Follow-on question from Rufus rejecting HDDErase.iso.
So after getting HDDErase.exe onto the DOS-booting USB stick and running it, I ran into yet another problem; the USB boots, the program runs, and progresses normally through its motions until this point;
After I confirm, it goes to this screen. According to the videos I've watched I'm supposed to be presented with a list of drives for the program to erase.
As you can see, nothing. I don't understand what's going on.
As before, system is Windows 8.1. I'm fairly sure I do actually have a HDD (that is, not the other thing, an SSD) but I have no idea how to check. Thanks in advance.
Best Answer
There can be a few reasons for the issue. I use quite a few bootable live disks/usbs for my job and usually it's just a hardware compatibility/driver issue. Live disks/USBs will typically have generic and specific drivers to handle certain chipsets and controllers on the motherboard, however if the generic nor the specific drivers included in the image don't work then there is no way to communicate with the device (eg. your HDD). This is why it is undetected.
You have two options:
1) Pull the drive from the current PC and connect it to another. Hopefully the program you're using will identify the hardware and be able to communicate with the controller and in turn the HDD.
2) Try another program. There are tons of HDD wiping programs available. I recommend DBAN. It seems to work on most systems, although I have experienced what you are experiencing with DBAN as well.