Explorer freeze problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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Running Win98se with all the latest security patches, etc, I have long been a happy user of Eraser 5.2.1. But I have consistently had a serious problem with subsequent versions, including 5.3, 5.6, and now 5.7. After installing any of these versions (after first uninstalling 5.2.1), any attempt to right-click a file either on the desktop or in Windows Explorer, or any attempt to move/copy/delete/etc a file in Windows Explorer using the move/copy/delete/etc buttons, results in a complete freeze that allows for nothing but an ineffectual moving of the mouse arrow with no ability to click on anything else. The only way out of this is to reboot using the reset button. Uninstalling the offending version of Eraser always immediately eliminates this problem, and the old version 5.2.1 never causes it. Can anyone explain why I am experiencing this, or how to resolve it so that I may use newer versions of Eraser?
 
Thanks for the suggestion and the referrence to the FAQ. It's good to know that I am obviously not alone in this problem. (The FAQ also mentions Norton Utilities, which I should mention is not an issue in my case.) But doesn't turning off the entropy polling degrade the quality of the erasure (by making the randomness of the overwriting choices less random, or some such thing)? And is this a very widespread problem? Are MOST users not able to to take advantage of the entropy polling? It seems peculiar that I have no trouble using entropy polling with the old 5.2.1 version but not with any more recent versions . . .
 
Entropy Polling is not really required as Eraser already uses DOD standard patterns.
It was added at an earlier stage for random number generation.

Garrett
 
I hate to disagree here...

admin said:
Entropy Polling is not really required as Eraser already uses DOD standard patterns.
It was added at an earlier stage for random number generation.

Garrett
Click to expand...

For some reason the 35 pass/pattern mantra is being continuously repeated. It upsets me because for one on any given disk you only need some of those patterns, in fact the program should attempt to detect the media being overwritten (like floppy, etc.) and only do the patterns and passes needed for that media. the second thing is that for modern disks the best way to do it IS by doing random passes. And only 2 to 3 needed at that. So the fact that the one thing that I actually like about Eraser is exactly what isn't working or is working badly and making my explorer shell lock up.. bothers me no end.

DOD standard patterns don't take into account the actual engineering realities of the way the disk was built and how it records. the only thing that does at this point is the Gutmann patterns, and like I said before the patterns needed are dependent on the media and how it was originally written.

Personally I would love to see a form of Yarrow implemented with multi seed for the the random generator AND use multi sources for said generator. I am unsure if the entropy pseudo-random generator in Eraser is in fact sufficiently random to do the job anyways.

I will add a post on maybe having that implemented on a future release of Eraser.

Thanks BTW for the fact that this thread exists.

MFS
 
on last thing...

where does it say how to remove the shell extension keys in the registry? which keys and how many?
 
oh.. sigh.. wish I had remembered this...

My version is windows2k not XP but I am assuming that XP and 2k entries are basicaly the same.

Thanks for everything

MFS
 
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