Using Darik's
Boot and Nuke
Boot and Nuke completely erases
all data on the drive(s)
Q: Does DBAN wipe the empty spaces between files?
Q: Does DBAN wipe the browser history?
Q: Does DBAN wipe the index.dat file?
Q: Does DBAN wipe the NTFS metadata?
Q: Does DBAN wipe the cookie store?
Q: Does DBAN wipe the swap file?
Q: Does DBAN wipe the registry?
A: Yes.
Q: Why does my computer start into a black screen after using DBAN?
A: You must reinstall an operating system because DBAN removes it.
Q: Why does the device manager have yellow and red icons after
using DBAN?
Q: Why is my video resolution low after using DBAN?
Q: Why is sound broken after using DBAN?
A: You must reinstall drivers for this hardware after reinstalling
the operating system. These drivers were factory installed, but they may not be
on the Microsoft Windows installation or rescue media. All major computer
manufacturers provide drivers for Microsoft Windows on their web sites.
Notes
The most common problem with DBAN is bad boot media. Try another
floppy disk or another CD-R disc before making a support request. Many old
CD-ROM drives cannot reliably read burned media.
The second most common problem with DBAN is bad hardware. If your
computer normally crashes, then it will likely crash while running DBAN too.
DBAN does not run on broken computers.
This information applies to DBAN 1.0 releases. Prior versions are
obsolete.
Installation Questions
Q: Why doesn't the ZIP file or its contents fit on a floppy disk?
A: The ZIP file contains the DBAN install program.
Download the ZIP file to your desktop, unpack it, and double-click
the dban-1.0.6_i386.exe program. This program will create the DBAN floppy disk.
The readme file has extra information about creating the DBAN floppy disk.
You cannot install DBAN by copying or unpacking the ZIP file to a
blank floppy disk or other media.
Q: How do I make a bootable CD with the ISO file?
A: Download the ISO file to your desktop and double-click it.
If nothing happens when you double-click the ISO file, then you
need CD burning software, like one of these products:
CDBurnerXP Pro (Free)
http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/CDBurnerXP_Pro/cdburnerxp.html
If you burn DBAN to CD-R and see just one file when you open the
CD-R afterwards, then you have burned DBAN incorrectly.
Use the cdrecord command if you have a
Linux computer.
DBAN may not boot if you modify the ISO file or file system layout
in any way, like by injecting files.
Q: Can I start DBAN from DOS?
Q: Can I start DBAN from a USB device?
Q: Can I start DBAN from compilation CD or DVD?
A: Yes, DBAN can be started with Hans Lermen's
LOADLIN.EXE program. DBAN can also be started with programs like SysLinux and Grub.
Copy the kernel.bzi and initrd.gz files from the DBAN floppy disk to a DOS file
system and run this command:
loadlin kernel.bzi initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/ram0 init=/rc
nuke="dwipe"
You can put this command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Do not change
the forward-slash characters to back-slash characters. Note that DBAN cannot
return to DOS.
Q: I get this dialog when I try to install DBAN:
A: Click ignore.
You are probably running a virus scanner, like Norton AV, that
traps floppy disk access.
Start-up Questions
Q: How do I start the computer with the DBAN media? It just boots from
the hard disk.
A: Change the boot order of the computer.
Run the BIOS setup program and put the floppy drive and ROM drive
first in the boot order. Do this by pushing <ESC> <
Some computers will ask for a password before running the BIOS
setup program. You can defeat this check by opening the case and removing the
CMOS cell from the motherboard, which looks like a large round watch battery.
Q: I have a laptop computer. Why does DBAN hang when it tries to
detect the floppy?
A: The laptop computer is not connected to the docking station or
to the external floppy drive.
Start DBAN at the boot prompt with this command:
boot: nofloppy
If you have an older DBAN release, then disable the floppy driver
at the boot prompt with this command:
boot: dban floppy=0,16,cmos
Alternatively, disable the floppy drive with the BIOS setup
program.
