LC III: Erase Hard Drive?

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If you just install the OS on the hard drive im sure that will stop 99.9% of people from retrieving your files. Additionally what could you really have on a computer that old thats probably still relevant?

As an added thought that .01% that can do anything would have to target your machine to retrieve the files. Unless you have a particularly interesting past I would say just re-install the OS and you'll be fine.



Social security numbers remain relevant. I can't afford to take even a 0.01% risk with identity theft.

All of the foregoing comments notwithstanding, I gather that there is no completely effective way to erase a hard drive and, therefore, no completely safe way to dispose of one, short of destroying it. This is a real pain in the a**, given that we all have computers.
 
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Social security numbers remain relevant. I can't afford to take even a 0.01% risk with identity theft.

All of the foregoing comments notwithstanding, I gather that there is no completely effective way to erase a hard drive and, therefore, no completely safe way to dispose of one, short of destroying it. This is a real pain in the a**, given that we all have computers.

someone would have to go looking for it and even know where to find it amongst all the bs they find from recovering your hard drive. If you wiped the hard drive and reinstall the OS which is replacing at least that space with more info there are seriously .000000000000000000000000000000001% of people that could find something on your hdd of any value to them. Additionally they would have to target you through that hard drive. If you are donating the machine to somewhere they are going to constantly be adding and erasing layers of stuff to that hard drive until it eventually fails or gets tossed out.

You probably have a better change of winning the lottery and while exiting the 711 with your winning ticket getting struck by lightning while a 45 foot giant mechanical shark chews your arm off..

Im not saying to be stupid with your data but someone is going to have to care AND have the ability after you have done your due diligence.

That being said I have a hard drive shredder at my work ;). But I would never throw a whole computer away, take it to an electronics recycler so it doesnt end up in a landfill if thats your concern.
 
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You're safe. No one is going to recover your data. However, if you're really that paranoid about it, you could download Norton Utilites (Download Norton Utilities 2.0 - Macintosh Garden) and try to undelete the files yourself and see what you can recover. It also comes with Wipe Info, but it's been a number of years since I've used it, so I don't recall if it has an option to zero out your free space.

There are other utilities that will zero your free space, but I can't recall them at the moment.
 

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...I gather that there is no completely effective way to erase a hard drive and, therefore, no completely safe way to dispose of one, short of destroying it.

There are definitely ways to effectively & securely erase a hard drive.

The problems we're facing in this instance is we are dealing with an almost 20 year-old computer...which requires very old software...which may or may not still be obtainable.

Like I already mentioned in two previous posts:

1. This computer is only worth about $10-$15 bucks...so you shouldn't get all bent out of shape over the ability or inability to erase the HD (from a financial standpoint). You're not losing much $$$ if you don't want to sell this computer due to not being able to easily & securely erase the HD.
2. Remove the HD from the computer...and smash it with a sledgehammer.
3. You could simply fill the HD with a bunch of "garbage" data (fill the HD with unimportant info). This will overwrite anything currently on the HD.
4. Pass the HD near a very very strong magnet to erase (or jumble up) all data.

It's very possible that the program (Norton Utilities 2.0) "aftermac" suggested will be able to securely erase all data.

Good luck,:)

- Nick
 
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those have a SCSI hard drive in them though dont they?
 

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those have a SCSI hard drive in them though dont they?

Yes they do. I know what you're thinking:;)

- remove the HD from the LC III
- install it in another newer computer
- securely erase the HD
- install the now securely erased HD back into the LC III

A great idea! Unfortunately that SCSI interface makes things difficult. If there was an easy way to interface a SCSI HD with an IDE or SATA based computer...this would be easy!:)

- Nick
 
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yah the only way I wipe SCSIs is by hooking them up to some old piece of junk dell server I keep around just for that.
 

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yah the only way I wipe SCSIs is by hooking them up to some old piece of junk dell server I keep around just for that.

Hey...that's a great idea. I'm usually thinking "Macintosh"...but an older Windows computer capable of interfacing with a SCSI HD would certainly do the trick (assuming good HD erasure tools)...which shouldn't be too hard.:)

I recently picked up an cheap Powermac G4 with a SCSI card in it. This will make working with older Mac SCSI drives much easier.

- Nick
 
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Taking the hard drive out was easier than taking the computer out of the box. lol.

Thanks for all your help, guys!
 

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Good deal man!:)

- Nick
 
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Now after all this you turn it into a thrift store and cause it want boot its going in the dumper.
 
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I just came back from the Apple store. They told me that my PowerBook G4 was crashing because the CPU could no longer keep up with current internet blah-blah-blah. And Apple no longer services anything that is more than five years old. So, the Goodwill is going to get a nice looking PB G4, after my 35-hour erase of the hard drive is complete.
 

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I just came back from the Apple store. They told me that my PowerBook G4 was crashing because the CPU could no longer keep up with current internet blah-blah-blah. And Apple no longer services anything that is more than five years old. So, the Goodwill is going to get a nice looking PB G4, after my 35-hour erase of the hard drive is complete.

Why not sell it on e-Bay or Craig's List?

- Nick
 
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Why not sell it on e-Bay or Craig's List?

- Nick


Because I am under the impression that it is of little value. The Genius Bar guys say that they have no parts for it, and even if they did, it would not work effectively on, for example, the internet.

What could I get for it on Craig's List, Nick?
 
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Because I am under the impression that it is of little value. The Genius Bar guys say that they have no parts for it, and even if they did, it would not work effectively on, for example, the internet.

Bah. My sister still uses a G4 Powerbook for pretty much just surfing the internet. Works just fine, unless they try to run the latest flash power crap. Then it just bogs down.
 
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Stretch, I was getting kernel panics, lock ups, crashes, and logged out of accounts, in addition to glacial processing speeds. The Geniuses said the hard drive was good and the memory was good, but the CPU is "worn out like an old car engine." Something like that. In any case, I wasn't able to make the thing work. I am just happy that my 35-hour erase seems to be going smoothly.
 

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Because I am under the impression that it is of little value. The Genius Bar guys say that they have no parts for it, and even if they did, it would not work effectively on, for example, the internet.

What could I get for it on Craig's List, Nick?

This thread originally was about an old LC III & now your talking about an old Powerbook G4. The LC III has very little value (working or not).

A Powerbook G4 (working or not) has more value than an LC III. A working computers value is easier to estimate than a non-working computer. But even not working...a Powerbook G4 is worth more than an LC III. Just put it on e-Bay...explain/describe the situation...and see what you get.

As far as the Apple Genius comment about the cpu being old & worn out...I never heard of such a thing! Electronics don't "wear-out" like car engines. Maybe there is something worn out in this Powerbook G4...it's not the cpu.;)

- Nick
 

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