Secure Data Disposal - Does It Destroy the HPA?

[Coathanger]

I am about to put my T40 on the market, and would like to dispose of my personal data on the HDD using the Secure Data Disposal program offered by Lenovo. However, since we don't get XP installation CD's and we rebuild Windows from the HPA, I am worried that SDD will wipe it.

Any thoughts?

[agarza]

Yes, the SDD software removes all the data stored in the disk, doesn´t matter if the Predesktop Area is set to Hidden on your BIOS. That program is specified to get rid of all the data on your disk, that´s for sure.

[danieldavid]

In your situation, I would either restore the computer to its factory state, which would then require running the various windows and device dreivers' updates, or use the windows CIPHER command with the /W switch, which writes random characters on the empty (including the recently deleted) areas of the hard disk.

You can find out more about this command by searching windows' help for "CIPHER".

[Coathanger]

Thanks for the tip about CIPHER. Will definitely be looking at that, since I don't want to have to reinstall all the drivers etc.

[Kyocera]

Why don't you just run the factory restore option and sell it like that, many do. It recreates the factory image, let the buyer install or update whatever they need according to their preference.

[christopher_wolf]

Technically, it can only wipe the HPA with a set of random bit patterns if the HPA security state is set to "Disabled" in the BIOS. That is one of the first things I would check, or do if it is wasn't in that state (which it probably isn't considering that the default HPA security state in the BIOS is "Normal"), before a scrub of the HDDs with SDD or a similar program with DoD compliant security overwrite alogorithms and iterations.

[Coathanger]

I did a rebuild via Access IBM last night (and spent today downloading the Windows Updates). Sold the laptop to my flatmate and he's installing everything he needs now.

He's moving up in the world from a Dell to a ThinkPad.