Automatic start with Windows 7 x64

E

eraseduser

Member
Hello,

after installing Eraser_6.0.7.1893 Eraser starts automatically with Windows.

To have Eraser run properly I have to assign administrator's rights permanently to the programm Eraser with the Program Compatibility Assistance Service of Windows 7 x64.

After that Eraser does not start automatically with Windows any more.

Why?
 
Because assigning administrator's rights is not needed and Windows cannot start such a process by the standard CreateProcess call. I don't understand why you need to run Eraser as an administrator all the time, I don't, and it works for all normal files for me. If you are erasing something that requires administrator permissions, probably you shouldn't be erasing it in the first place. I know David has a habit of disabling UAC and/or setting it to the lowest (least noisy) level. I use relatively new applications so to me I set it to the default level (also allowing me to experience what majority of users experience)

The only case where administrator permissions is needed for Eraser to function properly is for erasing unused space; apart from that, running Eraser as an administrator to erase files is actually quite dangerous (as it allows you to erase system files and the like.) If files you use (which are non-program) requires administrator permissions to erase, it would also require administrator permissions to edit, which is a problem with the software creating the file to begin with.
 
It seems that I do not need to run Eraser as an administrator all the time. I just thought that doing so would solve the problem Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070015 (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6207#p18275) but did it not.

I agree with you that it is not necessary to run Eraser as an administrator all the time. I just changed the setting on the compatibility tab of the executable (or shortcut) file properties: unchecked 'run program as administrator'.
 
Hi, I would like to have Eraser startup with admin privileges so that I can schedule a nightly task to erase unused space. Do I just modify HKLM/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run/Eraser "C:\PROGRA~1\Eraser\Eraser.exe" --atRestart with an additional --parameter?
 
Leaving aside the fact that I know of no way to do this (which is really a Windows rather than an Eraser issue), I'd recommend against running a free space erase every night. The wear and tear on your hard drive would be considerable. Whether enterprise standard hard drives are robust enough to stand up is something I am not qualified to comment on.

The same considerations apply to SSDs even though the actual technical issues are different from the issues with spinning drives; SSD life has undoubtedly been increased in newer models, but manufacturers are very coy about predicting how long an SSD will last before it becomes unwriteable.

Joel will advise, but I know that the intention with 6.2 is that a free space erase would be run without the extra user actions that are currently required. That opens the possibility of running a free space erase as a scheduled task, though daily running will still be potentially problematic.

David
 
I think nightly unused space erasures have been run for quite a long time now, even during the reign of v5 :P I don't think that would wear out mechanical drives much, since wear for that is a function of time vs. write seeks. While time will increase, write seeks probably wouldn't if you leave Eraser to run in the background without disturbing it.

If you want to run Eraser as an administrator automatically, you can use the Task Scheduler. The full steps are described somewhere in the forum -- and I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader :P
 
You live and learn!

I think Joel's view about nightly erasures is legitimate; the difficulty is that there is very little published information about drive life, so one's instinct is to be cautious on the forum.

David
 
There have been concerns about these ever since we've had engineers using Eraser... but so far there hasn't been complaints that Eraser can measurably reduce the life of a mechanical disk drive.

SSDs are obviously a different matter altogether. Don't try erasing unused space on your SSD: that has a measurable performance hit immediately after the erasure pass and will reduce your drive life.

Remember most flash memory cells can only be reprogrammed approximately 3000 times if you are using a consumer-grade SSD.
 
Joel said:
... but so far there hasn't been complaints that Eraser can measurably reduce the life of a mechanical disk drive.
Click to expand...
How would an ordinary user with a failed hard drive know that Eraser was (or wasn't) the problem? Clearly, I can assess and take a risk with my own machines. Advising others to do the same on a public forum is, I think, a different matter.

David
 
Good point - then I think it pretty much boils down to chance; there's no way to determine whether Eraser caused a drive to fall off the cliff even if two drives worked the exact same way, except one received erasures and the other did not, because of either experimental error or chance. To actually pin Eraser as a cause would require repeating this experiment with dozens of drives.

I've edited the earlier comment. Hope it's less ambiguous.
 
Joel said:
I've edited the earlier comment. Hope it's less ambiguous.
Click to expand...
Yes; I think that's a good way of putting it. Now if we could find some kind and well-heeled person who was prepared to test a representative sample of spinning drives and SSDs to destruction ...

David
 
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