Hacker News

Worth noting I asked AI because my initial guess was 3/5ths of fuck all given it was a landfill in South Wales and been there for a decade.

Bearing in mind this is big time confirmation bias as I initially asked what the chances of being able to get btc off a drive left in landfill. When the AI replied with “it’s depend on a variety of factors” I specified South Wales and the time frame.

Given that the HDD has been buried in a South Wales landfill for a decade, the chances of successful recovery are extremely low. Here’s why: [several generated paragraphs I won’t bore you with removed.]

Estimated Probability of Recovery Finding the HDD: <1% (Landfills are massive, and the drive is likely buried under tons of waste.) Drive being intact & readable: <5% (Due to corrosion, crushing, and environmental damage.) Successful data recovery (if found): 5-20%, assuming platters are intact and can be salvaged.

Final Verdict

The likelihood of both finding the HDD and recovering the Bitcoin wallet data is close to zero. Even if found, environmental exposure over a decade in a wet landfill makes data recovery highly unlikely.

Very interesting even if I’m doubtful in its confidence in giving actual probabilities. Edit: