Christmas Tree Made From 70 SCSI Hard Drives 248
Trigger writes "At our work we were decomissioning six old HP/Compaq servers to clear up space for new servers and, naturally, each server had a fairly large raid array.
Instead of formatting every hard drive (would have taken weeks performing a DoD level wipe) and disposing them all together with the servers, I decided to disassemble the hard drives and recycle them into something neat.
With a lot (a lot) of patience, I made this shiny Xmas tree.
In total there are around 70 old SCSI hard drives, between 9gb and 18gb in size each. They were nice and chunky, oldschool style. There were quite a few different hard drive models, which is good because they each had different bits which I could use. The Xmas tree is made with parts from hard drives only except for one nut which I had to purchase for $0.39." It's good to see that this guy has plenty to do at work.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
What are the plans after the tree is dismanteled (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
Only if you have root access.
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Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
Redundancy, redundancy, how you protect your d444-t3rz!
Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
I guess you would at least have access to some logs ...
Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
We'll need a solution to the traveling reindeer problem to figure that out.
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Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:5, Funny)
And having it all in a tree makes it easier to search, too!
Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:4, Funny)
deltree /y
Re:What are the plans after the tree is dismantele (Score:4, Funny)
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I'd really be impressed... (Score:5, Funny)
...if he had made 2 trees to run in RAID 0.
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Re:I'd really be impressed... (Score:5, Funny)
Welcome to Slashdot.
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It's amazing how little people know about rectal surgery...
just sayin... to each their own.
Re:I'd really be impressed... (Score:5, Funny)
It's amazing how little people know about rectal surgery...
Hey! It's great to see another Slashdotter with the same hobby as mine!
So, what are your views on anterior modifications of the Delorme procedure, which requires less operative dissection, I personally think it can be performed with results nearly equivalent to those of the established Delorme procedure in the treatment of rectal outlet obstruction secondary to internal intussusception with or without rectocele.
Or do you disagree?
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I have a friend who is a nurse. The most advanced procedure she can perform in this area is "digital extraction of fecal impaction."
No, I'm not making that up. And yes, I mean digital in the "base 10" sense!
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Uh, never mind.
Re:I'd really be impressed... (Score:4, Funny)
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People with dwarfism aren't special in this regard. I think this is generally true of all people.
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Raid 0 is for ants.
Raid 1 is for cockroaches.
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I suppose Raid 0+1 kills both ants and cockroaches.
What is Raid 5 for?
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What is Raid 5 for?
Elephants. In the walls.
Re:I'd really be impressed... (Score:4, Funny)
I suppose Raid 0+1 kills both ants and cockroaches. What is Raid 5 for?
Franz Kafka
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Raid 0
02468
13579
Raid 1
01234
01234
JBOD
01234
56789
Different problems; different solutions.
Re:I'd really be impressed... (Score:5, Funny)
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Beowulf forrest?
Or would you start with just a glade?
wrong picture? (Score:5, Insightful)
TFA shows a "tree" made of disk platters -- all shiny silver, no green. What's with the generic green xmas tree pic in the summary? Is that one of those "category" images?
This thread is useless without pics.... (Score:4, Insightful)
It would be nice if the picture attached to the story showed the actual tree. The site is barely loading....
Re:This thread is useless without pics.... (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:This thread is useless without pics.... (Score:5, Insightful)
In fact, if you scrape the Christmas idea, redesign the top and add more blue LEDs into the thing, you could just end up with a nifty piece of art that's for life, not just for Chrstmas
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All cone-shaped things gain +1 Christmassy in December. Didn't you know that?
Re:This thread is useless without pics.... (Score:4, Funny)
That's [wikipedia.org] good [imdb.com] to [youtube.com] know! [images-amazon.com]
Four upmods please?
