Unbiased research, analysis and review…

darik’s boot and nuke is Free software one can use to boot and nuke your hdd (hard drive).

But with so many open source and commercial solutions to erase your hard drive one might wonder what is the best and why? Lets look at two solutions one can use to nuke your hard drive.

1. DBAN
2. WipeDrive

DBAN versus Wipedrive

DBAN is a free disk eraser located on sourceforge which will wipe most hard drives clear of all data. WipeDrive is approved by the Department of Defense, and it is trusted by government agencies and major corporations as their primary disk wipe utility. Wipedrive will permanently wipe all hard drive information / data including partitions, formats & file data. Wipe external hard drives, thumb drives, memory cards, SD, SDHD, SDXD, iPods & other external media. Support for all PC and Mac Computers (Intel, AMD & PowerPC).

If you don’ t mind paying a little cash WipeDrive is clearly the way to go. Its easier to use and can be used to wipe the drive of many of your hardware devices which contain a hard disk.

Before you erase your hard drive you need to back up files on your existing hard drive so I recommend the simple and popular Mozy Free 2GB backup online service. 2GB should be more than enough space to back up all your family photos, documents and other important files on your harddrive before you wipe that sucker clean.

“Darik’s Boot and Nuke (”DBAN”) is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction on your hdd.

DBAN is a means of ensuring due diligence in computer recycling, a way of preventing identity theft if you want to sell a computer, and a good way to totally clean a Microsoft Windows installation of viruses and spyware. DBAN prevents or thoroughly hinders all known techniques of hard disk forensic analysis. This means it writes over the existing data making it virtually impossible to recover the data it over wrote. Both wipe drive and dariks boot and nuke.

Both utilities will permanently wipe your hard drive clean.

Download WipeDrive here

or go to dban.sourceforge.net

Now one might ask “How do I erase my hard drive” well I’m glad you asked! Scroll down to the images a couple pages down for simple use instructions to nuke you hard drive clean.

Here are the installation instructions for Darik’s Boot and Nuke (dban-1.0.7_i386)

http://www.dban.org/README.TXT Contents

——————

1.0 About Darik’s Boot and Nuke

2.0 Installing DBAN

2.1 Creating the DBAN boot media on Microsoft Windows

2.2 Creating the DBAN CD-R disc on Microsoft Windows

2.3 Creating the DBAN floppy disk on Linux

2.4 Creating the DBAN CD-R disc on Linux

3.0 Using DBAN

3.1 Getting Help and Support

4.0 Configuring DBAN

4.1 Automatic Wiping

4.2 SYSLINUX.CFG

5.1 Free Updates

5.2 Contact Information

6.0 Advanced Features

6.1 Logging

6.2 PRNG Seeding

7.0 Legal

1.0 About Darik’s Boot and Nuke

——————————–

Darik’s Boot and Nuke (“DBAN”) is a self-contained boot floppy that securely

wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely

delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an

appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction and cleaning.

2.0 Installing DBAN

——————–

2.1 Creating the DBAN boot media on Microsoft Windows

——————————————————-

Double-click the ‘dban-1.0.7_i386.exe’ program to install DBAN to a

floppy disk or USB flash device.

You must use an account with full hardware access to create the DBAN boot

media. This means that you must be a member of the administrators group or

have similar privileges on your Microsoft Windows computer. Virus scanners

and domain policies can prevent you from creating the DBAN boot media.

The USB booting capabilities of many computers are incomplete or broken. Most

computers capable of booting from a USB device require that it report a

removable media type, and that it be unpartitioned and smaller than two

gigabytes (so that the BIOS can boot it like a floppy disk).

If the drive letter of your USB device does not appear in WinImage drive list,

then it is an unsupported media type. In particular, most USB+IDE bridge

implementations are unrecognized, which means that a 2.5 inch hard disk in an

external USB enclosure is incompatible.

2.2 Creating the DBAN CD-R disc on Microsoft Windows

———————————————————–

If you do not have a floppy drive, or if you wish to use a CD drive or

DVD drive instead, then get the “CDR/CDRW version” from the DBAN home page,

which is an ISO file.

The DBAN FAQ has a tutorial for burning the DBAN ISO on Microsoft Windows.

If you already have burning software installed on your computer, then

double-click the ISO file to burn DBAN to blank CD-R or CD-RW media. Keep all

defaults for mode and emulation if you burn the ISO file with a product like

Nero Burning ROM.

