First time DBAN user.

[Smite]

Hey,

Okay, gonna use DBAN in a week to wipe my drive.

Need a couple of pointers though.

My plan is, to stick my new drive in, see if it all works (install vista, install motherboard drivers, if it's all fine, continue.)

Then, take that drive out, and DBAN my old drive.

Then stick my new drive back in.

My questions are:

How easy is DBAN to use? I've burnt it to a disk, but, obviously i havent used it yet.

Can I install vista + drivers on my new HD, take it out, wipe a HD, then put it back in and it would all work fine?

Is there anything I should watch out for when using DBAN/changing the HD's? Like, static vulnerable componenets, etc?

How do I replace and change HD's?

Also, It's a 500gb HD...how long will that take?

I also heard that you can wipe an Internal HD by taking the HD out, sticking a USB adaptor thingy in with DBAN, and doing it like that?

 

[Art]

How easy is DBAN to use?

Just had a go on my machine, and it's not good. The 1.7 USB version doesn't boot properly, neither does the 2.0 beta, and the CD version boots but doesn't work. It keeps finishing with fatal errors after literally 5 seconds and complaining that my drive has bad sectors. I've checked my drive for bad sectors and there aren't any, and after looking up the DBAN forums a lot of people are getting this issue and there doesn't seem to be any answer for it. I've tried it with the noverify command that's supposed to help but I just get the same problem. I'm going to have to use something else. I'm sure the program is great when it works, but that seems to be a very hit and miss issue.

Can I install vista + drivers on my new HD, take it out, wipe a HD, then put it back in and it would all work fine?

I can't see why not, just remember to remove it before running DBAN.

Is there anything I should watch out for when using DBAN/changing the HD's? Like, static vulnerable componenets, etc?

Static really, and that's it. Just ground yourself properly and you'll be fine. Avoid touching anything else if you can, but static seems a bit overhyped as a problem.

How do I replace and change HD's?

Assuming you've a SATA drive: turn your rig off, switch it off at the power supply but don't unplug it. take the side cover off and touch a bit of bare metal on the case to ground yourself. Unplug the SATA power and data cables from your HDD, undo the screws holding it in place and slide it out. Installing a new one is just a matter of sliding it into the bay, screwing it in and plugging in the cables.

I've no idea about your last two questions: someone on the DBAN forums mentioned that the 2.0 Beta takes about 5 hours to wipe 2x250GB hard drives, so maybe something in that region. I'm not sure what you mean by wiping the drive if you take it out though, it'll need to be plugged into a machine for it to work.

EDIT: Right, I've finally managed to get it to work. Seems the beta version didn't like the DVDs I was burning it to.

I've just finished a single pass with it, and it seems to take about an hour per 80GB per pass, so you're looking at about six and a half hours for one pass with a 500GB drive. If you're keen on using something like the DoD 7 pass setting you going to be there for nearly two of days. Once you get it working though it's pretty easy, a couple of taps on your keyboard and you're off.

 

[Smite]

Okay, I've stuck my old HD into a USB drive enclosure, and want to wipe it. Im not sure how to do it through DBAN, if anyone could lend me a hand here, please? I'm getting quite..frustrated.

 

[Smite]

Please, can anyone help me?

Im quite desperate.