Hard Drive Question

http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/true/882/Comparison_Shredders.htm

Nice link yrag. 7 passes meets the criteria (NSA) for data security.

nice article ... alot of reading. so where do i dl these programs?

The links are on the suggested page.

Does Norton Systemworks/Utilities have something like this in it???????????

Not really Leo, different idea I think. Norton erases traces of activity and files. It doesn't seem to over write them numerous times. And, it doesn't erase or reformat an entire hard drive. I've actually had slight problems even when I reformat a hard drive and I wonder if traces of the old system still exist.

you guys know of any little program that completely wipes and formats a drive using 0 and 1's? I need to do a goverment wipe on a drive before I sell it.

actually guys I read the entire thing but it did not anwaser my question.

I am looking for a program that will wipe my drive in DOS, using a floppy disk as the startup.

I would suggest you go to the respective Drive Manufactures web site and download the OnTrack or DiskManager that applies to the specific drive.

Or you could simply do the following, though unless you've an Idea of what it is, I would stay away from trying it.

I would try the respective Drives web site first...

Boot DOS.

At the DOS prompt, enter:

debug


Depending on your disk controller, enter one of the following commands at the ``-'' prompt:

for Adaptec SCSI controllers:

g=dc00:6


for ESDI controllers (IDE):

g=c800:5

See your computer and/or controller documentation for more details.


how low level are you willing to take it?




[Message Edited]

Terry0197, here is what you are looking for. Be carefull with this one. I've used it myself. It erases everything including partitions.

http://www.killdisk.com/eraser.htm

actually you should blow the partitions running it through the cycles because they leave the FAT and DAT otherwise, FAT (File Allocation Table) DAT (Directory Allocation Table) to some degree and the MBR completely...

Data Recovery companies use this along with other information to pull data from drvies that have been through fires, hit by lightening and otherwise rendered useless to most people attempting to pull data.

That is the specific reason behind Governmental Disk Wipes and the different acceptable levels for security purposes. Though I am sure more than a few drives end up being melted to slag at some point in time.

You can also do a government wipe by using the debug command and running it through a number of cycles if you like.

[Message Edited]
[Message Edited]

If you're really paranoid, remove the harddrive, crack it open, remove the disks inside, put them in a microwave for say, ohh, 5 minutes, then chop them up into a million pieces, then heat those pieces to the point of melting and mix the molten liquid with landfill that is destined to be buried at the bottom of a lake somewhere.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to sell the harddrive after that, but the data will be unrecoverable.

@ Motion!

motion is right, of course.....talk about paranoia....when all most people want to do is hide the fact they've been surfing for porn.

If you're REALLY that paranoid that you 'must' do multiple wipes of a drive to trash data recovery, just remember....the men in black can always extract the information directly from your brain....with a straw....

Get your tinfoil cap/s on the way out....

Keep a giant magnet handy in case government agents come over to confiscate your computer. A really strong electromagnetic magnet is great for erasing your data in a matter of seconds before the agents knock on your door.

Tech Cat....to wipe the drive platter it needs to be a quite significant magnet...

aside from the jokes thanks guys. i wiped the drive and installed windows 98. 98 is much easier on my system (little 233 pentium, 128 ram, 4 gig HD) I did the wipe because i hate ME.

THANKS!

#13 by Admin Jafo - 8/30/2003 5:22:33 PM motion is right, of course.....talk about paranoia....when all most people want to do is hide the fact they've been surfing for porn.

Riiiiight. Cause you wanna sell your drive with a bunch of retrievable information on it. Can't speak for Terry. And cookies of porn sites is really important and can really be used against you.

@motion

Jafo true most do not need to really zap a drive for sure.
Going a step further with that thought, those who have to ask about it on a message board on the net will fit into that group without a doubt, after thinking about it.

WHich pretty much means that the standard answer of visiting the web site of the drive manufacturer and downloading the Disk Management software which all have online to wipe the drive is/was more than enough out of me now/in the future

What you say holds water, but have you ever heard of people selling their drive on Ebay and credit card numbers and whatnot being retrieved? You CAN retrieve data after formatting.

Winwash could easily take care of cookies, or delete your cookies and let them be overwritten (by defragging). However, asking this question/wanting to do it hardly means you automatically fall into that category of hiding porn cookies. I would love to buy one of your drives without you properly wiping it; that just isn't smart. Know what I mean?