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The whole page [nyud.net] via CC
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The "tree" also rotates appa
Re:This thread is useless without pics.... (Score:5, Informative)
Stupid Ajax. Curse it!
and the link I was trying to post: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pam5qLu8CwY [youtube.com]
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NetworkMirror got it. (Score:2)
Click here [networkmirror.com]. It's slow though, but the photographs are there. :)
I miss these days (Score:4, Insightful)
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...IBM card wreaths
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Though, seconds 20 to 60 seem pretty pointless.
Slashdotted already (Score:2, Funny)
Merry Christmas Hosting Provider_01
Yes, but is it Linux? (Score:2, Informative)
With Linux as an OS for your tree, you could make the LED status lights blink in time with a Christmas song you had stored on one of the drives ...
Idle (Score:4, Interesting)
1. samzenpus seems not to know where the Idle section is.
2. Irrelevant photo in summary.
3. Slashdotted site for TFA, rendering article completely pointless.
Every time it's the same. Is there a way to filter stories to cut out ones from individual editors? Samzenpus' contributions are invariably poor. Did he used to work for Digg?
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Yes there is, maybe you should use it.
Re:Idle (Score:5, Informative)
Is there a way to filter stories to cut out ones from individual editors?
Yes, it's in your system preferences.
Jewtube? (Score:2, Redundant)
In the post, he displays a bunch of youtube links and refers to them as "Jewtube". Did I miss a meme or is that supposed to be some sort of anti-semitic dig at YouTube?
Relevant cut and paste (since people are reporting the site as down now):
Jewtube videos, make sure you watch in high quality (below links are hq links)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pam5qLu8CwY&fmt=18 [youtube.com] - shiny outside video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2SfiYZwTM&fmt=18 [youtube.com] - pretty inside video, it's a bit dark but the leds make it look pretty as it spins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soqL6ol3yIs&fmt=18 [youtube.com] - reflection of faces as it spins, somewhat trippy and very under-water-esque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGyOcTHnBD4&fmt=18 [youtube.com] - night time reflection in the ceiling, spooky and very scary... mostly
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Apparently jewtube.com is a real site ... doesn't seem to be anti-Semitic at first glance, duhno for sure though - looks like they have had a whopping 2 contributors to the main page, though ... either very small (and perhaps he was trying to draw attention to it) or more insidious that appears.
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I think it's an anti-hispanic jab, made by referencing their difficulty pronouncing "you". It just happens to look anti-semetic, but really, it's just anti-hispanic. Which is actually almost okay, because hispanics are almost white, and you're allowed to make fun of white folk.
I like analog trees better (Score:2)
That does not resemble, nor is it likely to be confused with a Christmas Tree.
Lots of work to do (Score:4, Funny)
As opposed to everybody else here who are so busy that they don't even have the time to look at Slashdot. Oh, wait...
Mirror (Score:2)
here you guys go.. http://whaleinacubicle.com/hdd_christmas_tree/ [whaleinacubicle.com].
Sorry it is so rushed, gotta catch a flight..
happy holidays.
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Frankly I say "Merry Christmas" to everyone, in the spirit that I want whoever I am saying it to to be happy on Christmas regardless of what they are actually celebrating.
And therein lies the problem. Do you know how arrogant that statement sounds to a non-Christian? Not everyone wants your holiday or your holiday cheer, and it would be nice if more Christians respected that instead of demanding everyone be happy for them.
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You need to go buy a "Merry Whatever Offends Liberals" sweater! This particular PC crap pisses me off as well. Only the word "Christmas" is Christian, the holiday is far older, and there's no reason not to be merry about it.
I do indeed. (Score:2)
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At least its an honest wish. Happy Holidays is a cop out. In an attempt to be "all inclusive" we basically shut everyone out and not even allow them to know what religion we are. I am Christian, I say Merry Christmas. I am including you in the joy of my religion's holiday, regardless of weather you wish to partake of the holiday, I am extending the invitation at least. I have Jewish friends, who I knew were Jewish, and I explained this to them the first time I wished the Merry Christmas, that I knew they we
Oh no! (Score:5, Funny)
Someone formatted my Christmas tree!!
