DBAN bootable USB not recognized as boot device

[Mars-]

Hello!

I'm trying to completely wipe the hard drive of a laptop, and so I've used Rufus with default settings to put create a bootable USB flash drive using the latest DBAN version (2.3.0) iso.

I've disabled all boot devices in the BIOS, except for the flash drive. But it keeps asking me to "Reboot and Select proper Boot device, or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key".

I've tried several ways to burn the iso onto the flash drive, but the same thing keeps happening. The only other hint I've found is this post.

But Rufus does not have any "GPT" option for me, only MBR, so I can't try this.

 

[Colif]

Which laptop is it? Does it have anything in boot menu called Fast boot or secure boot as it might just be ignoring the USB

So partitioning scheme in rufus doesn't show: GPT Partitioning scheme for UEFI

https://www.thomas-krenn.com/en/wiki/Creating_Windows_UEFI_Boot-Stick_in_Windows (just showing how to format a USB for UEFI boot, not really for installing windows)

Which operating system have you got? Could try to wipe drive using diskpart/clean, no need for dban then?

 

[Mars-]

Which laptop is it? Does it have anything in boot menu called Fast boot or secure boot as it might just be ignoring the USB

Which operating system have you got? Could try to wipe drive using diskpart/clean, no need for dban then?

It's a custom manufactured laptop with no pre-installed OS. I've installed both Ubuntu and Windows 10 as a dual boot. I'm not sure if windows fast/secure boot could still be interfering, but I don't think so, because in my experience that also blocks you from accessing the BIOS on boot. I can get to the BIOS just fine, though. And the USB drive does appear as a boot option in the BIOS

I've deleted the linux partition though, so that's just unallocated space right now. I'm not sure how to use diskpart, and I don't know if Windows 10 blocks or interferes with attempts to do so. I want absolutely everything on the hard drive completely and irrevocably wiped, because I'm planning on selling the laptop.

Also, your link asks me to use the NTFS option, but when I tried to do that with Rufus and the DBAN 2.3 iso it said it didn't support NTFS, so I had to use the FAT32 file system.

 

[Colif]

can you go to settings/update & security/activation and see if it says Windows is activated with a digital license. If it says that the licence is currently tied to hardware, if it says Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account then the license for laptop is attached to your email address. If you intend to sell license, you need to go here and remove the PC from your account - https://account.microsoft.com/devices?refd=login.live.com

You can't run dsikpart inside windows but does windows still work? if windows 10 still works, the process of wiping is pretty easy
go to settings/update & security/recovery
under advanced startup, choose restart now button
this loads a blue menu on startup
choose troubleshoot
choose advanced
choose command prompt
type diskpart and press enter
type list disk and press enter
this shows all drives available, DVD/USB and hdd, make note of hdd number
type Select disk X - where X is the number of the hdd you want to wipe, change X to that number and press enter
once the drive you want to wipe is chosen, type Clean
exit and close.. one wiped hdd coming up.

 

[Mars-]

Thanks! That worked!