The fdutils documentation has a summary
of advanced Linux floppy driver command line options.
Q: Why does the floppy version of DBAN lock-up after I push enter
at the boot prompt?
A: The floppy disk is bad. Use another.
Q: I suspect a driver problem or bad hardware. How do I get the dmesg?
A: Use "verbose" at the boot prompt.
Hardware Compatibility and Performance Questions
Q: Is it supposed to take that much time?
A: Yes.
DBAN fully uses all I/O capacity on most computers. There is no way
to reduce wipe time and still fully wipe the media. Commercial products may
appear to run faster than DBAN because they silently fail at BIOS addressing
limits.
Q: Does DBAN have SATA support?
A: Yes, the current release has full SATA support.
If DBAN does not detect a SATA controller running in native mode,
then run the controller setup program and enable the "legacy PATA
support" option. (i.e.: "Push <F2> to enter setup" when
the computer starts.)
SATA drivers for new computers will be added to DBAN as they are
published for Linux. Drivers for Microsoft Windows are incompatible with DBAN
and cannot be added to DBAN.
Q: Why is DBAN slow?
A: DBAN does not yet have a good driver for your motherboard
chipset. Wait for the next release or provide a hardware sample.
Computers with the Marvell SATA controller, like most recent HP Proliant models, are known to be slow.
Q: Does DBAN wipe remapped sectors?
A: No.
Q: Does DBAN wipe the Host Protected Area ("HPA")?
A: No.
Most vendors that are using the HPA have a toggle for it in the
BIOS setup program. Future releases of DBAN may override or dishonour the HPA.
Q: Why not now and why not by default?
A: Some vendors are using the HPA instead of providing rescue
media.
Wiping the HPA would surprise and strand people that expect the HPA
to have rescue materials. The HPA is a low risk because it is not accessible
during normal operations.
Q: I have an Adaptec AIC-7902 or IBM Serve RAID host controller.
Why doesn't DBAN detect the disks in the RAID array?
A: DBAN cannot detect individual disks when host controller is in
Host Raid mode.
Reboot the computer, enter the SCSI bios setup, and temporarily disable
Host Raid mode.
Q: Why doesn't DBAN detect the SCSI disks attached to my RAID
controller?
A: RAID controllers are unsupported. Only regular SCSI host
adapters are supported.
Q: But I know people that use DBAN with RAID controllers...
Q: But why do you have change log entries for RAID hardware?
A: DBAN does indeed have native drivers for most RAID
implementations, but making it run can require configuration changes on the
host. I cannot help if you lack the knowledge to do this because I do not have hardware
samples for development and testing. Send hardware if you want support for this
equipment.
Q: I started DBAN from a floppy drive, but it says "a floppy
disk in DOS format was not found" after the wipe.
A: DBAN cannot write log files to a USB floppy drive.
Q: Why does DBAN fail if there is an Iomega Zip drive in the
computer?
A: The dwipe device detection routine
mistakes it for a mass storage device.
This is a recurring problem that was partially fixed in the
dban-1.0.3 release and should be fully fixed in the dban-1.0.4 release. A
hardware sample has been donated.
Q: Will DBAN work properly if my BIOS is
old or broken?
A: Yes.
DBAN will still work properly if your BIOS does not detect all of
the hard disks in your computer, or if your BIOS has
disk size limitations. The BIOS need only be capable of starting DBAN from the
boot media.
Q: Will DBAN work with my off board IDE or IDE-RAID controller?
A: Yes.
Note, however, that most IDE-RAID devices are not really hardware
implementations. DBAN uses these devices as regular IDE controllers.
Q: How many disks can DBAN wipe concurrently?
A: 100.
DBAN has been run on a computer with 100 SCSI hard disks. There are
no artificial limits in DBAN, but bus bandwidth is usually a limiting factor in
practical application. The actual maximum device count is limited by the number
of bits allocated for major device numbers in the kernel, which can be changed.
