Total disk-wipe software?

[George]

Could a few pro's recommend some simple, recognized, tried and true
total-wipe type software that I can use to clean a c-drive and then
re-format it, and sell the PC. It's a Win98 PC if that matters. Thanks...


1st choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
it, free-or-payfor, url_________________


2nd choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
it, free-or-payfor, url_________________
etc.

 

[David H. Lipman]

Symantec Ghost contains the utility; GDisk.exe. This utility can be placed in a mode to
wipe a disk clean based upon CURRENT DoD standards for UBS data.

ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/products/ghost/manuals/DoDwipe.pdf

--
Dave




| Could a few pro's recommend some simple, recognized, tried and true
| total-wipe type software that I can use to clean a c-drive and then
| re-format it, and sell the PC. It's a Win98 PC if that matters. Thanks...
|
|
| 1st choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
| it, free-or-payfor, url_________________
|
|
| 2nd choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
| it, free-or-payfor, url_________________
| etc.
|
|

 

[Al Dykes]

Symantec Ghost contains the utility; GDisk.exe. This utility can be placed in a mode to
wipe a disk clean based upon CURRENT DoD standards for UBS data.

ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/products/ghost/manuals/DoDwipe.pdf

Don't spend money on a tool. FORMAT, found on your w98 CD, run on
your C drive will erase it beyond the ability of anyone that doesn't
have literally thousands of dollars for time in a laboratory to read,
and IMO, not even that is possible on a disk made in the last couple
years.

Run it 5 times if it makes you feel any better.

I'm talking about full format, not"quick" format.

Anyone that claims otherwise had better have some information
to support the claim.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi George,

This depends on weather you want to simply wipe a drive or securely
wipe a drive.
Here are a couple of choices.

Harddrive Info – Wipe and Zap
http://www.microstorage.com/Harddriveinfo.htm

WipeDrive - Overview
http://www.accessdata.com/Product07_Overview.htm?ProductNum=07

 

[Box134]

Boot and Nuke. I haven't used it personally, sounds like what you need.

 

[Gary]

Keep a watch for a zero fill Utility from the hard disk manufacturers.
You need to get a Seagate utility for a Seagate drive, WD zero fill for a WD
drive and so on.
What the FREE program does is to fill the hard drive with zeros, removing
Master file tables, partitions, viruses, files, hidden folders/files,
everything. The drive is scrubbed clean.
You can choose a quick fill, or a thorough one that can take hours.

All you need to make is a bootable floppy or CD-ROM, and launch the disk
from a reboot, follow the prompts.

Cheers

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Could a few pro's recommend some simple, recognized, tried and true
total-wipe type software that I can use to clean a c-drive and then
re-format it, and sell the PC. It's a Win98 PC if that matters. Thanks...


1st choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
it, free-or-payfor, url_________________


2nd choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
it, free-or-payfor, url_________________
etc.

To protect your personal information and data from any future users
of average skills, you should, at the very least, format the hard drive
and reinstall only the OS and those applications whose licenses are to
be included in the sale/transfer. If you wish to do a more thorough job
of protecting your personal data, WipeDrive 2.2.1
(http://www.accessdata.com/Product07_Overview.htm?ProductNum=07) meets
U.S. DoD standards for securely cleaning surplus unclassified hard
drives, and could be used before formatting and reinstalling the OS and
applications.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Don't spend money on a tool. FORMAT, found on your w98 CD, run on
your C drive will erase it beyond the ability of anyone that doesn't
have

...... 15 or 20 minutes using Google to find any of several data
recovery utilities, many with free demos.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Al Dykes]

To protect your personal information and data from any future users
of average skills, you should, at the very least, format the hard drive
and reinstall only the OS and those applications whose licenses are to
be included in the sale/transfer. If you wish to do a more thorough job
of protecting your personal data, WipeDrive 2.2.1
(http://www.accessdata.com/Product07_Overview.htm?ProductNum=07) meets
U.S. DoD standards for securely cleaning surplus unclassified hard
drives, and could be used before formatting and reinstalling the OS and
applications.

I repeqat; A full format and an optional re-installl of the OS is
suffiecient unless the person that gets your hard disk is willing to
spend thouands of busks on a data recovery service to look at your old
files.

All of the literature I'm aware of that talks about recovering
overwritten data is for disks that haven't been made in years. IMO
the current densities and modulation techniques preclude reading
underlying information. If someone has some authoritave information
I'd like to se it.

Your disk, may in fact, be old enough, but it takes someone willing to
spend large amounts of money to look at your disk, and there's no
guarantee that your data, or any part of it will be read.

 

[Al Smith]

I repeqat; A full format and an optional re-installl of the OS is

suffiecient unless the person that gets your hard disk is willing to
spend thouands of busks on a data recovery service to look at your old
files.

All of the literature I'm aware of that talks about recovering
overwritten data is for disks that haven't been made in years. IMO
the current densities and modulation techniques preclude reading
underlying information. If someone has some authoritave information
I'd like to se it.

Your disk, may in fact, be old enough, but it takes someone willing to
spend large amounts of money to look at your disk, and there's no
guarantee that your data, or any part of it will be read.

Yeah, but better to be safe than sorry, particularly if you are an
international terrorist. I'd use a zero-writing tool, and I'm not
even wanted by the Feds (so far as I know).

 

[Steve N.]

Could a few pro's recommend some simple, recognized, tried and true
total-wipe type software that I can use to clean a c-drive and then
re-format it, and sell the PC. It's a Win98 PC if that matters. Thanks...


1st choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
it, free-or-payfor, url_________________


2nd choice_____________. Feautures, why it's good, ease of use, how to use
it, free-or-payfor, url_________________
etc.

Every hdd manf I know of has free downloadable utils that include a
zero-fill program. There are lots of other free zero-fill utils out
there, too.

If you're real paranoid there's are free file shredder utils that meet
gov't spec, too. You could use such a util on the files themselves or
even the whole partition, then do a zero-fill.

Other than this the only way I know to completely assure that no data
whatsoever can ever be recovered from a disk platter is to take it out
of the drive and grind the surface off or dip it in liquid nitrogen and
shatter it.

Steve