How can I erase the (C: ) OS Partition, or Hard Drive, of my HP ProBook 450 G1 Notebook PC ?

AlanCB wrote:

1. What is the "shortest & simplest possible erasure method" that I can use, that would defeat the normal "off-the-shelf" data /file recovery software, & what would the "total erasure plus verification" time be (approximately) ?

It all depends who you think might get your drive, their level of expertise and their tools. For the average Joe, a simple pass overwrite will make data recovery very hard or expensive to overcome. In doubt, use the DOD approved method.

2. What is the procedure for getting the HP ProBook 450 G1 to boot from Acronis ATIH 2014 Rescue Media (CD or USB 2.0 FD) ?

Plug the USB in then:
Charms > Setttings > PC Settings > Recovery > Recovery > Advanced Startup > Restart > reboot on said device or troubleshoot > access UEFI (then change boot order
Rebooting on a USB stick on a functioning system can be tricky with secure boot UEFI.

3. What is the full procedure for using the Acronis Drive Cleanser Tool from the Acronis ATIH2014 Rescue Media (CD or USB 2.0 FD), using 1 pass of a random character plus verification ?

I don't know that for sure. I know you can choose your erasing method.

4. What would the total "1 random character pass erasure plus verification" time be, approximately, for the "500 GB / 5400rpm SATA 6Gb/s Interface / 1004 Mb/s Media Transfer Rate" Hard Drive.

Your mileage will vary... I would count 5 to 7 hours per TB for one pass.

But will Acronis Disk Cleanser even be able to find Win 8.1 UEFI disk?

Yes, it will. At least it works on several laptops I have.

Hi Pat L

Thank you very much for your reply & info.

Getting the Notebook PC to boot from the ATIH2014 Recovery Media FD or CD, is probably my main concern.
I have never had to change the boot order on a UEFI BIOS before, and consequently the erasure method is almost of secondary concern.

Your comment that, quote, "Rebooting on a USB stick on a functioning system, can be tricky with secure boot UEFI", & Chris Murphy's subsequent comment as to whether, quote , "Acronis Disc (Drive) Cleanser will even be able to find Win 8.1 UEFI disk", does not exactly fill me fill me with confidence.

I suppose that IF the "UEFI Secure Boot" prevents me from booting the Notebook PC from the ATIH2014 Recovery Media FD or CD, then I would have to try disabling the "UEFI Secure Boot", and enabling "Legacy Boot" instead ???
Is that correct ?
If yes, what would be the exact procedure for doing that ?

If as Chris Murphy has suggested,  Acronis Disc (Drive) Cleanser cannot find the Win 8.1 UEFI, then would  disabling "UEFI Secure Boot" & enabling "Legacy Boot" also solve that problem ?

AlanCB

Chris

Thank you very much for your reply, which I have referred to in my reply post to Pat L.

AlanCB

HP Probook

With Secure Boot disabled:

press your Esc key the moment you see the HP logo.

You should then have these options:
F1 System Information
F2 Systems Diagnostics
F7 HP SpareKey
F9 Boot Device Options
F10 BIOS Setup
F12 Network Boot
ENTER - Continue Startup

You'll want to press F9. You should then have the option to boot from your USB key.

On my Dell XPS 11 Ultrabook it is F12 which allows me to boot from the Acronis Disk Cleanser (v6.1) bootable flashdisk no problems.

But when booted ADC says that it cannot find a disk to cleanse.

Hi Enchantech

Thanks for your reply & info.

What is the procedure disabling Secure Boot ?

AlanCB

Hi Chris

Did you check with Acronis Support, &/or Dell Support, on this problem ?

AlanCB

You need to disable Secure Boot in your machines bios. Your machine documentation should outline that procedure.

Hi Enchantech, Thanks for your advice.

I  managed to do the erasure of the (C: ) Partition, by using the "Acronis Driver Cleanser Tool" of "Acronis True Image 2014", as follows :

First of all, I could NOT get the "ATIH 2014 Recovery Media USB 2.0 Flash Drive" (Pen Drive) to boot, NEITHER in the default "UEFI Native (without CSM Support) Boot Mode", NOR in the "Legacy Boot Mode", & therefore I resorted to using the "ATIH2014 Recovery Media CD, which I had also prepared "just in case".

In order to get the "ATIH2014 Recovery Media CD" to boot, in the "HP Computer (BIOS) Setup" (accessed by pressing ESC immediately on power on, & then F10), I had to :

- create a BIOS Administrator Password
- disable Secure Boot
- change the Boot Mode from the default UEFI Native (without CSM Support) Mode, to Legacy Mode
- change the Boot Order , so that the Optical Drive boots first.

I was then able to boot to the ATIH 2014 Rescue Media CD, select the Tools & Utilities option, & then create & run a "custom" algorithm in order to erase the (C:) OS Partition.

The total time for "1 random pass plus verification" was only 3 hrs 15 minutes for the 449.5 GB (C: ) Partition, or an average of 0.307 Gb/sec., which is 30.6% the Hard Drive's Media Transfer Rate Spec of 1.004 Gb/sec, which consequently might be a good guide for estimating the "Erasure time" for any HDD or Partition, as follows :

        ET = (Number of erasure + verific'n passes)  x [ (HDD (or Partition) Size GB x 8) / (0.306 x HDD MTR Gb/s) ] / 3600  hrs 

Consequently, I repeated the erasure method, ending up with 2 random passes (different) plus verifications in 6.5 hours.

AlanCB

Glad to hear you were successful in your endeavor, hope your end result was worth the effort. The USB boot media problem is known for some machine configurations, they simply will not boot from a USB drive. You certainly had to jump through way to many hoops in my opinion to accomplish your task. It appears that that is the norm rather than the exception however with these new EFI machines.

Thanks for posting your procedures and results. I am sure someone else reading these pages will find it of benefit.

OK, and for the record, I see my problem now.

I was using an older, stand-alone, version of ADC and it would not recognise the new disk.

The version of ADC which is included in ATIH2014 recognises my HDD just fine.