DISKPART, CLEAN ALL - what does it do

[Jim Watts]

Hi,

Long shot here, Can anybody tell me exactly what the DISKPART CLEAN ALL
command actually does, or point me to any information that tells me more
than 'it wipes the disk'?

The documentation says 'Specifying the ALL parameter causes each and every
sector to be zeroed, thus also deleting all data contained on the drive'.
Does this really overwrite all data on the disk, or is it just removing
entries from the FAT table (or whatever NTFS has!)? How close does this
'every sector zeroed' come to the US DoD requirements for Disk wiping etc?.
What if i ran it multiple times?

You can probably tell that i'm looking into providing something that
destroys all data on disks when we dispose of workstations etc, and a
WinPEboot followed by running DISKPART CLEAN ALL would be a good solution,
as long as it does enough damage to the contents of the disk.

Many thanks for any help you can offer,

[Jason Tan (MSFT)]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for posting!

I understand that you want to know the exact function of Diskpart Clean
All.

Based on me research, I would like to provide the following information for
your reference:

Use the clean command to remove partition or volume formatting from the
current in-focus disk by zeroing sectors. By default, only the MBR or GPT
partitioning information and any hidden sector information on MBR disks is
overwritten. If you specify the <all> parameter, each and every sector can
be zeroed, and all data that is contained on the drive can be deleted.

For more detailed information, please refer to the following article:

300415 A Description of the Diskpart Command-Line Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=300415

I hope my information helps. If there is anything that is unclear, please
feel free to let me know.

Thanks & Regards,

Jason Tan

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

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[Jim Watts]

Jason,

Thanks for the reply. Yes, i'd seen the article you referenced, but i would
like to know more about what actually happens to the disk at a technical
level. Basically, does it overwrite the entire disk or just the 'index'
portions? If it does overwrite it, how close to the US Department of Defence
disk wiping standards (US DoD 5220.22M i think) does it come.
--
Jim Watts,
Technology Consultant
Information Systems Services
University of Southampton

Post by Jason Tan (MSFT)
Hi Jim,
Thanks for posting!
I understand that you want to know the exact function of Diskpart Clean
All.
Based on me research, I would like to provide the following information for
Use the clean command to remove partition or volume formatting from the
current in-focus disk by zeroing sectors. By default, only the MBR or GPT
partitioning information and any hidden sector information on MBR disks is
overwritten. If you specify the <all> parameter, each and every sector can
be zeroed, and all data that is contained on the drive can be deleted.
300415 A Description of the Diskpart Command-Line Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=300415
I hope my information helps. If there is anything that is unclear, please
feel free to let me know.
Thanks & Regards,
Jason Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

[Jason Tan (MSFT)]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your update!

Diskpart Clean will not touch the data on the partition at all. It will do
following things:

-. Remove the partition table.
-. Clear the disk signature.
-. Clear the boot code in MBR.

We don't have the way to CLEAN the entire disk so far. Of course, many
tools can do it but not OS build-in tools.

Thanks & Regards,

Jason Tan

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

=====================================================

When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from your issue.

=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.