- Make sure that the system itself is able to detect the connected hard drives (see the computer's BIOS or disk/RAID controller's setup utility/BIOS). If the system's disk controller is not able to detect the hard drives, it is certain that Blancco erasure software will not be able to do it either.
- Be aware of the hardware's technical limitations! Some disk controllers might have technical limitations regarding the maximum amount of connected hard drives. If the disk controller's maximum hard drive limit is reached, Blancco will not be able to detect more hard drives than the controller is able to present to the system. Some hard drives might also have a special custom firmware that makes the drives usable only with the original system (disk controller and/or array). This means that if the drives are removed from the original system and connected to another system, they might not function properly. Read the manufacturer's documentation!
- If the server or the storage system has multiple power sources or modules, make sure that all of them are connected and operational.
- Make sure that the system's disk controller firmware is updated to the latest version. Newer firmware version usually fixes possible bugs and increases compatibility with newer hardware. Old controller firmware might prevent the controller from working with certain type or sized hard drives.
- It is recommended that the RAID controller's active RAID build is manually dismantled before Blancco erasure software is started. This should be done especially in cases where the physical drives are not detected properly by Blancco erasure software (only logical RAID volumes are shown or the amount of connected hard drives is wrong). After dismantling the RAID build, make also sure that no automatic RAID building options are set on (this may cause the erasure verification failure).
- Blancco recommends that only the same type of hard drives are erased simultaneously. For example IDE, SAS/SATA and SCSI drives should be erased in separate batches. If there are larger batches of drives from the same manufacturer, it is recommended that those are also erased separately. For example: Erase Seagate SAS drives in one batch and Samsung SATA drives in another.
- If an erasure is done for a server with internal hard drives and an external disk array, the erasure should be divided into two separate runs. First erase the internal hard drives without the disk array connected. In the second phase the internal hard drives should be removed and the external array should be erased separately. Disk detection should be verified at the disk controller's end always before starting the Blancco erasure software.
- It is important that the correct Blancco erasure software image is used!
- Make sure that Blancco Drive Eraser Server version is used. Also make sure that Blancco Drive Eraser Server ISO image is configured to remove "logical disks" (Drive Eraser Configuration Tool -> Open the ISO image -> Security -> LOGICAL DISK -> Remove).
- 64 bit image is recommended to be used by default with servers that have high amount of drives and more than 4 gigabytes of RAM memory.
- If 64 bit image fails, try request the 32 bit version from Blancco Technical Support (unless you have it already).
- If all the steps above fail please contact Blancco's Technical Support team by creating a support ticket.
- Make sure that the following information is included:
- Hardware information: computer model, disk controller model, disk model, etc.
- Detailed description of the issue
- Blancco Drive Eraser issue report (or Blancco Drive Eraser crash report)
- Make sure that the following information is included:
For more information read the following articles: