Low capacity 3 1/2 HDD. Any value or use? - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

whyperion · 22nd Oct 2013, 4:05 pm

Not disposing yet. My latest acquisitions are joining my test piles for now, but at some time some will become spare to me.

Do I dump / dismantle for scrap or anyone running embedded or old systems that would value them?

Typical are Fujitsu 2.14Gb, WD (AT) 1.6Gb , Also Fujitsu 3, 4 and 6gb examples.

With the cheap SD cards with high storage etc (and yet more programme and data using up applications ) there is not much present day use I can think of for them, but would be interested what others would use them for.

AC/HL · 22nd Oct 2013, 4:43 pm

They're certainly usable, to upgrade an older computer for instance, but as far bigger drives go for pocket money these days the postage would make them unattractive.

22nd Oct 2013, 4:48 pm

Unlike old radios which where junked by the thousand (and now collected by the likes of us) it is easy to keep a few for the future. In a short while (10 years or so) someone will want one. Leave them in the loft with a descriptive lable attached.

G6Tanuki · 22nd Oct 2013, 7:02 pm

I'd say they have really rather limited usability: they're not big enough to hold a mainstream operating-system released this millennium. Keeping them in the attic 'just in case' isn't necessarily going to work either - left unused for long periods, HDDs have a nasty tendency to develop stiction in the motor and the head-positioning mechanism which renders them unserviceable.

Recently I smashed-up [or rather, 'percussively reformatted'] a whole pile of 160Gb drives. The only ones I bother keeping at 160Gb or less capacity are the 15,000RPM SCSI variety, which can still have use as swap-space.

greasylox · 23rd Oct 2013, 2:04 pm

They'll have some nice strong magnets in them, useful for keepng screws together on the bench, sweeping filings off the workshop carpet (put them inside a bank cash bag first).

whyperion · 27th Oct 2013, 5:39 pm

I would have found a couple of 160Gb ones useful .

Anyway now added , a 2.5in 810mb , Two 3.5in Floppy Drives (one has some jumpers on the on-board controllers, Two 5.25 in Floppy Drives ( why are the metal on these always rusted ? ) Additional FUJITSU: M2611T 45MB drive in a black faced bay that I think is an IBM PC original , but not certain as I cannot recall the exact computer at present.

paulsherwin · 27th Oct 2013, 6:15 pm

The minimum size to be any use now is 20GB, which is pefectly adequate to install a modern Linux or XP. There won't be much space for the gigbytes of movies etc. which so many people seem to store though. I still consider 160GB a big disk.

The system I'm typing this on is based on a couple of 18.2GB 15,000rpm SCSI drives taken from an old server, which give good performance. If I need extra space I plug in a USB drive or provide some networked storage.

Code:

paul@laura:~$ df
Filesystem     1K-blocks    Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1       16339372 3978488  11530884  26% /
udev             1023460       4   1023456   1% /dev
tmpfs             412304     872    411432   1% /run
none                5120       0      5120   0% /run/lock
none             1030756       0   1030756   0% /run/shm
/dev/sdb1       17503564  176068  16438360   2% /data
paul@laura:~$

Very small drives (10GB and down) are really just paperweights now.

27th Oct 2013, 6:24 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

percussively reformatted

I like it! I am quite careful with my old disks just in case someone 'unformats' them, they usually get a thermal reformat (chuck on bonfire). They really aren't worth anything.

paulsherwin · 27th Oct 2013, 6:39 pm

I would ask people not to physically destroy old drives of a usable size. It is trivially easy to overwrite them so that any data can't be recovered. Don't believe all the horror stories you read where drives have been bought on eBay containing confidential information - invariably these have not been scrubbed properly prior to disposal.

There are plenty of forum members who will give old drives a home and will happily pay the p&p.

G6Tanuki · 27th Oct 2013, 8:06 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

percussively reformatted

My other 'industrial strength' erasure approach is what I describe as a [Black&Decker|Bosch] Reformat - basically drilling a few dozen holes through the platters with a suitable power-drill.

That satisfies my personal "comply with CESG IL4 data-destruction guidelines" instincts.

whyperion · 28th Oct 2013, 12:38 pm

I have got drives gullotined in half at metal recovery places , but that was for drives that I knew were both defective and had very confidential data prior to porting to new storage (so I could not overwrite) . The metal is probably part of a batch of steel cans by now.

