[Gllug] Balance weight on hard disk motor

[Peter Ball]

I keep telling myself never to be surprised by anything but its difficult sometimes.

I may be paranoid but when I decomission a customers hd I do a secure wipe (AutoClave 
3.0, 25 passes, from the Ultimate Boot CD). Then if its not going in my bits box I physically 
demolish the drive (take a stanley knife to the platters(s) and bend it in two).

Today I had a hd which failed on AutoClave about pass 16 - very slow then stopped 
completely - looked like over-heating.

I was astonished when I opened the case to see a slither of metal attached to one edge of 
the rotational motor with three blobs of silicon.  Presumably as a balance weight - you know 
like the lumps of lead they put on your car wheels when you have them balanced.

I don't know how many disks I've demolished over the years - lots certainly and I'm sure I've 
never seen anything like this.

Is this normal practice ?

Best Wishes

Peter Ball




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