Drive Wiping Procedures
When erasing sensitive data, you should always make sure that the data cannot be recovered. To securely wipe a disk drive, you can use an application called Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN). This software should be used any time a computer is decommissioned or repurposed.
Follow the steps below:
- Download DBAN at: http://dban.sourceforge.net/
- Use DBAN to create a bootable DBAN CD, and then boot your computer using this CD.
- At the "boot:" prompt, press Enter to start DBAN in interactive mode.
- Press "M" (Method). On the "Wipe Method" screen, use the arrow keys to navigate to DoD 5220.22-M, and press the Spacebar to save your selection and return to the Disks and Partitions menu.
- If only one disk is present in your computer, select the topmost option that appears in the Disks and Partitions menu and then press the Spacebar. The selection box will display "[wipe]" to indicate what will be securely erased.
- If you see "[****]" it means that the section of the disk you selected will also be wiped.
- If you see "[----]" it means that you have already selected a section of the disk for wiping. You should uncheck your selection and instead wipe the entire disk.
- Press the F10 key to begin the secure erase process. As soon as you press F10, data erasure will begin.
The "Statistics" box in the top right-hand corner of the screen will display an estimate of the time remaining on the disk wiping process.
