Hard drive wiping software

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Mayfriday0529

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2003
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Good hopefully free software to erase all the data on a hard drive, that way you can give it away?
 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
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Mar 20, 2000
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check with the drive maker for their utility?
 
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MageXX9

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Jan 25, 2005
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There a tons of free ones out there, and most use Gutman's algorithm. Just google hard drive washer, eraser, Gutman. If you have Windows Server 2003, there is a built in utility.

Just know that it is going to take a loooooooong time to wipe a drive. I did an 8.4 and it took well over an hour.
 
EKKC

EKKC

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May 31, 2005
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fdisk and format doesnt rewrite the drive with dummy data, a person or say, the FBI can still retrieve info from it

i think Norton Systemworks has a utility that does some thing called the DoD wipe (Defense department uses this algorithm?) to destroy the hard drive data. but me thinks if it's the DoD, they just dump the hard drives in an unattended Humvee in Iraq and let insugents bomb them, saves them the trouble
 
M

Mayfriday0529

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2003
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Originally posted by: MageXX9
There a tons of free ones out there, and most use Gutman's algorithm. Just google hard drive washer, eraser, Gutman. If you have Windows Server 2003, there is a built in utility.

Just know that it is going to take a loooooooong time to wipe a drive. I did an 8.4 and it took well over an hour.
Click to expand...


Any recomendation to run under Windows Xp, by connecting the drivers to it as slaves?

 
J

JLGatsby

Banned
Sep 6, 2005
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Why not just reinstall the OS and reformat the drive? Or do you need it wiped clean? Load it as a slave on a second system and erase everything.
 

Originally posted by: EKKC
fdisk and format doesnt rewrite the drive with dummy data, a person or say, the FBI can still retrieve info from it

i think Norton Systemworks has a utility that does some thing called the DoD wipe (Defense department uses this algorithm?) to destroy the hard drive data. but me thinks if it's the DoD, they just dump the hard drives in an unattended Humvee in Iraq and let insugents bomb them, saves them the trouble
Click to expand...
Yea I know that, though that requirement was specified.
 
M

Mayfriday0529

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2003
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Originally posted by: newParadigm
Low Level Format, resets everything to 0's on the drive/

~new
Click to expand...


I got this Low Level format option on a Seagate CD and it always fails, it locks up after like half hour. I tried with a couple of drives.
 
newParadigm

newParadigm

Diamond Member
Jul 30, 2003
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Originally posted by: Jnetty99
Originally posted by: newParadigm
Low Level Format, resets everything to 0's on the drive/

~new
Click to expand...


I got this Low Level format option on a Seagate CD and it always fails, it locks up after like half hour. I tried with a couple of drives.
Click to expand...


Gotta Low Level in DOS with MaxBlast...
 
A

AnthraX101

Senior member
Oct 7, 2001
771
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Originally posted by: MageXX9
There a tons of free ones out there, and most use Gutman's algorithm. Just google hard drive washer, eraser, Gutman. If you have Windows Server 2003, there is a built in utility.

Just know that it is going to take a loooooooong time to wipe a drive. I did an 8.4 and it took well over an hour.
Click to expand...

Do not use Gutman anymore. It was designed for a drive type that is not used any more. Stick with a DoD 5220-22.M wipe.

Like others above, I would vote for DBAN, it's nice and easy.

AnthraX101
 
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