Next week I get a replacement harddrive, I presume its my property. I never seen a harddrive, so can I use a hammer & screwdriver to damage the harddrive or disk, or burn it ?. Any advice I shall take note. Vivere Microsoft Service Pack Quetion. Microsoft handed out free Service Pack 2 disk which I ordered well over a year ago ,but never did downloaded . There where so many different opinions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKB... i_Xp/VistaUser

A hammer, or hammer and tough screwdriver should do the job.

I'm guessing you are getting a Replacement HDD from Dell. If it's under Warranty Replacement you need to ASK Dell what they want you to do with the old HDD. RMA's usually require that you return the defective part. AGAIN ask Dell. Now if your Purchasing a HDD from Dell, then you own the old HDD, Hammer away. There is nothing to learn from someone who already agrees with you.

Would be safer to just erase it. There are toxic materials on the platens still. "Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, antivirus, anti-spyware, Live CD's, backups, are in my top 10

Thanks for the knowledgeable information's, I was only concerned about my personal data on my HDD like banking details. Thanks again, Vivere Microsoft Service Pack Quetion. Microsoft handed out free Service Pack 2 disk which I ordered well over a year ago ,but never did downloaded . There where so many different opinions