just a couple of quessies about dban

[tricky disko]

when prompted to choose the HD or certain partitions with dban.

if the HD is chosen will this wipe all the partitions and any backup HD's also?

this is a question about the BIOS

to boot from CD with dban we must change the BIOS then on reboot it will ask for the CD, if im right

well, when dban has finished the wipe and the computer is restarted will the BIOS confieration be the same and ask for a CD?

any imput appreciated

 

[dajhorn]

if the HD is chosen will this wipe all the partitions and any backup HD's also?

If you choose a disk, then it is entirely wiped, including non-Windows partitions and hidden partitions.

DBAN does not, however, wipe the "pre-desktop area" because it honors the HPA.

well, when dban has finished the wipe and the computer is restarted will the BIOS confieration be the same and ask for a CD?

DBAN does not wipe or otherwise change the BIOS.

 

[tricky disko]

DBAN does not, however, wipe the "pre-desktop area" because it honors the HPA

will you go into more detail please with this statement,

if a computer that originally had a OS installed like windows then am i right in saying that no trace of windows will be left after a HD wipe?

 

[dajhorn]

will you go into more detail please with this statement

The Host Protected Area ("HPA") is a feature of new hard drives that causes them to report fewer blocks than are actually available on the disk. Some vendors use the HPA to keep diagnostic or rescue programs and prevent them from being changed by the regular operating system.

HPA is a new feature that you are unlikely to see in currently available computers. Some vendors that use HPA allow the entire disk to be exposed through the BIOS setup program by disabling the "pre-desktop area" option.

DBAN will mention an active HPA in the dmesg log file, but it does not indicate such in the GUI at runtime.

if a computer that originally had a OS installed like windows then am i right in saying that no trace of windows will be left after a HD wipe?

DBAN will wipe the entire area that is normally available to Microsoft Windows.