Procedures for Removing (Wiping) Data from a Computer Prior to Re-Deployment, Surplus or Disposal

The University of Connecticut requires all data on computers or electronic storage devices (including but not limited to desktop, laptop, server, or handheld devices) be erased permanently prior to transfer or surplus. Outlined below are the procedures to follow to comply with the Device and Media Control Policy.

UConn makes available bootable CDs/Diskettes that contain the utility to wipe the hard drives of a computer clean.

Data Wipe Procedures for an IBM-compatible computer (Windows or UNIX)

There are three options when considering how to deploy an UConn owned personal computer (PC). Following are the options and recommendations:

Option A: Re-deploying a HUSKYPC within the University of Connecticut (within your department or to another UConn department)
  1. Order a “Data Wipe Utility” package from the Central Stores catalogue (Item Number: 78610005) or ask for assistance from your department IT staff.
  2. Follow the instructions provided with the disk wiping utility CD/Diskette to wipe your hard drive of all data.
  3. Complete the required transfer paperwork (Act 39) prior to moving the PC to another department or to another individual within your own department.
  4. Make arrangements to have the computer moved to its new location.
  5. Once the PC is located in its new location, call UITS Help Desk (486-HELP) to request assistance “for PC re-imaging”.
Option B: Re-deploying a NON-HUSKYPC within the University of Connecticut
  1. Order a “Data Wipe Utility” package from the Central Stores catalogue (Item Number: 78610005) or ask for assistance from your department IT staff.
  2. Follow the instructions provided with the disk wiping utility CD/Diskette to wipe your hard drive of all data.
  3. Each department is responsible for completing the required transfer paperwork (ACT 39) prior to moving the PC to another department or to another individual within your own department.
  4. Make arrangements to have the computer moved to its new location. Note: the recipient of the computer is responsible for loading a new Operating System and any desired software.
Option C: Re-deploying to Central Stores (Surplus) for Disposal, Re-distribution or Resale

University of Connecticut computers are sent to Central Stores (Surplus) from various departments, where upon these computers are redistributed, sold or disposed of. Central Stores requires a form be completed and signed. You will find the Certificate of Data Inaccessibility form on the Central Stores web site: ( http://www.stores.uconn.edu/surplus.html). Your signature states that all data has been removed from the hard drive prior to pick up or delivery to Central Stores. Procedures below:

  1. Order a “Data Wipe Utility” package from the Central Stores catalogue (Item Number: 78610005) or ask for assistance from your department IT staff.
  2. Follow the instructions provided with the disk wiping utility CD/Diskette to wipe your hard drive of all data.
    • If the computer cannot be booted from the drive, you MUST make sure that the data is NOT readable.
    • Drill several holes through the hard drive.
    • Crush and shred the hard drive.
  3. Complete the required transfer paperwork (ACT-39).
  4. Fill out and sign a Certificate of Data Inaccessibility form, available on web page http://www.stores.uconn.edu/surplus.html.
  5. Send the signed Certificate of Data Inaccessibility and the completed ACT-39 along with the computer to Central Stores (Surplus).

Data Wipe Procedures for a PC

To start this process, first verify that the PC is set to boot from the enclosed CD or floppy and not the hard drive. To do this, you go into the BIOS, check the options and ensure that the computer is set to boot from the CD or floppy diskette first. To do this, if you own a Dell computer,

  • Press F2 when you see the DELL splash screen upon boot.
  • Press ALT-P to go to the second page in the BIOS (could be on first page, it is dependent upon which model Dell you own).
  • Look for the boot sequence by using the arrow keys (up, down, left, right) to move the options until you have the CD-ROM or Diskette in first order.
Notes:

The options may be a little different for the newer Dell models, but you will always press F2 to get into the BIOS and locate the boot sequence options.

If you do not own a HUSKYPC (Dell computer) then you must find out how to get into the BIOS and change it to ensure that it boots from CD or floppy diskette first.

Please see the Known Issues section before beginning.

Once you have booted from the CD the following message will appear:

-- University of Connecticut --
Data Wipe CD

The following Utility will provide two options to erase your computer's hard drives and be in compliance with University Policy for transfer of computer hardware to either Central Stores or another UConn Department.

WARNING
DATA WILL NOT BE RECOVERABLE AFTER THIS UTILITY HAS RUN
ALL OPTIONS WILL ERASE YOUR COMPUTER'S HARD DRIVE!

Press Any Key to Continue . . .

After pressing a key, you will see the following options:

-- University of Connecticut --
Data Wipe CD
  1. Completely erase First Hard Drive
  2. Completely erase Second Hard Drive
  3. For command-line options and instructions (Advanced users only)
  4. To run KillDisk (Advanced users only)
  5. Exit safely WITHOUT erasing any Hard Drives
    6.
WARNING
DATA WILL NOT BE RECOVERABLE AFTER THIS UTILITY HAS RUN
ALL OPTIONS WILL ERASE YOUR COMPUTER'S HARD DRIVE!

Type the number of your choice!

Notes:

Once you have selected an option by typing a number the executable will run wipe your machine. You will have the option of choosing to cancel. If you choose to continue all data will be erased from your hard drive permanently.

The program will run and display the progress. When the process has completed, press the ESC key. You will then exit the program.

