A USB drive, USB flash drive, thumb drive, or memory stick is a portable storage media device. USB drives commonly utilize flash memory to store data. However, external hard drives, which contain mechanical disks and solid-state drives with flash memory, also use a USB interface to connect with laptops, desktops, Mac devices, and servers. Therefore, knowing how to wipe a USB drive is critical to ensure data confidentiality and privacy.
Using the BitRaser Drive Eraser software, you can erase all types of USB drives, including:
- USB flash drive (commonly known as pen drive, thumb drive, or memory stick)
- USB hard drive (external hard disk drives and solid state drives with a USB interface)
Please see the following requirements before getting started with the wiping process.
Requirements:
- Desktop or Laptop: To perform USB wiping
- Blank USB Drive: Minimum 2 GB to create a bootable USB (USB 3.0 Recommended)
- USB Drive: To Wipe or Erase
- Internet: Ethernet or Wi-Fi
For your ease of understanding, we have divided the KB into 2 stages:
Stage 1: Download Drive Eraser ISO & Make a Bootable USB
- Step 1: Log in to your BitRaser cloud account using the credentials received in your registered email after purchasing BitRaser Drive Eraser.
- Step 2: Click on the 'Cloud Variant: BitRaser Drive Eraser' option in the 'Download BitRaser' section of the BitRaser Cloud console to start the download of the BitRaser Drive Eraser software. (Refer to Image 1)
Image 1: Download BitRaser Drive Eraser ISO from the Profile Section
Note: The USB drive you want to erase should not be plugged in at this stage.
- Step 1: Plug the bootable media into the host machine (laptop or desktop PC). Also, plug the USB drive and/or USB hard drive(s) you need to wipe into the PC.
- Step 2: Switch ON the machine and press the Function keys to enter the Boot menu. The key may vary according to your device manufacturer (Refer to Image 2).
Select the USB Device, and press ‘Enter’. The computer will boot, and the BitRaser Menu will appear, listing the connected USB to be erased along with the internal drive (Refer to Image 3).
Image 2: In the Boot Menu, Select USB Drive to Boot
Image 3: BitRaser Main Screen with Connected USB
- Step 3: Connect the software to the internet using Wi-Fi or Ethernet (Refer to Image 4).
- Step 4: Connect the application to the BitRaser Cloud Console to acquire erasure licenses. This also facilitates automatically uploading erasure reports to the BitRaser cloud, creating a centralized repository accessible anytime, anywhere (Refer to Image 5).
Image 4: Connect the Application to the Internet
Image 5: Connect to BitRaser Cloud Console
- Step 5: Select the USB drive to wipe, the erasure method, and the verification type to be done, and then click ‘Erase’. An alert window pops up, informing that all data will be removed permanently. Click ‘Yes’. (Refer to Image 6)
Image 6: Select the USB drive to wipe, Erasure Method, then click Erase
The process to erase the connected USB will start; you can see the erasure progress on the BitRaser main interface and the screensaver. (Refer to Images 7 & 8)
Image 7: USB Erasure Progress Screen
Image 8: USB Erasure Progress Screensaver
Once the USB erasure process is complete, the software will generate digitally signed reports & certificates of erasure and upload them automatically to your BitRaser Cloud account. (Refer to Report Below)
Report: USB Wiping BitRaser Drive Eraser
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