22nd Oct 2013, 4:05 pm	#1
whyperion Hexode Join Date: May 2005 Location: London 90% , Northwest England 10% Posts: 386	Low capacity 3 1/2 HDD. Any value or use? Not disposing yet. My latest acquisitions are joining my test piles for now, but at some time some will become spare to me. Do I dump / dismantle for scrap or anyone running embedded or old systems that would value them? Typical are Fujitsu 2.14Gb, WD (AT) 1.6Gb , Also Fujitsu 3, 4 and 6gb examples. With the cheap SD cards with high storage etc (and yet more programme and data using up applications ) there is not much present day use I can think of for them, but would be interested what others would use them for.

22nd Oct 2013, 4:43 pm	#2
AC/HL Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 9,642	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use They're certainly usable, to upgrade an older computer for instance, but as far bigger drives go for pocket money these days the postage would make them unattractive.

22nd Oct 2013, 4:48 pm	#3
Guest Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use Unlike old radios which where junked by the thousand (and now collected by the likes of us) it is easy to keep a few for the future. In a short while (10 years or so) someone will want one. Leave them in the loft with a descriptive lable attached.

22nd Oct 2013, 7:02 pm	#4
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 13,996	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use I'd say they have really rather limited usability: they're not big enough to hold a mainstream operating-system released this millennium. Keeping them in the attic 'just in case' isn't necessarily going to work either - left unused for long periods, HDDs have a nasty tendency to develop stiction in the motor and the head-positioning mechanism which renders them unserviceable. Recently I smashed-up [or rather, 'percussively reformatted'] a whole pile of 160Gb drives. The only ones I bother keeping at 160Gb or less capacity are the 15,000RPM SCSI variety, which can still have use as swap-space.

23rd Oct 2013, 2:04 pm	#5
greasylox Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Carmarthen, Wales, UK. Posts: 79	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use They'll have some nice strong magnets in them, useful for keepng screws together on the bench, sweeping filings off the workshop carpet (put them inside a bank cash bag first).

27th Oct 2013, 5:39 pm	#6
whyperion Hexode Join Date: May 2005 Location: London 90% , Northwest England 10% Posts: 386	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use I would have found a couple of 160Gb ones useful . Anyway now added , a 2.5in 810mb , Two 3.5in Floppy Drives (one has some jumpers on the on-board controllers, Two 5.25 in Floppy Drives ( why are the metal on these always rusted ? ) Additional FUJITSU: M2611T 45MB drive in a black faced bay that I think is an IBM PC original , but not certain as I cannot recall the exact computer at present.

27th Oct 2013, 6:15 pm	#7
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,934	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use The minimum size to be any use now is 20GB, which is pefectly adequate to install a modern Linux or XP. There won't be much space for the gigbytes of movies etc. which so many people seem to store though. I still consider 160GB a big disk. The system I'm typing this on is based on a couple of 18.2GB 15,000rpm SCSI drives taken from an old server, which give good performance. If I need extra space I plug in a USB drive or provide some networked storage. Code: paul@laura:~$ df Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/sda1 16339372 3978488 11530884 26% / udev 1023460 4 1023456 1% /dev tmpfs 412304 872 411432 1% /run none 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock none 1030756 0 1030756 0% /run/shm /dev/sdb1 17503564 176068 16438360 2% /data paul@laura:~$ Very small drives (10GB and down) are really just paperweights now.

27th Oct 2013, 6:39 pm	#9
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,934	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use I would ask people not to physically destroy old drives of a usable size. It is trivially easy to overwrite them so that any data can't be recovered. Don't believe all the horror stories you read where drives have been bought on eBay containing confidential information - invariably these have not been scrubbed properly prior to disposal. There are plenty of forum members who will give old drives a home and will happily pay the p&p.

28th Oct 2013, 12:38 pm	#11
whyperion Hexode Join Date: May 2005 Location: London 90% , Northwest England 10% Posts: 386	Re: Low Capacity 3 1/2 HDD Any Value or Use I have got drives gullotined in half at metal recovery places , but that was for drives that I knew were both defective and had very confidential data prior to porting to new storage (so I could not overwrite) . The metal is probably part of a batch of steel cans by now.