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DBAN fails with non fatal errors in 5 seconds

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Brian P
2007-01-01
2013-05-21
  • Brian P

    Brian P - 2007-01-01

    First let me say that I've search the FAQ and these forums, and although I've found people with problems similar to mine, I've yet to find a satisfactory solution;  I'm sorry if this question is redundant.

    I've got a Gateway GM5266E, Core 2 Duo processor, 320 GB SATA II HD, no floppy drive.
    I've tried using the CD version of DBAN, version 1.0.7 which I've gotten from http://dban.sourceforge.net/. 

    Each time I run it, I receive the message "DBAN finished with non fatal errors."  The time of operation is 5 seconds.  I did not receive a selection screen as I have seen in the screenshots and seen mentioned in other threads.  Unfortunately as I've mentioned there is no floppy drive in the computer, so I can't send (or even look at) a log file. 

    I was hoping to use DBAN because if my only alternative is to destroy the harddisk... well then I will have to buy another one (which I expect to cost on the order of $100+ for a comperable drive).  So, thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

     
    • Darik Horn

      Darik Horn - 2007-01-14

      The dban-1.0.7 release is old and lacks drivers for this computer.  (Furthermore, the dban-1.0.7 release does not report a sensible "I don't have a driver" message.)

      A solution is to hold the disks until the dban-1.1.0 beta is generally released.  It is built, but I won't promise a date of availability.

       
      • Brian P

        Brian P - 2007-01-15

        Thanks for your reply. According to Gateway's site, the motherboard is "Intel (Love Valley P) P965 Viiv Motherboard R0"  Is there a way to know what is the likelihood that my motherboard will be supported in the upcoming release?  Also, my computer may have some funky disk controller as well, is there a chance that could cause a problem also?

        Thanks,
        BP.

         
      • Jones

        Jones - 2007-01-16

        I'm having a similar problem.  My system is a Dell PowerEdge 1950, Xeon, with 3x 73G SAS drives on a Perc5i controller & no floppy drive.  DBAN 1.0.7 errors out as soon as it starts with "DBAN finished with non-fatal errors.  This is usually caused by disks with bad sectors.".  Unfortunately will only have the system for a few days more--wanted to let you know my config.

        Welcome back from vacation & keep up the good work!

         
    • janthree

      janthree - 2007-03-04

      I can certainly understand the reluctance to provide a date of availability for DBAN 1.1.0 beta.  I myself have had to deal with just such an issue on another software project.  The developers have provided the open source community with a premiere disk wipe tool.  However, I have the exact same problem as the other posters on this thread and now that we are into March, I was wondering if you could provide a "ballpark" on the general release.  Are you thinking the time frame is weeks or months away?  The reason I ask is because, if it is months away, I will need to pursue other less effective methods of wiping some drives.

      Thanks for the great work on DBAN.

      janthree

       

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