If nothing happens when you double-click the DBAN ISO file, or if the “Open

With” dialog that asks you to “choose a program” starts, then you do not have

burning software installed that understands the ISO format.

Note that CD-ROM drives manufactured before 1998 often have problems reading

CD-R media, and will sometimes damage it. Try to use a DBAN floppy disk on

older computers.

Similarly, CD-RW media is often more problematic than CD-R media. Try to use

CD-R media with DBAN, especially on older computers.

2.3 Creating the DBAN floppy disk on Linux

——————————————-

# unzip dban-1.0.7_i386.exe

# dd if=dban-1.0.7_i386.ima of=/dev/floppy bs=1024

The DBAN EXE file is a regular zip file with the WinImage SFX module prepended.

InfoZip, which is bundled with most Linux distributions, can unpack the DBAN

EXE file. Ignore any offset warnings.

If /dev/floppy does not exist on your computer, then try /dev/fd0 or

/dev/floppy/0 instead. This command also works on BSD systems.

2.4 Creating the DBAN CD-R/CD-RW disc on Linux

———————————————–

# cdrecord dban-1.0.7_i386.iso

Ensure that the /etc/defaults/cdrecord file is properly configured for your

computer.

3.0 Using DBAN

—————

Boot the computer with the DBAN media like you would boot a DOS startup disk or

like you would reinstall an operating system. DBAN cannot be started from

within Microsoft Windows.

Doing this often requires changing the “boot order” of the computer so that

DBAN is started before the operating system on the hard disk is started.

Run the built-in BIOS setup program and put the floppy drive and the CD-ROM

drive first in the boot order. Do this by pushing <ESC>, <DEL>, <F1>, or <F2>

when you power-on the computer. The correct button and menu changes vary

between computers. Watch for a prompt when you power-on the computer or

consult the motherboard documentation.

Let’s say you choose a floppy disk. Insert the dban floppy and boot to it.

Dban has an automatic mode – type “autonuke” to enter into auto mode to completely erase your hard drive clean.

Now that autonuke is loading give it a minute or two to start. If it fails then reset your computer and at dban start up press f4 for troubleshooting hints.

Now that DBAN has started erasing your hard drive the speed will vary based on the size and speed of your hard drive.

If DBAN isn’t working out for you I highly recommend WipeDrive

3.1 Getting Help and Support

—————————–

First, read the frequently asked questions at:

dban.org/faq/

Second, search for an answer and then ask for help in the forum at:

sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=208932

Third, send email to support@dban.org and ensure that you have “DBAN” somewhere

in the subject line.

Include this information if you ask a question or make a support request:

1. The DBAN release that you are trying to use. (eg: dban-1.0.7)

2. The DBAN media that you are trying to use. (eg: floppy disk)

3. The computer manufacturer and model information. (eg: Dell OptiPlex 170L)

4. The exact message that you see. (eg: “DBAN failed with error 255.”)

5. Anything else that is unusual about your computer or pertinent to the

situation. (eg: “I am trying to hot swap my disks.”)

Contact us if you wish to purchase a support contract.

You are also welcome to call us directly if you have previously purchased a

DBAN enhancement or customization, or if you have made a donation or other

contribution to the DBAN project.

4.0 Configuring DBAN

———————

4.1 Automatic Wiping

———————

Enter “autonuke” at the boot prompt to automatically wipe all devices in the

computer without confirmation.

4.2 SYSLINUX.CFG

—————–

The “A:\SYSLINUX.CFG” file is the DBAN configuration file. You may change the

default behavior of DBAN by editing this file after you create the DBAN floppy

disk. The SYSLINUX.CFG is self-documented.

The CDR/CDRW version of DBAN must be remastered to change the SYSLINUX.CFG file

that is embedded in the ISO file. DBAN will fail if the ISO file is changed by

an editor like IsoBuster.

5.1 Free Updates

—————–

If you wish to be automatically notified of DBAN updates, then visit:

sourceforge.net/project/monitor_project.php?group_id=61951

A similar service is provided by:

freshmeat.net/subscribe/31200/

5.2 Contact Information

————————

General inquiries: dajhorn@dban.org

Help and support: support@dban.org

All e-mail messages must have “DBAN” in the subject line. Messages