Hi,

What I'm wanting to do is start testing and wiping hard drives in medium quantities (i.e. I want to test/wipe 20-40 a day).

What is the best software for both the wiping portion and the testing portion of the process?

Your input is appreciated.

MHDD

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

I PM'd you with info.

DRC. Will MHDD handle DOD wiping?

THe products that I have looked at are Seatools and Killdisc. I for sure want to boot in dos. I dont want to have to buy an OP system for the computers I'm going to setup to run this.

If it is not a legal requirement, DoD wiping is unnecessary in all cases. A simple zerofill will destroy data beyond the ability of anyone to recover it.

If you are required to use DoD procedures, check out DBAN.

DBAN and MHDD both work from bootable CDs, no need to have anything other than a working machine

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

Will these programs also test the drives and if so will it perform test on all manufacturers drives?

You should read the documentation and find out if they will do what you want

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

@BCorp,

Since disks can have so many different types of problems, it is often a subjective interpretation of whether a disk is good or not. Or to put it another way - a diagnostic program "fail" probably means a faulty disk (if the tests were well-written); a diagnostic program "pass" may, or may not mean that the disk is OK.

So is there definitive way of being able to "recertify" a HD?

I believe that BlackST does that in Italy, based on his previous comments on this board. Perhaps he'll add to this thread.

From my insight (not based on DR), the answers depend on exactly what you mean by "recertify"? Different people mean different things... For example, some people have visited this board, claimed to be "recertifying" drives, and it later became apparent that they were just doing a zero-fill and then clearing the drive's GList - which is not anywhere near to what a manufacturer would do when certifying the drive originally, of course!

[Edited to add: Full self-scan and other techniques typically involved in real recertification (IMHO) are possible on at least some disk drive families - but not using free tools.]

Are you choosing what testing/wiping to do, or is that criteria being decided for you already, by your customer?

No I have a choice in what type of testing/wiping to do. For marketing purposes I would like to use a program that is DOD 5220 compliant.

I want to be able to provide a high quality service I do not want to circulate junk out on the market. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about what consitutes a high quality recertification so if someone is able to provide me that kind of information it would be most helpful.

After I choose the programs to use my problems becomes hardware. I have found little to no information on where to start as far as that goes.

Maybe I can help . What brand / type of drives mainly and what are the quantities ?

NOTE : we are talking about complete refurbishing : drives return like brand new, all defects healed and hidden, no slows, no bads, no delays, ALL drive parameters and heads re-tuned, surface analyzed / optimized and and data erased beyond any possibility of recovery as also the previously isolated defected areas are reprocessed, SMART cleared
For extra safety, a safety erase is performed later if required.
This will also sort out the intermittent and going-to-die drives that do not survive the process.

No I don't use MHDD or things like that

Hey Black,

I just PM'd you with a little more information about what im trying to do.

Thanks!!!