destroying tape drives

Sorry, I was not sure where to list this little question. I have a number of older Imation Travan 8GB Tape Cartridges. We've not done the tape back up thing for years, and I have sold the tape machine.. What I need to know is how to destroy the cartridges.

Anyone have any ideas?

thanx.

 

Use a big magnet and put it to the tape. This will distort/destroy the data.



Or set it on fire..

 

I would think an earth magnet might do the trick, but I do not have one, and was looking for a more efficient way to insure the data is destroyed. Fire may be the answer.

 

I think you should fire them Easiest way lol

 

Just get a fire going and roast them, that is about the only guaranteed way to destroy them and the only way I'd do it.

 

You could always eat them.

 

Think the solution to this is to burn it but you must find a safe place to burn it.

 

What can be more safe than eating it ? No smoke (well, visual smoke anyway)

 

Actually I took all the tapes, opened them up, took the spools out and tied them to my office door knob and started wondering around my office with it. Made quite a mess and got quite a few people here wondering what the hell I was doing... I think I will just burn or shred the pile.

 

hehe, if they ask what you are doing, dont answer, just look at them and go on.

 

Actually when asked, I said I was working on my taxes...

 

Drill a hole through them length wise... Also.. GO CARDS!!!

 

Whats good with cards is that they have holes already, you dont have to drill. Like this stupid dvd`s I got the other day, I will start to make holes in them right now so my computer can read the data.

 

just load them into any kind of iomega drive and try to read some files - this will destroy the data in no time...

 

A travan cartridge is not going to fit into a iomega drive, even with a sufficient amount of KY.

 

Blow it up perhaps?..

Or put it in the microwave and/or the oven.

 

was an joke, just because this iomega drives (zip & jaz) had some problems to keep the data. have 3 jaz disks here for my '98 computer, one of them was already fcuked after 1 month. you can read the same about zip drives on the internet.

 

Burn them in the backyard. Why can't you simply throw them into the trash can?

 

Maybe there is some secret data inside. That's why they can't be thrown away. The only method is to destroy till there isn't any chance of data recovery.

 

Really, I never had a problem with the Zip disks.. Or the drives for that matter.. I did have a few that suffered from the "click of death", but they kept right on working. My jazz disks were fine, the jazz drive on the other had went kaput!

Damn those little cartridges were expensive... Hell I still have a syquest 44MB somewhere.. It's larger than a damn VHS tape!