Re:Oh no! (Score:5, Funny)
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No, I still have some jokes left. Now, if only if I remember where I stored them. ...proceeds to take each hard drive off the tree, plugs it into computer, and searches for joke file containing hard drive jokes...
Question: are hard drive internals poisonous? (Score:2)
I have 15 hard drives that I've collected over the years, and I want to get rid of them. I tried wiping them clean using sdelete from sysinternals, but this is really, really slow, and I'm not certain of how good that will work. Afterwards, for each hard drive, I connected it to my computer using a USB conversion kit, then as I copied something to the drive, I took a hammer and smashed it while it was writing until it made very weird noises.
Unfortunately, this isn't good enough for me, so I started disass
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I take 'em to the rifle range... not much can be recovered after a bunch of 30 caliber holes appear in it... Heck, once there were some guys playing with tannerite... impressive boom!
Re:Question: are hard drive internals poisonous? (Score:4, Funny)
I take 'em to the rifle range... not much can be recovered after a bunch of 30 caliber holes appear in it...
You'd be surprised at the lengths to which the RIAA will go to gather evidence.
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You'd be surprised at the lengths to which the RIAA will go to fabricate evidence.
There, fixed that for you...
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multiple writes of the entire drive with random noise is considered to be pretty good. I don't believe that the average joe who wants to just steal your CC nums has access to the equipment or the knowledge to recover data from the drives in that scenario. Even less likely if you come up with some sort of mechanical destruction. I know it takes a while to do those multiple writes, but I'd just set up an old machine to do it.
I would hit the platters with a belt sander. Wear a dust mask. Another option would b
Re:Question: are hard drive internals poisonous? (Score:5, Informative)
a) 15 drives isn't a lot.
b) If there were any volatile chemicals, they would have left long ago, by heating in an unsealed chamber (drives are NOT sealed to the air! If they were, the cases would rupture.)
c) If there were any loose chemicals, they'd have moved around in the case and screwed things up.
d) How deleted do you need your data? Do you actually know?
Realistically, you're looking at hard metals and hard ceramics. Are you eating parts from your hard drives? If not, then you've practically got nothing to worry about.
Sdelete can be quite thorough--far moreso than dismantling drives and bending platters. Specifically, "SDelete implements the Department of Defense clearing and sanitizing standard DOD 5220.22-M..." Is that good enough for you? Do you know if it is?
I'm always slightly aggravated by people who say, "I need to destroy the data on this drive, but I didn't bother to learn how well software wipes work, so I decided to ignore all of the known data and invent my own procedure based on what I think would be a good idea."
Ask the important questions: What is the sensitivity of the data (i.e. how would your life be affected by its compromise--identity theft? divorce? jail?) and what is the desirability of it (how hard would someone work to find it)?
If you're producing kiddy porn or selling state secrets, then both of those factors are extremely high, and you should be investigating thermite. If they're tax returns and account spreadsheets from the past 15 years, then sdelete is probably overkill if used correctly (which can only be done IF YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH!). Maybe you're a doctor with patient records--consider hiring a professional data destruction service.
Bending platters and wiping magnets across them is haphazard, undocumented, unreliable, and unlikely. The only reason to dismantle a drive is to scavenge the parts, not wipe the data.
As an aside, anyone with sensitive documents that would affect others (i.e. doctors) has a moral responsibility to learn a sufficient amount about this stuff to deal with it properly.
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Thanks for your input, I didn't realize they weren't vacuum sealed, but you make a great point about air expansion.
I have no clue what information I have on these drives, but don't worry, it's not kiddie porn. However, I do know the fallacy of assuming that data on my drives are not recoverable, even if I do take the proper measures using current technologies. What I don't like is the fact that I have my entire life exposed in some garbage dump, that maybe 10 years in the future some garbage dump scavenge
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I have no clue what information I have on these drives, but don't worry, it's not kiddie porn. However, I do know the fallacy of assuming that data on my drives are not recoverable, even if I do take the proper measures using current technologies. What I don't like is the fact that I have my entire life exposed in some garbage dump, that maybe 10 years in the future some garbage dump scavenger happens to come across my drive, and the technology has advanced to the point that the information is completely re
Playing (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm always slightly aggravated by people who say, "I need to destroy the data on this drive, but I didn't bother to learn how well software wipes work, so I decided to ignore all of the known data and invent my own procedure based on what I think would be a good idea."
