Darik's Boot and Nuke

Discussion in 'privacy problems' started by ErikAlbert, Apr 7, 2006.

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  1. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    After reading the features of Eraser
    http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/features.php
    I read this :
    So I searched for 'Darik's Boot and Nuke'
    http://dban.sourceforge.net/features.html
    and I read this :
    WinXP and SATA is mentioned on the website, but I have
    CPU = AMD Athlon 4400+ 64Bit X2 Dual-Core and
    HDD = WD Raptor WD740GD HDD 74gb 10000rpm SATA 8mb Cache 4.5ms

    Can I safely use 'Darik's Boot and Nuke' to wipe my harddisks with this CPU o_O
    Any practical experience with this combination of CPU and HDD o_O
    Thanks in advance
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2006
  2. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

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    DBAN runs from a floppy disk right?

    i would just try it (since ur just wiping ur harddisk neways) and if it doesnt work then report it to the author but i dont see much reason why DBAN wouldnt function with ur Athlon X2.
     
  3. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    Yes it works with a floppy disk, I already created one, but I hesitate to use it.
    Maybe I get two NADA disks after using it .
     
  4. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

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    if ur hesitant to use DBAN, Eraser also has its own boot disk u can use.
     
  5. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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  6. TNT

    TNT Registered Member

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    Well, it's not ShadowUser, you know... :rolleyes:

    And that's unexpected?
     
  7. Don Pelotas

    Don Pelotas Registered Member

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    If you have to quote something, why not the whole quote:
    About the "it also seems to be very slow (hours !!!)", yes of course it's slow, it's actually overwriting the data, unlike the MS format, one pass (a lot faster) should be enough, you just enter "Quick" and press enter, if you just want to be sure no virus will survive.

    You can easily download low-level format programs from WD website btw.
     
  8. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    The "No" was enough for me and I did mention the link to read the rest.
    If the link wasn't mentioned, I would agree with you.
    Wilders has alot of posts with partial quotes, but the links are usually mentioned.
    That is a very good idea and more reliable and reassuring. Thanks.
     
  9. Don Pelotas

    Don Pelotas Registered Member

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    It's probably just as true for every other tool like this, Darik's Boot and Nuke is a very good program of it's kind and free too.:)
     
  10. TNT

    TNT Registered Member

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    So when one claims he can not guarantee that everything is perfect in his program (like anybody with some integrity and decency) you refuse to use it, but if one says his program is perfect in every way you use it?

    Be prepared to use a lot of crap, then.
     
  11. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    @Don Pelotas
    I found a download to create a "Diagnostics Bootable CD" on this website :
    http://support.wdc.com/download/?cxml=n&pid=1&swid=30
    to wipe this type of harddisk
    WD Raptor WD740GD HDD 74gb 10000rpm SATA 8mb Cache 4.5ms

    One of it's option is :
    That's the one I need and trust because it's straight from the manufacturer himself and it's free too.

    @TNT,
    I'm here to choose softwares and everybody has his own opinion about anything. I found what I need and that's enough for me.
    If you are DBAN-fan and trust it, that's OK with me.
    Why spending time on a discussion like this.
    If I hurt your feelings concerning DBAN. Sorry.
    I keep my feelings for people, not for softwares.
     
  12. TNT

    TNT Registered Member

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    No problem. I just find it absurd that you don't use the software because the author says it cannot guarantee that it will wipe the hard disk so that it's impossible to retrieve the data. DBAN is considered by pretty much everybody the best and most reliable of its category, and the author is just being honest. But that's ok, I don't care.
     
  13. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    This post is based one a true story, only the name of the poster has been changed for security reasons. :)
    As you can read in previous posts, I wasn't very happy with "Darik's Boot and Nuke" to wipe my harddisks.
    So I followed dear member Don Pelotas's suggestion.

    Warning: this solution works ONLY for WDnnn Raptor harddisks and in my case :
    WD Raptor WD740GD HDD 74gb 10000rpm SATA 8mb Cache 4.5ms on my computer.


    1. First, I went to this website : http://support.wdc.com/download/?cxml=n&pid=1&swid=30
    2. On the left selection box, I choosed : "Serial ATA WD Raptor - 10,000 RPM"
    3. On the right selection box, I choosed : "Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for DOS (CD)"
    4. Then I downloaded : "Diag504cCD.zip"
    5. Unzipped the file with IZArc.
    6. Burned the .iso-file on a CD with Nero.

    Then I rebooted my computer with this CD in my DVD/CD-drive and got an userfriendly and informative menu, easy enough for newbies like me.
    1. I selected the drive first
    2. Ran "Write Zeros To Drive".
    It took 20 minutes to wipe ONE harddisk (exactly 19m15s for hairsplitters).
    Then I replaced this CD with the winXPproSP2-CD, rebooted my computer and installed winXPproSP2 without any problems.
    If I had any problems, I wouldn't be here.

    So it really works and I don't need a safer wipe method, because that would be superfluous and unnecessary in my case.
    This is a practical solution with an acceptable run-time, that doesn't take hours or even days :rolleyes: according my readings.
    Forgot to say : it's freeware LOL.
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2006
  14. doug6949

    doug6949 Registered Member

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    IBM wrote a program called WIPE.COM that writes zeros. It has a drive size limitation but works fine if what you really want to do is eliminate the MBR. WIPE gets rid of the stuff that prevents a clean install.

    The program is only 3K. Unfortunately, I can't find the link to the download site.
     
  15. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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  16. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    I zero my harddisk now, before I re-install winXPproSP2 from scratch.

    If I don't use any other better method than zeroing, what difference does it make ?
    Is a hacker capable of reading, what is hidden under the zeros of my harddisk ? That must be quite a job. :D
     
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