Hi everyone,

I would like to ask if anyone could please help me with the following problem.

I want to use the secure hard drive erase program listed at the link below. However, I can't seem to create a bootable CD-R so I can use the program. The read me file for the program says to go to the "ultimate boot CD" site and burn and ISO image to a CD, However, that CD is 258 MG and I don't want to try to download that file on a 56K modem in order to get a 80 KB file. I tried to use Nero express to make a bootable CD but it did not work. I also tried just copiing a data file of the secure erase .exe file but that did not work either. The read me file for the program says that if you want to make your own bootable CD you can use instructions at http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/#cdromsi
but I found all the information to be confusing.

I don't know why the author of the program does not just offer a bootable ISO image at his site, rather than recommend to go to the ultimate boot cd site. If I just had the option to download only the bootable ISO image I think I could use nero and make it work.

I would appreciate any help or feedback anyone can provide.

Program link
http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml

Thanks,
John

P.S. I was not exactly sure what forum to put this request in, if this is not the best forum I would like to ask that a MOD please move it to the appropriate forum.

no floppy drive?

No, I don't have a floppy drive on the computer and I also don't have an external portable floppy drive to
connect to the computer. The best way for me to use the program would be from a bootable CD-R.

How about Darik's Boot and Nuke?

Hi Dino,

I tried DBAN, but it got about 90% done and said that it completed but with non-fatal errors, possibly due to bad sectors on the HD. The secure erase program is supposed to even handle bad sectors, and it's supposed to be faster and more secure than DBAN (deban took over 6 hours on 3 passes, secure delete is supposed to take about 2 hours).

It seemed to run on 3 passes with no reported errors and then on the last blanking pass, it was about 90% done and then stopped and gave the error message. There was no log file so I don't know if it made three good passes or if 10% of the drive was not wiped.

I heard format's don't necessarily get rid of all virus, I want to wipe the whole drive totally clean and start over.

The secure delete program is supposed to activate a feature already within the existing hard drive. I don't understand why they put a feature on a computer and then make it so hard to find and use. A simple hot key on start-up with couple of confirmation steps for safety would be fine.

If you have bad sectors on the hard drive then it’s better to get rid of it and get another one; hard drives are cheap now and fixing them is not worth it. Besides, having bad sectors means that the hard drive is not reliable any more, and if you run into a data loss situation on this drive, then you don’t know what will happen or how much it will cost you to get them back (you don’t get lucky all the time with data recovery).

hard drive manufacturers have tools available to wipe a hd.

western digital
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.as...1=6&lang=en

seagate/maxtor
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools/

hitachi
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

I'm not sure I actually had any bad sector, I reinstalled the OS and rand CHKDSK and checked both the boxes, the computer rebooted and ran through the process and nothing was reported. I also ran a quick check on the system with PC doctor and all tests passed, so perhaps it does not really have any bad sectors. The drive seems fine, it's not making any noise or anything & seems to be running fast.

I was considering wiping again just to make sure there is no virus or malware on there, since it seems dban did not wipe the last 10% of the drive for some reason.

Funny thing is, I downloaded a trial copy of Bcwipepd and pc inspector emax and they say that they cannot detect any hard drive, but the OS has been reinstalled so there is a working hard disk there.

I might try DBAN again or another program, I hate to buy a hard disk if it's not really necessary.

Thanks guys & thanks for the links Wes.
John