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Q: Does Sanitizer require a specific OS?
A: Sanitizer will work on any "wintel" computer. That is, any computer that has an Intel (or equivalent) microprocessor and the Windows OS. The Sanitizer media (bootable floppy or CD) causes your computer to boot to DOS. (Sanitizer runs as a DOS application exclusively.)
Q: Does Sanitizer work on RAID arrays?
A: To ensure that Sanitizer detects all of the drives in the array, we recommend that you break apart the set and sanitize each disk individually. If the hard drives are SCSI and identical, you must sanitize them individually.
Q: What types of hard disks can Sanitizer scrub?
A: Sanitizer works on ATA, SATA, and SCSI hard disks.
Q: Is it possible to run Sanitizer from within the operating system?
A: No. Sanitizer runs directly from either the bootable CD or floppy disk. After launching, Sanitizer reads the hard disk information from your machine's binary input/output system (BIOS). Sanitizer will then completely sanitize the hard drives you select, back-to-front, wiping out all data, partitions, formatting, and operating system. After sanitizing, you will need to re-install the operating system of your choice.
Q: Why use Sanitizer, when I can simply reformat my hard disk?
A: All reformatting does is keep common OS tools—like File Explorer in Windows, or the DIR command in DOS— from recovering files and data. But there are backdoor ways, such as the popular sector editor Hex Workshop, for recovering information from reformated disks. Sanitizer wipes out every bit and renders the information virtually unrecoverable.
Q: What is a bad sector?
A: A bad sector is a segment of disk storage with a physical defect that prevents data read-and-write operations. Sanitizer logs bad sectors in a customizable report you can automatically produce after sanitizing a hard disk.
Q: How does Sanitizer handle SCSI drives?
A: To access the SCSI ID database and identify SCSI hard drives, Sanitizer uses the Advanced SCSI Programming Interface (ASPI) drivers. Normally, ASPI drivers come with your host adapter software kit. If you have SCSI host adapters and you are using a bootable Sanitizer floppy, you must perform a simple procedure to get Sanitizer to work with your specific host adapter and its SCSI hard drives. If you need to use bootable Sanitizer CDs, contact Pinion Software so that we can include the necessary drivers with your copy of Sanitizer.
Q: Why is there a discrepancy in the size of my drive between Sanitizer and my BIOS?
A: Sanitizer uses the technical measurement of a megabyte when defining the size of a drive (1,048,576 kilobytes). Some BIOS routines use a rounded definition of a megabyte as 1,000,000 kilobytes, resulting in a difference of 48,576 kilobytes per megabyte on the drive. The discrepancy is the result of the measurement differences.
Q: Why did I only get one report after sanitizing multiple drives?
A: You must select reporting for each drive to be sanitized. Do this by selecting the drive and pressing CTRL-O. You will then be prompted to enter the reporting parameters. ( Note: Use unique report filenames to avoid overwriting them.)
Q: Can I remove the Sanitizer disk or CD in the drive while overwriting?
A: Yes. As soon as the overwrite begins, you may eject the disk or CD and start sanitizing another machine.
Q: What media can I use for reporting?
A: By default, Sanitizer expects you to use a USB pen drive as the target for reports. When you first launch Sanitizer, it prompts you to insert the USB pen drive. But you may also opt to write reports to a blank disk, or to the line printer if one is connected directly to your computer.
If you have additinal questions concerning Sanitizer’s use, contact our technical support department, support@pinionsoftware.com or call 512-583-0868 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.
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