1]

I beg to differ, a1.

It's true that there are programs around that will overwrite a disc to the point of a reasonable level of security, but a standard re-formatting via the operating system will generally not. That was my point; if I was being unclear in my comment then I apologise.

Unfortunately, a1, - whilst I agree with you on recycling - who really wants an old 25Gb drive, even for temporary storage, these days? Should TANGO be giving his old computer away "as is" then, yes, using one of the mentioned programs would be the solution.

the only time ive ever broke up a hard disk (whats in them? will it kill me?) , is when it were that broken, the format/delete/boot commands didnt even work. it sounded like a rusty gate. the data copied to another new one though. O_o

but, yeah 'format' is not the same as 'delete and go over with random data'. not now, not under windows, anyroad.

[Dujon]

Indeed, a1. You were lucky being able to rescue your data. I'm not sure what the system is these days but in years of yore the boot sectors were always on the first few tracks of a hard drive and there was no choice for an alternative location. That meant that if the disc became physically damaged on those sectors you were stuck. It didn't mean though that the system wouldn't recognise the drive if you could boot from another source. I suspect that you were fortunate as when the drives sound awful, as yours did, there's every chance it's going to fail totally in the not too distant future which means that all your precious data have gone to heaven.

Purely as a matter of interest: Back in the '80s there was an undocumented (I think) command which allowed a hard drive to be 'low level' formatted. I rescued a few hard drives over those years by using it. Basically you did the low level format, which in theory reduced the platter(s) to a virgin state, and then a 'normal' format which laid down the usual pattern for the D.O.S. Of course it's necessary to remember that hard drives, like memory, cost an arm and a leg in those days. Today, with hard drives being incredibly cheap, it wouldn't be worth the effort or, for a customer, the cost.

Right, the rest of you can wake up now.

[TANGODANCER]

Of course it's necessary to remember that hard drives, like memory, cost an arm and a leg in those days. Today, with hard drives being incredibly cheap, it wouldn't be worth the effort or, for a customer, the cost.
Right, the rest of you can wake up now.

It'll be about twenty years ago I first started working for a major computer company,Dujon. (not, I add, in the technology side,) But then, buildings weren't alarmed, and all the desks had chains on them to chain the pc's down to avoid theft.. The thieves, it seems, were after silicon chips (I'll stand correction on that) in the computers. Security, etc, tightened considerably later on, but before I left they were giving them away to recyclers and actually paying to have them taken away.

[Dujon]

[Tango] How the world turns!

[a1] I might be talking to the converted. I was hesitant to give the command required for the low level format as I don't trust my memory these days on archaic systems. It is g=c800:5

There's information on http://support.microsoft.com/kb/60089" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nearly thirty years later and I still got it right! The next time my wife castigates me for forgetting where I put something I shall draw this little conversation out of my hat (if I can remember where I put it) and throw it across the room with a laugh of contempt for her presumptuousness.

[TANGODANCER]

Got my new Superhub router from Virgin this week . Combined with the new pc the difference is amazing. New pc (although not totally brand new) is Dell and has XP Professional so, hopefully, my problems are ended.

[thebish]

Got my new Superhub router from Virgin this week . Combined with the new pc the difference is amazing. New pc (although not totally brand new) is Dell and has XP Professional so, hopefully, my problems are ended.

more and faster Tango posts!! everyone's a winner!!