So. . , I decided to ignore all of the known data and invent my own procedure based on what I thought would be a good idea.
Removed ceramic platter. Applied hammer for about thirty seconds. Scattered the resulting handful of dust outside. If
Nuke 'em from orbit... (Score:2)
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What about all the dust that is generated from drilling it? I'd rather just disassemble it and bend it, and then toss it in the dumpster. Hopefully if someone comes across it, the platters will have been mangled enough to make the data unreadable.
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no chems to worry about except dust from the magnets if powdered and eaten.
really, though you have got to be trolling as no one is that paranoid who doesn't also have a reasonable grasp of the technology and cost benefit analysis.
Let's face it:
A simple dd 0 over a drive is sufficient for all the major recovery houses to say: "no can do"
If the government has the tech to recover that data anyway (which I would presume they have), it would be a time intensive affair. You have to be a very attractive target to
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fire them from a Rail gun into a concrete wall. Get the Drive wipe and catastrophic impact all in one neat, tidy package.
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yes they can do that legally, but it is practicality speaking, impossible.*
-nB
*unless that what the ~rimshot~ tag was for, in which case I fail it.
-nB
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you did not destroy them enough. I can still read them.
melt them in a smelter. only way.
No, you need to take off and nuke the drives from orbit. That's the only way to be sure. Turn them into a cloud of vapor the size of Nebraska.
Must be the BOFH (Score:4, Funny)
Instead of formatting every hard drive (would have taken weeks performing a DoD level wipe) and disposing them all together with the servers, I decided to disassemble the hard drives and recycle them into something neat... The Xmas tree is made with parts from hard drives only except for one nut which I had to purchase for $0.39.
Sounds like you already had a nut - the one building the tree. I'm guessing you either:
DoD level wipe (Score:2)
Can't read the slashdotted article, but from the youtube video it looks like, instead of properly disposing of your DoD data, you put it in your front yard where anyone could snag a platter unnoticed and then announced your "accomplishment" on Slashdot so everyone can go find your data.
How did you get this job? Somebody call Security.
A variation on this theme... (Score:2)
A few years ago, a friend of mine acquired a Sun RSM cabinet, fully loaded with seven trays of disks. He set up plaiding on it (RAID5 down in hardware, striping across in software) so that any significant write would access every drive in the rack.
On Christmas eve, he turned the lights down low and ran a full fsck on the volume. For hours, he had hundreds of green LEDs flashing on and off, heralding the Christmas spirit.
(I suspect he had a fair amount of Christmas spirits in him as well.)
DOS Xmas (Score:2, Funny)
dir (Score:2, Funny)
Re:One Comment (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:FAIL (Score:4, Insightful)
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Parent is not flamebait, the author actually wrote that in the article. It disturbed me, too.
And "megamerican" can please take his conspiracy theories elsewhere.
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And "megamerican" can please take his conspiracy theories elsewhere.
How is explaining why someone would call it jewtube a conspiracy theory?
Oh my, someone posted two links and made a connection between them. They must believe that the moon landing was hoaxed and that Elvis shot Kennedy on the grassy knoll!
I don't condone his use of jewtube but he has a right to his opinion.
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Well I would ... but it's completely slashdotted.
Wouldn't it have been a lot easier to put the proper pic instead of that green thing.
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Re:Captain Obvious says: (Score:4, Informative)
And in case that does something bad, Google cache: http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ajUtxPi4cb8J:toolmans.blogspot.com/+http://www.nzgames.com/forums/showthread.php%3Ft%3D81672 [google.com]
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He has this ULTIMATE set of tools.
[citation needed] -love, Mom