I've recently been having problems with an HP home server - model FL700AA, (WHS 2008, I believe). I have many partial backups and want to make sure I can strip everything off this before I return it. I'll want to make sure that this is no personal information left on this at all. Can someone explain to me the simplest way to do this? Or maybe there's already a thread here you can direct me to? Thanks in advance.

The quick and easy way is to take each disk out and either install it in a desktop or an external enclosure, and format it. This clears the filesystem but doesn't actually whack the data. If you're returning the disks with the server, and you're concerned someone may try to do some forensic data recovery, you'll want a utility that can actually violently, but carefully, obliterate the data.

I've been a longtime fan of DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) - http://www.dban.org

DBAN provides US Department of Defense levels of data obliteration in its default mode, and it can (and will) process multiple disks on a computer at one time. You create a DBAN boot CD and boot from the disk.

ALL DATA ON EVERY DISK ATTACHED TO THE COMPUTER -- IDE, SATA, SCSI, USB, FIREWIRE -- WILL BE OBLITERATED WITH NO CHANCE OF RECOVERY!

If your HP server doesn't have a CD/DVD drive and you use a different PC to run DBAN, make sure you disconnect existing disks before you start DBAN. DBAN is very unforgiving once it starts, so be very, very, very careful before you do!!!

You can also choose the method and number of passes. Count on the wiping process to take the better part of a day, maybe longer.

Matt

_________________
Matt Sawyer
Owner, Dojo North Software, LLC

HP EX490, 4GB, E5300, 15TB - Server 2012 - Sharing and Streaming
HP EX487, 4GB, E5300, 13TB - Server 2012 Essentials - Backups

Thanks msawyer. That's good to know, but I don't think I need to go to those extremes. lol