PC Tech Thread

Can you get caddies

You can, but is it worth it when a 128GB USB flash drive costs the same or less?

We already own the SSD and presumably it already has her data on it so it's, let's say, an old backup. It's more about putting to use something we already have rather than buying a new thing.

Ok, different question.

Is there any hdd data wiper you'd actually trust and is there a market for old hard drives?

I remember using Norton or something in the olden days to do "three pass military grade yada yada" data wipes of old drives before they went to recycling but nowadays I'm not sure.

On Ebay it looks like it might "make" £6 instead of costing £6 for the caddy.

Is there a better use? Just send it to recycling or is there a charity that could make use of it?

It's more about putting to use something we already have rather than buying a new thing

Buying a caddy is probably more resource depletion than buying a USB flash drive

Ok, so I'm not buying either.

What can I do with a used 128gb SSD?

Pretty sure the inbuilt windows one is decent enough. Can specify the number of full passes it does, overwriting every sector with a random number each time
E.g.
Format F: /P:4

Is there any hdd data wiper you'd actually trust and is there a market for old hard drives?

I assume Norton Utilities still was a wipe feature, but the three-pass Mil-spec thing related to magnetic domains which were not always fully covered by a rewrite to the same address due to mechanical inaccuracies. SSD doesn't have the same issue, so just writing junk files to the full capacity should eliminate any possibility of data recovery by an adversary.

There is a market for pre-owned discs, but 128GB must be below the point where anybody is interested, they're barely over £10 new even from reputable brands.

ORLY? I did not know that. I just have vague memories of using some DOS utility many years ago.

Basically, I never throw HDDs out and when I left Oz I physically destroyed the ones I was getting rid of.

What can I do with a used 128gb SSD?

Put it in the WEEE bin

I also have a few TB of magnetic drives that I should do something with.
Wipe and sell or what though? I just thought because of the size of the SSD it would be neat to use it as a USB drive. I've got two caddies here with older laptop SSD drives in just for shits and giggles.

Problem is I'll need to stick it in something to wipe it.

Shit, we're back to needing a caddy :)

Wipe and sell or what though?

If this were the US, the answer would be obvious; draw a bead on the spindle from about 10 yards and pop a 12ga slug though it.

Again, your admirably green aspiration comes up against the fact that reputable brand spinny discs are in the region of £25 per TB new. You'd probably even get turned away at IT charities.

we're back to needing a caddy

Or an anvil

I'm going to the US later in the year. I wonder what border control will think of a suitcase full of HDDs? I could also do the same thing in Oz. There's a military rifle range I've shot at before that I'm sure I could find a suitable weapon to make light work of these.

Maybe I'll just pull the side off my PC and plug them in temporarily to wipe and then see if I can find a charity or recycling taker.

SSD doesn't have the same issue, so just writing junk files to the full capacity should eliminate any possibility of data recovery by an adversary.

+duncs +hippy

A SSD does not directly expose its storage blocks to the OS, only an abstraction to allow for wear levelling, so you should use the manufacturer's 'secure erase' tool. There might be one in the manufacturer's GUI toolkit, or something on their website that runs from DOS/USB.

Thanks.

If they're worth so little to people I'll probably just snap it in half and throw it in the electronics recycling.

https://dban.org/ will do the right thing to wipe data for the drive type and knows how to deal with SSDs. Don't use DBAN for SSDs.

Just remember to wipe the drive, then write "BITCOIN BACKUP" on it and turf it into the WEEE bin at the tip.

I'd probably go for a caddy as you can use it for wiping the drive, throw that drive away, and then use the caddy for any future SSDs that you may have/need/etc.

it needs to work with the banking app. It needs to be wired, as I think that will be harder for the app to block.

Its a very specific request.

But thanks I guess.

Turns out a samsung A22 cant do any flipping screen mirror of any kind anyway!
ffs Im jumping through hoops to dispute a prepayment meter debt that doesnt even exist.!
Ive got a dslr round here somewhere...

That page clearly says

Delete information stored on hard disk drives (HDDs, not SSDs) ... It cannot detect or erase SSDs

Thanks, everyday is a school day. It used to I'm sure, but obviously not now...

needs to work with the banking app

Can't you download statements as PDF from the bank app?

You can get basic caddies really cheap.

When I asked about them previously lots of people said they were unstable and unreliable. But that is on the assumption that you're using them like a normal external HD. My use case sounds similar to yours - wanted to access the information initially after an SSD upgrade, then after store them in a neat and protective manner just in case. Clear plastic ones are easier to write on and allow you to see through to the HD lable - just in case you do it for more than one.

https://m.fr.aliexpress.com/item/4000219528384.html?

What can I do with a used 128gb SSD?

I had this recently with two SSDs which weren't working due to being fried by water damage to my PC but which I wasn't 100% sure weren't still accessible.

I drilled through the memory chips and put them in the WEEE, no need for guns or a caddy.

Anyone had issues with Zoom crashing constantly?

Used my laptop with no problems for the first three years of lockdown but finally got round to a proper webcam (Logitech C920) in Jan. Teams works fine but Zoom crashes all the time with both the app and browser.

Suggestions I've found online are mostly patronisingly simplistic (make sure software and drivers are up to date) with the exception of disabling hardware acceleration in Zoom's settings which I tried without any improvement.

Teams is absolutely fine.

No problems, i also have a C920