Too Slow

[targy]

130 GB Hard Drive
Dual Core processor
Vista
Ran it overnight and after 6 hours only about 1/8 done
How often should I run Eraser

I have to use my computer for work and will have several windows open can I run it isn the background and if I run it everyweek what will happen to the free space will it make my drive smaller

What is the best pass for files and the best pass for unused space

Thank you in advacned
Mark

 

[targy]

Forgot to add

File erase DOD 3 pass
Fee space pseudorandom 1 pass

Anti Virus FreeAVG
Diskeeper Defrag program set to use when computer is idle

 

[Joel]

130 GB Hard Drive
Dual Core processor
Vista
Ran it overnight and after 6 hours only about 1/8 done

That does seem unusual. Do you have any disk-intensive programs like an anti virus scan, or an active defragmentation or disk backup? In addition -- did you run the erase with cluster tip erasures enabled?

How often should I run Eraser

That's a question only you can answer. It depends on your time/privacy ratio. Running Eraser with an unused disk space erase increases security from deleted files, however it takes a lot of time.

I have to use my computer for work and will have several windows open can I run it isn the background and if I run it everyweek what will happen to the free space will it make my drive smaller

Yes you can leave it in the background, but this is not advised. We recommend to run it overnight instead. Free space will not be reduced permanently, but erasing unused disk space will involve filling the disk to the brim before emptying temporary files.

What is the best pass for files and the best pass for unused space

There's no "best" pass. It depends on your threat model and the privacy/time ratio again. Increasing the number of passes increases security, but also increases the amount of time. It is however important to note that current information security sentiments are that data is irrecoverable on a modern drive with only one erase pass.

Forgot to add

File erase DOD 3 pass
Fee space pseudorandom 1 pass

No issues there.

Anti Virus FreeAVG
Diskeeper Defrag program set to use when computer is idle

Try disabling Diskeeper.