If you have additional hard drives to erase, type diskwipe and then press the ENTER key. This will run the tool again.

To exit without erasing hard drive- Eject the CD or floppy disk and then reboot the PC.

Known Issues
  • Computers with 2 CD Drives

    Summary: There is a problem running the Data Wipe software on computers that have two CD ROM drives installed.

    Computers affected: All Dell Optiplex (HuskyPC) computers configured with two CD drives, where one of the drives is manufactured by Plextor.

    Problem: The computer appears to boot from the CD and run the Data Wipe program. However, once the option to erase a hard drive is chosen, the program unexpectedly quits.

    Workarounds: There are 3 possible workarounds:

    1. Disconnect either of the CD ROM drives and try again.
    2. Transfer the computer’s hard drive to a computer which does not have two CD ROM drives installed to use the Data Wipe software.
    3. Use the Floppywipe.exe program to create a bootable floppy disk.
      1. The floppywipe.exe program is located on the DataWipe CD and can be accessed on any computer running Microsoft Windows
      2. To use the program, insert the CD into the CD drive, insert a blank floppy disk, and run the floppywipe.exe program
      3. Insert the floppy disk into the computer to be Data Wiped and power on
      4. Follow the instructions above for Using the Data Wipe Utility on PC’s

        NOTE: The floppywipe.exe program creates a floppy disk which has the same functionality of the Data Wipe CD

Data Wipe Procedures for a Macintosh Computer

Below are the detailed instructions. If you have any questions, please telephone either Chris Burch (486-6993) or Josh Hardin (486-6992) from the UConn Co-op or send an email to coopadm2@uconn.edu.

Note: All system security must be disabled before booting from another disk.

To start the process, boot from a disk or CD that has an erase utility available on it (for examples: the Apple install or restore disk, Norton Utilities, or Disk Warrior).

o To boot from a CD or DVD, insert into the drive. Hold down the C key on the
    keyboard, and then power on the computer.

To boot from a floppy, insert the floppy into the drive and then power the computer on. This option should only be used on Macintosh computers without a CDROM drive or with a disabled CDROM drive.

Holding down the Apple-Option-Shift-Delete keys forces the CPU to start from the first available bootable volume encountered (on SCSI Macintosh computers only) other than the primary volume if the Open Firmware (BIOS) allows it.

If open firmware (bios) password is enabled:

To access the open firmware, hold down the Apple-Option-“O”-“F” keys on restart. It is best to have the open firmware password if set by a previous user. However, if you don‘t have the password you must disable the physical memory in the system. These two procedures are described below.

Disabling Password Protection

  • Boot into the Open Firmware. (Command + Option + O + F)
  • Type "setenv security-mode none" and press return.
  • Enter in the password at the password request prompt and press return.
  • Then type "reset-all" to restart the computer.
  • On OS X computers go to the "Open Firmware Password Utility" from the hard drive and uncheck "use password".

If the password is unknown:

Remove Password Protection

Add or remove DIMMs to change the total amount of RAM in the computer, then reset the PRAM three times, by holding down the Command + Option + P + R keys upon startup, until you hear the restart chime 3 times.

The Final Steps

After you have booted from the CD/Diskette/DVD:

Using OS X

  • Find Disk Utilities
  • Select disk tools if using OS X or "Drive Setup" if using OS 9
  • Under options, select zero all data

OR

  • Boot from the OS X, CDROM. When the installer loads, go to the installer menu and select "Disk Utilities" choose the hard disk to be erased, click on the "erase tab". Click on options-"zero data", then click "ok", then erase.

Using OS 9

  • Find "drive setup" folder
  • Select, Drive Setup
  • Under options, select functions, initialization options, zero all data

If your department does not have the technical personnel available to perform this function or they do not wish to do the reinstall of the Operating System, the UConn Co-op can assist. There is a minimum fee of $75.00 per hour. The process to follow is:

Telephone the UConn Co-op, Chris Burch (486-6993) or Josh Hardin (486-6992), and request a service item. The Co-op will come on-site to perform the data wipe and reinstall tasks. You will need to provide the following:

  1. Have a B046 filled out and supply it to the technician upon arrival, for payment.
  2. Fill out the Certificate of Data Inaccessibility form available at this web page, ( http://www.stores.uconn.edu/surplus.html). The Co-op technician will sign upon completion of data wipe process.
  3. Complete an ACT39 for the equipment transfer.

For transfer options and processes, follow the same procedures outlined above with the HuskyPC or Non-Husky PC.

NOTE: Regional Campuses wishing to contract with UConn Co-op for this service must complete all steps described above, 1-3, but work with the UConn Central Stores to bring the hardware to the Storrs location. Telephone (860) 486-3626 or complete a Pickup Request Form ( http://www.stores.uconn.edu/forms/pureq.htm).

Data Wipe Procedures for Servers and computers with non-standard hard drive configurations

Follow the same procedures as outlined in the Data Wipe Procedures for a PC and a Macintosh Computer.
Disclaimer:

If your data resides on a RAID partition on a Windows Server system, please contact the UITS Help Center. Ask the analyst to put in a request for consultation from the Windows Server Support Group for Data Wipe Activities on a Windows server. UITS will contact you to discuss the best method for destroying the data on your RAID partition