customer wants me to wipe out hard drive before they trade it in?

**retro** · 08-01-2010

customer has a Toshiba 600 they are trading in. They asked me to clear their hard drive because of that CBS news report showing how personal data can be accessed from their old machine after they buy a new one from us. I have used the 08-690 format mode in the past although that just clears an error. "Format" on the Canon boxes I worked on in the past means erasing the operating system. Apparently that is not the case with Toshiba. There is not a problem if the machine does not work after this is done, I just need to wipe their business information out without removing the hard drive or physically damaging it to render it useless.

Thanks for any help

**RRodgers** · 08-01-2010

Tell them they can keep the old drive and you can put in a new one. Course... this IS going to cost them money. The machine has to go back to the leasing company working.

**jamesyboy** · 08-01-2010

This is turning into a plague!
when the hdd is formtted there will allways be ghost images retrivable with very specalised software they all take a standard hard drive best to give them their old hdd and charge them for a replacement this is going to become standard pratice very soon tosh do several levels of incryption probally about the best that is standard on e bridge 2 and 3 enabled by 08 codes bt slows network traffic
a new pain in the arse this one

**RRodgers** · 08-01-2010

Originally Posted by jamesyboy

This is turning into a plague!
when the hdd is formtted there will allways be ghost images retrivable with very specalised software they all take a standard hard drive best to give them their old hdd and charge them for a replacement this is going to become standard pratice very soon tosh do several levels of incryption probally about the best that is standard on e bridge 2 and 3 enabled by 08 codes bt slows network traffic
a new pain in the arse this one

Naw.... just think of it as a new money maker.

**Mr Spock** · 08-01-2010

If you have the firmware then try the clear + 3 mode and do the 3rd option.
After this reload the firmware and format the drive.

While this will not make it completely unreadable it will mean you have to have a good recovery tool to get it back.

**retro** · 08-01-2010

Thanks for the replies. I do have firmware available for all the models affected. The idea of the customer purchasing another hard drive is probably not an option although I certianlly understand that is probably the only way to 100% remove data. Our management and the customers purchasing agent want us push a few buttons on the copier and guarantee the data is non recoverable. Oh by the way, we have about 50 of these to do, spread across hundreds of miles.

**Travis06** · 08-02-2010

I just had a customer finally upgrade an old analog 4560, and they wanted the hard drive out of it. It was a legal firm, and I had to explain to them the analog copy process. They also thought they could sell it for $2000 bucks on ebay. hah

**RRodgers** · 08-02-2010

Originally Posted by retro

Thanks for the replies. I do have firmware available for all the models affected. The idea of the customer purchasing another hard drive is probably not an option although I certianlly understand that is probably the only way to 100% remove data. Our management and the customers purchasing agent want us push a few buttons on the copier and guarantee the data is non recoverable. Oh by the way, we have about 50 of these to do, spread across hundreds of miles.

I seriously think you are missing a great opportunity to make a buck here. Remember, you are NOT a charity.

**emujo** · 08-02-2010

Although HDD security should be taken seriously (HIPPA, Government regs, etc) I usually ask the customer what they do with bad HDDs for their workstations. If they take the time to destroy them then I recommend the same with the MFPs drive and offer to remove, reload firmware for a price ( around $300). That news story has really blown this issue out of proportions...here's what on the HDD...Secure prints, prints sent to the mailboxes, email and fax #s stored as 1 touches. Regular print jobs are processed using RAM and when power is turned off, that info is gone forever. 08/690 will format the drive and all that info will be "essentially" deleted. I am fairly tech savvy, but I would be at a loss to try to recover any data after performing 08/690. That doesn't mean a dedicated hacker can't get this data if it hasn't been written over yet. KonicaMinolta includes HDD sanitizing that will satisfy EAL3 requirments. If there is HIPPA or gov regs involved, better safe than sorry...offer to replace HDD and hand the old drive to the customer. If they refuse, get them to sign a waiver so it dosen't come back to bite you. Emujo

**ivovb** · 08-04-2010

Originally Posted by Travis06

I just had a customer finally upgrade an old analog 4560, and they wanted the hard drive out of it. It was a legal firm, and I had to explain to them the analog copy process. They also thought they could sell it for $2000 bucks on ebay. hah

I think we have great opportunity here. If they manage to do so, give them my offer. 50% of all such a machines (2060, 3560, 4560) that they could sold in this price! I will personally take out HDDs...

HAH

BR