When you dispose of that old computer, mobile phone or laptop have you ever wondered what happens to the data? With so much personal information stored on these devices, you should be careful what happens to your old hard drive. Even data that you think has been securely deleted may well be recoverable with basic data recovery software.

Removing a hard drive from a Windows device is relatively easy. Apple devices on the other hand can be much more complicated and if you don’t want to break the device, sometimes it’s best to leave it to the professionals. For example, removing a hard drive from a MacBook Pro is a complicated procedure starting with the dismantling of the keyboard. Whereas a Windows laptop will simply involve a couple of screws on the underside and hey presto! PCs have a sliding panel which reveal the hard drive.

If you want to permanently destroy the data, physically breaking the hard disk drive is the best option. Here at Data Recovery Specialists, all our old hard drives are granulated by a professional data destruction company on our premises. Granulation may be a bit extreme for the home user! A screwdriver and a hammer are all you need. Quite simply punch through the chassis making sure there is a hole at the entry point and at the exit. This will destroy the platters rendering the hard drive unresponsive to any subsequent data recovery attempts. Follow this advice and your data will not fall into any disreputable hands!