I am trying to wipe a drive with Acronis Disk Director 10, but the wipe button is grayed out.

I've done it before and it worked.

I can't find any explanation in the manual or online for a grayed out button.

Does anyone know what is causing this, or what it means?

BTW, several other buttons are grayed out and non-functional as well.

I'm sure the explanation is really simple, but I can't figure it out.

Thanks...

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Originally Posted by mitchsc

I am trying to wipe a drive with Acronis Disk Director 10, but the wipe button is grayed out.

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If memory serves, wipe works on unallocated space or as part of a partition delete. Which way are you accessing the feature and is your space unallocated? It might also be grayed out if it has already been selected and committed, uncertain.

Hey Scleros. Thanks for response.

Your answer sounds familiar, although it is not explained in the Acronis manual on the CD.

What I don't understand is why you wouldn't be able to wipe an allocated partition. Getting rid of an old PC for instance.

Oh well. The reason I asked had to do with a 500GB WD Passport Essential external USB drive that I bought. It comes with their own backup software which is on a protected and hidden partition (and I mean hidden). They use a UDF file system so it looks like a CD ROM device in "My Computer". You can't see it on the same drive in Disk Management. I have been trying everything to delete it so I can load my own backup software (Rebit). WD calls theirs SmartWare. Whenever you plug in the drive, it tries to auto load and opens all these wizards.

People are pretty unhappy in the forums I've read. I think that's why WD came out with this firmware upgrade and disable utility. (see below)

I have since learned that you can download a firmware upgrade and a WD utility that allows you to disable the SmartWare, but not delete it. WD tells me that this makes the drive look and behave as if it were a blank formatted drive, and should work fine with any other program. We shall see.

Why do they feel the need to force their software on us...

Thanks again
MSC

PS: I read about a program called Acronis Disk Cleanser that claims to wipe and delete any and all files and partitions on a drive, no matter what. I can't justify spending $60 to find out though.

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Originally Posted by mitchsc

What I don't understand is why you wouldn't be able to wipe an allocated partition. Getting rid of an old PC for instance.

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One reason may be avoiding the issue of dealing with users who despite having confirmed the action multiple times still accidentally deleted their Windows partition or entire hard drive.

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Originally Posted by mitchsc

...I read about a program called Acronis Disk Cleanser...

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Haven't tried that. I use DBAN and Active Killdisk. Links to these programs are in the Hard Drive forum FAQ. For my use, ability to boot off a single floppy without the need to have a working Windows installation is a plus.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Are Dban and Killdisk free downloads by any chance?

Scleros,

I found your FAQs... Thanks.

Do these delete partitions as well?

Thank You

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Originally Posted by mitchsc

Do these delete partitions as well?

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Yes, and then some. They operate on the whole disk. The free version of Killdisk overwrites the entire drive with zeros. DBAN and the commercial version of Killdisk supports multi-pass overwrites with various data patterns and methods.

If you don't need or want the software that comes with integrated external drives, another option is making your own with a bare drive and an external enclosure such as IcyDock. This approach can be less expensive, affords specific selection of drive size/type and interface combinations (USB, Firewire, eSATA... ), and allows the drive to be replaced or upgraded easily when it eventually fails.

I almost did just that. Sorry now I didn't.

I shall download KillDisk for future use.

Thanks Scleros...

DBAN Download | Darik's Boot And Nuke

That might do the trick also... free.