5. Common Questions:

5.1. How does the licensing work?

The software is licensed on a per USB / floppy or CD basis. Each license allows you to use the program from a separate USB / floppy or CD. If you want to use the program to wipe 5 computers concurrently, you would need USB / floppy or CDs, and therefore need a 5 user license.

5.2. How is the data erased?

Active@ KillDisk communicates with the system board Basic Input-Output Subsystem (BIOS) functions to access hardware directly. It uses Logical Block Addressing (LBA) access if necessary to clean FAT32 drives more than 8 Gb in size. To erase data it overwrites all addressable locations on the drive with zeros (FREE version).

Active@ KillDisk Professional version suggests several methods for data destruction.
For example, in US DoD 5220.22-M method it overwrites all addressable storage and indexing locations on the drive three times: with zeros (0x00), complement (0xFF) and random characters; and then verifies all writing procedures. This complies with the US DoD 5220.22-M security standard.

5.3. What is the difference between the Site and Enterprise license?

Site License means an unlimited usage of the program in one location , Enterprise License - in any location.

5.4. Which operating systems are supported by Active@ KillDisk?

Active@ KillDisk runs in any DOS environment. It can be MS-DOS, PC-DOS, FreeDOS, DR-DOS, etc. As it can be installed easily onto a bootable USB / floppy disk or a bootable CD-ROM, it does not matter which operating system is installed on the machine hard drive. If you can boot in DOS mode from the boot diskette or boot CD-ROM, you can detect and erase any drives independent of the installed Operating System.

5.5. Is Active@ KillDisk compatible with Macintosh computers?

No, it is not.

5.6. What to do if I cannot boot from a USB / floppy?

There are many possible reasons that you cannot boot from a USB / floppy. Please consult this troubleshooting chart:

Troubleshooting Floppy Disk Problems

Problem Solution
Error message "bad command or file name" You can use our KillDisk Bootable Floppy Creator to make a bootable USB: www.killdisk.com

To use KillDisk USB / floppy creator:
  1. From the link, save "killdiskfloppysetup.exe" file to your Desktop.
  2. Insert an empty USB / floppy disk in the USB / floppy drive.
  3. On your Desktop, double-click killdiskfloppysetup.exe and follow all instructions.
  4. When you purchase Active@ KillDisk Professional version, you receive the file "kd-setup.zip".

    Double-click this file and copy all the extracted flies to the USB / floppy disk. Make sure that you overwrite the file "killdisk.exe" with the registered version.
  5. Restart your PC using the bootable USB / floppy.
USB / floppy disk is not bootable or damaged With the USB in drive A:, verify whether or not system files (COMMAND.COM, etc.) are located on USB / floppy.

If the disk directory can be read and system files appear by name, some files on the USB / floppy may be damaged, or the surface of the USB may be damaged.

On a DOS or Windows PC, run SCANDISK.EXE to check for damaged areas on the USB / floppy surface.

Alternately, prepare and test another bootable USB / floppy disk.
For more instructions, see chapter 3: Running Active@ KillDisk.
Machine has boot priority for Hard Disk Drives, or another device set higher than for USB / floppy Drives. Parameters that are set in low-level setup are written to the machine's BIOS.
To change the boot priority:
  1. Open the low-level setup utility, usually by pressing F1 or Escape on the keyboard during PC startup.
  2. Use the arrow keys to locate the section about Boot device priority. This section will allow you to set the search order for types of boot devices. When the screen opens, a list of boot devices appears. Typical devices on this list will be Hard Drives, CD ROM drives, USB / floppy Drives and Network Boot option.
  3. If the USB / floppy device has been disabled, enable it (provided you have a USB disk installed).
    The priority should indicate that the USB device is the number one device the BIOS consults when searching for boot instructions.
    If USB Drives is at the top of the list, that is usually the indicator.
  4. Save and exit the setup utility.

5.7. Will I be able to use my Hard Disk Drive after Active@ KillDisk erase operation?

To be able to use HDD again you need to:

  • Repartition the hard drive using a standard DOS utility like FDISK.
  • Reformat partitions using a standard DOS utility like FORMAT.
  • Reinstall the Operating System using a bootable CD-ROM.
Before < Common Questions > Next

Open Contents

  1. Product Overview
    1. Erasing Confidential Data
      1. Advanced Data Recovery Systems
      2. International Standards in Data Removal
    2. Wiping Confidential Data from Unoccupied Drive Space
  2. System Requirements for DOS and Windows versions
    1. Personal Computer
    2. Drive Storage System
    3. Other Requirements
    4. Active@ KillDisk for Hard Drives Version
  3. Running Active@ KillDisk for DOS
    1. Preparing a DOS-Bootable USB / floppy
      1. System Formatting
      2. Copying Active@ KillDisk to a USB / floppy
      3. One-Step Method
    2. Preparing a Bootable CD
    3. Modes of Operation
      1. Interactive Mode
        1. Erase Data from a Device
        2. Wiping the Data
      2. DOS Command Line Mode
      3. Autoexecute Mode
    4. Erasing or Wiping Logical Drives (Partitions)
    5. Erase Operation Complete
  4. Running Active@ KillDisk for Windows
    1. Active@ Boot Disk Creator
    2. Modes of Operation
    3. Command Line Mode
    4. Erasing or Wiping Logical Drives (Partitions)
    5. Erase Data from a Logical Drive
    6. Wipe Data from a Logical Drive
  5. Common Questions
    1. How does the licensing work?
    2. How is the data erased?
    3. What is the difference between the Site and Enterprise license?
    4. Which operating systems are supported by Active@ KillDisk?
    5. Is Active@ KillDisk compatible with Macintosh computers?
    6. What to do if I cannot boot from a USB?
    7. Will I be able to use my Hard Disk Drive after Active@ KillDisk erase operation?
  6. Descriptions of Erase/Wipe Parameters
    1. Erase/Wipe Methods
      1. One Pass Zeros or One Pass Random
      2. User Defined
      3. US DoD 5220.22-M
      4. US DoD 5220.22-M (ECE)
      5. German VSITR
      6. Russian GOST p50739-95
      7. Canadian OPS-II
      8. HMG IS5 Baseline
      9. HMG IS5 Enhanced
      10. US Army AR380-19
      11. US Air Force 5020
      12. Navso P-5329-26 RL
      13. Navso P-5329-26 MFM
      14. NCSC-TG-025
      15. Bruce Schneier
      16. Gutmann
    2. Other Parameters
      1. Verification
      2. Retry Attempts
      3. Ignore Errors
      4. Clear Log File before Start
      5. Skip Confirmation
      6. Wipe out Deleted/Unused data
  7. Glossary of Terms
 

This document is available in PDF format, which requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader (Free download):

USER'S GUIDE
(for DOS)
Size: 494 KB

USER'S GUIDE
(for Windows)
Size: 714 KB

KillDisk Datasheet
Size: 262 KB
 
 

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