Tech Forum

Sorry, two topics in one, but I hope someone can help because I'm the Stake Technology guy and haven't done most of this stuff for the church before.

One of our secretaries managed somehow to requisition a new computer (does someone have a link to a document on how this is done because I should be doing this, not one of the other Stake guys). The old computer is just sitting there and they asked me to zero out the HD. Anyone know what the policy is on this and what tools have you used do to this? Then what happens to that computer?

Secondly, in another ward their HP laser printer doesn't seem to want to talk USB anymore. They said it had been having problems for a while and now it just shows as device not recognized. I had them borrow another wards printer to finish up their tithing on Sunday, but I need to get them a new printer I guess. How do I requisition a new printer? And what do I do with the old one?

Thanks a TON for any help you can give me.

-Sterling

Sterling wrote:One of our secretaries managed somehow to requisition a new computer (does someone have a link to a document on how this is done because I should be doing this, not one of the other Stake guys). The old computer is just sitting there and they asked me to zero out the HD. Anyone know what the policy is on this and what tools have you used do to this? Then what happens to that computer?

First of all, the Policies and Guidelines for Computers Used by Clerks for Church Record Keeping should be your best friend. It explains a lot of the policies.

You'll read there that computer replacements are to to be done by the FM group with the involvement of the STS and the stake PFR. The FM Group will give you instructions as to what to do with the old computer.

Another site that should be your friend is the MLS download site. There you will find (under Additional Local Unit Software) utilities for scrubbing the hard disk (but other disk scrubbing utilities could be used as well).

Sterling wrote:Secondly, in another ward their HP laser printer doesn't seem to want to talk USB anymore. They said it had been having problems for a while and now it just shows as device not recognized. I had them borrow another wards printer to finish up their tithing on Sunday, but I need to get them a new printer I guess. How do I requisition a new printer? And what do I do with the old one?

In the policy document I referenced above, you will read:

If a printer fails and it is out of warranty, the stake technology specialist determines whether the printer should be repaired or replaced. The stake physical facilities representative contacts the FM group to order repairs or a replacement. The FM group repairs or replaces the printer using operational or contingency funds.

So the basic answer is that you work with the FM group (through your stake's PFR). The FM group will give you instructions as to what to do with the old one. Our current FM group takes the old printer away, but that is a local decision.

Alan_Brown wrote:but other disk scrubbing utilities could be used as well.

Personally, I like Darik's Boot And Nuke

These types of utilities are not fast, so I'd suggest starting it before your block meeting.

I'm also a fan of DBAN...been using it for years. I used the program sent on a floppy disk by the church when making the transition from MIS/FIS to MLS, and from old hardware to new hardware. I suppose it worked just as well, but I can't see licensing a program when there's a comparable free/open-source program.

geeksmith wrote:I'm also a fan of DBAN...been using it for years. I used the program sent on a floppy disk by the church when making the transition from MIS/FIS to MLS, and from old hardware to new hardware. I suppose it worked just as well, but I can't see licensing a program when there's a comparable free/open-source program.

The Church hasn't been using that old floppy-based program for many years. That's the one that required us to report license usage. Now the Church has put Eraser (which is also free software) on the MLS download site, so there's no question of licensing a program. But I've used DBAN as well, which is certainly acceptable, too.

What is the expected result using Eraser? Is it suppose to erase everything? I booted the old machine and then ran Eraser against the C: Drive. It took forever... when it finished, i was still able to boot the machine. Shouldn't it erase the whole C: drive? (but how can it erase everything if you are running the program from the C: drive?)

Some programs only clear the unused disk space, such as empty sectors and slack space. I've not used Eraser myself, but if it were me, I'd check to see if it was mis-set.

(And add me to list of people who've used DBAN.)

I have used Eraser to wipe one computer's hard drive for turn-in. I don't recall the steps, but I created a bootable floppy with the program on it, booted from that floppy, and erased the hard drive. Since I do not have my STS calling anymore and I do not have the notebook with all my notes, I cannot be more specific.

I gave up on using Eraser and tried DBAN but guess I downloaded the wrong version (2.2.6) and was getting a Configuration File Not Found error. I jumped onto their forum and found that I needed download verson 1.07. I burned that iso this eveing and will try it out tomorrow evening.

Good thing I live close to the church house.

I've been trying for 3 hours to get the DBAN 2.2.6 version to work. Then I found this post and someone saying they used 1.07 and it worked. So, I found a link that offered the 1.0.7 DBAN version and posting it here for everyone. I wouldn't want anyone else spending 3 hours trying to figure this out....but the experience is priceless. I am in the process of wiping the hard drive with the 1.0.7 and it is running. I'm confident it will work.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/f ... o/download