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Degaussing for Hard Drives and Backup Tapes

Old backup tapes and hard drives still hold data long after the equipment that wrote them is gone. Our professional degausser permanently erases them for $5 per device, GST included.

Pile of hard drive actuator arms and heads in a metal bin

Who it’s for

  • Law firms clearing old client backup tapes
  • Businesses closing or consolidating archives
  • Anyone with tapes or drives but no working tape drive to wipe them

You don’t need a tape drive or any old equipment. The degausser erases the media directly.

How degaussing works

A degausser uses a very strong magnetic field to scramble the data stored on magnetic media. It takes about one minute per device.

Degaussing permanently kills the drive or tape. It cannot be reused, and we don’t keep any parts from degaussed devices. Disposal is included in the price, or we can return the devices to you on request.

What we degauss

  • Backup tapes: LTO, DLT and DAT
  • Hard disk drives, including faulty and dead drives

Degaussing does not work on SSDs, USB flash drives or memory cards, because they store data in flash memory, not magnetically. For these, see physical shredding. Faulty SSDs dropped off for free recycling are shredded free of charge.

Price

  • $5 per device, GST included
  • Free certificate listing the number of devices
  • Detailed certificate listing models and serial numbers, $1 per device

Only have working hard drives? Our free hard drive and SSD recycling costs nothing.

Bulk degaussing for data centres and server decommissioning

We specialise in data destruction for data centres and managed IT service companies, with large-scale disposal of unwanted hard drives when a data centre or server is decommissioned. We can help with large-volume bulk degaussing.

Degaussing is a paid service. It costs $5 per drive, which includes a certificate showing the number of drives. A detailed certificate listing each drive’s model and serial number costs $1 extra per drive.

If you don’t need the drives degaussed and only need assurance that the data is erased, ask us about our hard drive and SSD recycling. In 2026 a data centre in Australia closed and needed to dispose of 5,000 hard drives securely. They were erased and recycled through our recycling service, and the data centre donated all the parts so we could keep the heads and PCBs, instead of paying thousands for disposal.

Deliver only the hard drives and SSDs, not the servers or computers. We accept any hard drives and SSDs, any brand or type.

Visit or post to our Rhodes facility

Payam Data Recovery, Suite 213, Level 2, 5 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes NSW 2138. Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. Phone 1300 444 800.

Visit us in person at our Rhodes office or post your tapes and drives to us there. You can watch your devices being degaussed by appointment.

Frequently asked questions

How much does degaussing cost?

$5 per device, GST included. Disposal is included.

How long does it take?

About one minute per device.

Can I get my tapes or drives back?

Yes, on request. You can collect them from Rhodes, or we post them back to you and charge the postage at cost. Otherwise disposal is included.

Will the tape or drive still work?

No. Degaussing destroys it permanently.

Can I watch?

Yes, by appointment at our Rhodes lab.

Do I need a tape drive?

No. The degausser works without reading the tape.

Can you degauss SSDs?

No. Degaussing has no effect on flash memory.

Ready to degauss your tapes or drives?

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