softening the hard drives

why magnetize or toss out old external hard drives?  hang onto those paperweights and destroy them in style:  with a crowbar!  some of these lacie drives also make a great secret hiding spot once you gut their electronics.  after cracking open about 5 dead lacies, i’ve noticed they use several different manufacturers for their hard drives,  most notably hitachi and seagate.  so why buy the overpriced lacie when you can just buy a seagate directly without the markup?  just saying.