Search results

Can you be more specific about what you're finding with Disk Investigator? Are you finding file names in the Master File Table (where the actual directory listings would normally be found), or is it possible you're finding them somewhere else (e.g. in index.dat files that store system history...

Uninstalling Eraser won't disable the scripts per se; they'll still try to run, but won't be able to run the "Eraser" lines because Eraser's no longer there. I would imagine the script would just report "file not found" or somesuch and move on. When you set up logoff/shutdown scripts, the...

Glenn, I think the above link has an error in it -- a trailing comma. This link will take you to the exact spot: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/faq.php#lost%20space Try the suggestion there, and see what happens!

Eraser clears usused disk space, in part, by creating a series of files composed of random data. What likely happened is that something interrupted the erasing process, and the bogus files didn't get deleted as they would normally have after the drive space was filled. Check in your root...

I use DOS scripts to do the erasing of these files on logout/shutdown (I actually have separate logoff and shutdown scripts). These things are easy to set up in Windows XP Pro; Windows XP Home is another matter (I think you can set up such scripts in Home edition, but I'm not sure how). On the...

Re: Further thoughts. I second the recommendation for Disk Investigator (the program linked-to above). I used that program to view raw disk data a few months back in checking whether Eraser does what it says. I wasn't disappointed. :)

If you ran a recovery program to see what deleted files you could find, make sure the recovery program didn't undelete the files in the process. A free space wipe won't take care of files if they've been recovered ;) I ran into this problem during testing, too. But I've run Encase, Winhex...

No problem. This is good stuff to go over, and a FAQ along these lines should probably be created. The one thing I'd mention about the above is that I'd clear unused disk space after everying else. That's because it makes sure there are no deleted temp files left over, and makes sure the...

In my experience, Spybot will delete tracking registry entries, log files and other tracking files on the disk, including cookies and cache files. It normally doesn't eliminate your system swap (page) file. Eraser can be used to do this on shutdown, by the way. As an aside, one of the reasons...

Have you tried running a program like Scandisk to check for file system corruptions? Just a thought.

This is from the FAQ:

I'd be interested in seeing further study on what may have happened here or in other cases, to find out if this is actually something DBAN did (the program actually used when Eraser is set to wipe the drive) or some sort of side-effect on certain systems when the drive is wiped. I can only...

You should be able to do this by creating a script with an extention ".bat" or ".cmd" and a link to it in your "startup" folder. The script should contain something like:

I tried your method, and it works in scripts but, as you say, not from the "Run" field. I'd suggest using the DOS path instead of "C:\Program Files\Eraser\eraserl.exe": C:\progra~1\eraser\eraserl -disk c:\ -method DoD_E -results That seems to work for me.

As far as "wear leveling" is concerned, my understanding is that eraser creates content on the drive (in the form of multiple random files) until it's filled. So it doesn't matter what sectors are chosen by the controller to fill initially: all of them are filled during a pass. As GHall...

I have used Eraser to wipe the content of flash drives before. I use only one overpass (the same issue mentioned above with the limited write cycles of flash memory) which frankly is enough unless someone wants to break open the drive, use fuming nitric acid to remove the flash memory chips and...

GHall's right about ways to delete all the content you mention. Spybot will delete all the content, too, if you direct it to delete "usage tracks". It's a default option when you run a Spybot scan. Note my comments in earlier posts, though, about clearing the index.dat files. Spybot may...

Eraser clears unused disk space, in part, by creating random-titled files. Normally, it deletes those files. I've never noticed what you're seeing, but I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be doing that. I think I would run scandisk as a first step to make sure the filesystem isn't corrupt.

To say the least, this seems odd. Have you tried booting with a Windows CD in the drive, to see what happens when you have a bootable disk available to the system? I've run DBAN before and successfully wiped a drive, and it didn't touch the BIOS. I'm not even sure how it would go about...

Eraser clears unused disk space by creating multiple files. The files are standard files; you should be able to find a bunch of files with random-character file names under the root directory and delete them. If nothing else, then you should be able to use DBAN to clear the drive and...