Wipe from within windows XP?

[Uluquai]

Hi there..

I heard that Acronis DiskCleanser is able to wipe harddrives from within windows XP..
My question is.. is this as secure as wiping the disk booting from a cd/dvd?
Windows XP normally doesn't grant direct hardware access, that's why I ask..
Does DiskCleanser reset the HPA and DCO of the hdds?If so.. does it do that if ran under Windows XP too?

Thnx for some info..

[Acronis Support]

Hello Uluquai,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Software (http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/).

Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response.

When you istall Acronis Drive Cleanser within Windows then it installs special Acronis Drivers which allow the software to get a direct access to the hard drive and you will able to wipe this hard drive without any limitations. These drivers also allow Acronis Drive Cleanser to reset HPA (Host Protected Area) and DCO (Drive Configuration Overlay) within Windows.

We can also recommend you to download and install the free trial version of Acronis Drive Cleanser (http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/download/) and see how it works on your computer.

Please visit Acronis online store (http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/sales/online/) to purchase the full version of the product.

Thank you.
--
Kirill Omelchenko

[Uluquai]

Thank you for your satisfying answer!

This makes Acronis DriveCleanser very interesting..

Regards