[nicholab]

Hi i need good boot disk that does data wiping for a family friend as they are getting rid of a PC that has ex's bank details on it.

I what some think that will run stand alone form a boot disk that is quick and easy to use any suggestions.

[actech]

Try KillDisk. I use it to wipe old PC's at work before getting rid of them.

[tech_guy]

Here:

Darik's Boot And Nuke | Hard Drive Disk Wipe and Data Clearing

I use this.

[ajbritton]

Another vote for Darik's Boot & Nuke (DBAN)

[apaton]

Another Yes to DBAN from me.

We use DBAN at work and I highly recommend it.

[torledo]

Originally Posted by nicholab

Hi i need good boot disk that does data wiping for a family friend as they are getting rid of a PC that has ex's bank details on it.

I what some think that will run stand alone form a boot disk that is quick and easy to use any suggestions.

surely a secure wipe won't be quick though will it ?

[laserblazer]

Originally Posted by torledo

surely a secure wipe won't be quick though will it ?

I used KILLDISK on a load of old W98 machines. There was nothing on them of a sensitive nature but they were being recycled. It wasn't that quick but did the job. There was also an old server with a SCSI drive that posed a problem until I noticed a very large sledge hammer in the store. Now that was quick

[FN-GM]

Originally Posted by laserblazer

I used KILLDISK on a load of old W98 machines. There was nothing on them of a sensitive nature but they were being recycled. It wasn't that quick but did the job. There was also an old server with a SCSI drive that posed a problem until I noticed a very large sledge hammer in the store. Now that was quick

Also use killdisk does the job really well

[ajbritton]

Originally Posted by torledo

surely a secure wipe won't be quick though will it ?

If you just wanted to securely erase certain files, you you could try Eraser (Eraser). Assuming you succcesfully targeted all the sensitive files, this might be quicker. This would also have the benefit of not wiping out the OS! Depending on how paranoid you are, though, you might worry about other sensitive files that you forgot or temporary files. If I was selling a PC, even to someone I trusted, I would still want to wipe the disk. Once the PC is out of your hands you've no control over who might get hold of the hard drive in the future.

Speaking of the OS, assuming it was an OEM installed copy, then the license will be locked to the PC so would need to be sold with the computer. If it's not an OEM copy and you are transferring it to another computer, then it will need wiping from the old PC so a disk wipe would be the best bet.

DBAN has a number of different levels of secure wipe. The default settings should be good enough for most people. It's still a bit slow, depending on the size of the hard drive, but does the job properley.