Software Methodology and Implementation
Q: Is the Gutmann method the best method?
A: No.
Most of the passes in the Gutmann wipe
are designed to flip the bits in MFM/RLL encoded disks, which is an encoding
that modern hard disks do not use.
In a follow-up to his paper, Gutmann said
that it is unnecessary to run those passes because you cannot be reasonably
certain about how a modern hard disk stores data on the platter. If the
encoding is unknown, then writing random patterns is your best strategy.
In particular, Gutmann says that "in
the time since this paper was published, some people have treated the 35-pass
overwrite technique described in it more as a kind of voodoo incantation to
banish evil spirits than the result of a technical analysis of drive encoding
techniques. As a result, they advocate applying the voodoo to PRML and EPRML
drives even though it will have no more effect than a simple scrubbing with
random data... For any modern PRML/EPRML drive, a few passes of random
scrubbing is the best you can do".
Read these papers by Peter Gutmann:
Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory
Data Remanence in Semiconductor Devices
Q: What is the difference between the DBAN image in the ZIP file
and in the ISO file?
A: There is no difference.
The mkisofs utility is used to generate
the ISO file directly from the contents of the ZIP file. The IMG file is booted
from the cdrom with floppy disk emulation.
Q: When does DBAN expire or deactivate?
A: DBAN does not expire or deactivate. It will always run.
Q: Are you absolutely sure that DBAN works properly?
A: No.
There are several situations in which a DBAN failure could go
unnoticed:
DBAN may fail to detect a hard disk in a computer with many hard
disks. You must check whether DBAN actually detected all hard disks in a
computer.
Your hardware caches writes or otherwise does not implement a
functional write barrier. This is likely to happen with battery-backed
large-memory RAID controllers or defective hard disks.
Somebody with a lot of time, money, and brains needs to recover
your data.
The software that you downloaded could be bugged or trojaned. (Did you check the PGP signature?)
If you are seriously concerned about any of these situations, then
consider drilling open your hard disk, grinding down the platters, and melting
all of the parts in a furnace.
DBAN is "good enough" for "most people".
Operating System Reinstallation Questions
Q: Why did my large hard disk shrink to 128 gigabytes after running
DBAN?
A: The Microsoft Windows installation media that you are using only
has ATA-5 support, which has a 128 gigabyte limit.
The operating system installer must have ATA-6 support to use all
of a disk that is larger than 128 gigabytes. The solution is to reinstall with
Windows 2000 SP4 media or Windows XP SP1 media. If you do not have recent
Microsoft Windows media, then research a "windows slipstream install"
for instructions about how to create it.
Alternatively, you can install to a 128 gig partition, apply the
service pack that provides 48-bit LBA, and then enlarge the file system
afterwards.
Microsoft documents the issue in KB305098 for Windows 2000 and
KB303013 for Windows XP.
Seagate gives the issue full treatment in their Windows 137GB
Capacity Barrier document.
Q: I used DBAN and my C drive disappeared. Why did this happen?
A: DBAN erases the partition table, which causes all drive letters
to disappear.
The Microsoft Windows installer will automatically create a
partition and file system during installation. Using FDISK after running DBAN
is usually unnecessary.
Redistribution and Rebranding Questions
Q: May I bundle DBAN with a magazine or in a compilation disc?
A: Yes.
Q: May I mirror DBAN or otherwise provide it for download?
A: Yes.
Q: May I use DBAN in my consulting business?
A: Yes.
Q: How many copies of DBAN may I distribute to people in my
organization?
A: You may distribute unlimited copies.
Q: May I rebrand DBAN?
A: No.
If you rebrand DBAN without my
permission, then I will send an unadulterated copy of DBAN to your customers
and submit a GPL fulfilment demand to your legal department. This includes
changing the product banner to Disk Wipe or a similarly generic name.
Read the GPL FAQ, which provides more information about how DBAN is
licensed.