Securely Disposing of a Computer

The primary resource for disposing of a computer belonging to the University of Notre Dame is through the ND Surplus process.

However, if you have a need to transfer a computer within your department or dispose of a system not subject to the ND Surplus process, it is extremely important to securely remove all data on the computer. Formatting the hard drive is not sufficient to remove data from the system.

Windows/Macintosh/Linux Systems

OIT recommends the use of Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) for securely removing data from systems prior to transfer or disposal.

DBAN is designed to remove all data from a standard internal hard drive. If you wish to remove data from a USB device, such as an external hard drive or memory stick, please use Eraser instead.

DBAN should be used as follows:

WARNING: DBAN is a powerful tool that will completely remove all data stored on your system. Use it with care and be sure to clearly label any DBAN CDs that you create.

  1. Download DBAN for x86 systems (for Windows, Linux, Macintosh x86 or other Intel-based systems) or DBAN for Macintosh PowerPC systems and burn it to a CD. Note that the download is an ISO image and must be burned using CD burning software, such as Sonic RecordNow! or Roxio Easy CD Creator.
  2. Place the CD in the computer you wish to wipe and boot the system from CD. After DBAN loads, you will see the screen below:
    Booting DBAN
  3. Press the ENTER key to start DBAN. You will then see a screen similar to the one below:
    Selecting the disk to wipe
  4. Use the arrow keys to highlight the disk you wish to wipe and press the space bar to select it.
  5. Confirm that the "wipe" indicator marks the correct drive(s) and press F10 to begin the wipe. You will see the screen below until the wipe completes:
    Wiping the disk
  6. DBAN will report when it completes the wiping process. At this point, the wiped drive no longer contains any data.

If you experience difficulty using DBAN or require additional assistance disposing of data on your system, please contact the OIT Help Desk at 631-8111 for further assistance.

Solaris Systems

Follow the Sun Microsystems guidelines for purging data.

If you experience difficulty following this process or require additional assistance disposing of data on your system, please contact the OIT Help Desk at 631-8111 for further assistance.

Other Systems

Please contact the OIT Help Desk at 631-8111 for assistance.