Exposed

Every few years, we rebuild one or both of our computers. It is inevitable that over time, internal hard drives have had to be replaced. The discarded drives have been collecting dust waiting for the right time to be destroyed.

Since it is not every day that I am able to see the guts of a hard drive, so I grabbed the opportunity to document what one looks like.

Day 105/365

I took these pictures outside. The splashes of green and blue on the platter, where the information is stored, is a reflection off some shrubbery or the sky, respectively.

With the platters removed, all that remains (below) are actuator arms and heads attached to a very, very strong magnet, and a spindle where the platters and rings would be stacked.

 
Day 105/365

I don't think I've ever seen anything quite so clean and reflective as a hard drive platter. Not soon after opening up a hard drive, it's as if the dust was offended having not been introduced earlier, and would fly to the surface of the platters.

Day 105/365 - Platters

The rings below attach and act as a guide, separating the platters so they do not touch one another.

Day 105/365

Bug destroyed a total of 6 hard drives this afternoon. I believe 5 drives worth of platters are pictured below, destroyed by folding them over like tacos.

Day 105/365

I'd love to keep a few of the platters the next time we feel like destroying disk drives. I am still amazed by the reflection.

- Cassaendra