Originally Posted by
IBMJunkman
I just have fun taking them apart. Breakout my micro Torx driver set, open case, remove heads and magnet and disassemble the platter stack. Was surprised once when I found out the hard way the platters were glass.
Exactly what I do. I allow myself to be amazed at the technology and the way in which these devices have been manufactured with ever greater speed, capacity and compactness. The magnets are very powerful and have found their way into other projects - extended reach to retrieve dropped screw etc. I even use one to secure the strut on the lid of my camping trailer.
Individual disks can be destroyed (with caution) or physically attacked with the magnets just liberated. Their mirrored surfaces can also be useful in the workshop / shed.
Screws are put into a glass jar - one never knows when one might be exactly what you need for another project. Or two as I discovered a couple of weeks ago.
The rest goes into the recycle rubbish bin.
FOR