Why RedKey
RedKey boots. The operating system does not.
DataZeroOne uses RedKey USB Ultimate and the original home RedKey, and no other wipe stick. The point of the tool is simple: leave the installed system out of the wipe, touch the raw disk, and keep a record of the result.
Factory reset compared with a RedKey run
Where it runs
RESET OR REINSTALLInside the installed operating system, or as a reinstall of that system.
REDKEY USBFrom the RedKey USB, before Windows or Linux starts.
What it touches
RESET OR REINSTALLFiles the operating system can see, plus a fresh install that often leaves the old bytes in place.
REDKEY USBThe raw disk. The One-Go process overwrites storage or issues a sanitization command the drive supports.
Hidden areas
RESET OR REINSTALLA reset does not look for a host protected area or device configuration overlay.
REDKEY USBOn ATA and SATA drives, RedKey removes HPA and DCO where the disk allows it, and supported hidden areas on SCSI.
Proof
RESET OR REINSTALLA screen that says the PC is ready. That is not a record of a sanitization method.
REDKEY USBUltimate writes a local PDF: disk, method, date, time, and result. Home edition shows the result on screen. A warning or a stopped run is not treated as success.
Standards language
RESET OR REINSTALLMarketing words such as “military-grade” are not a method.
REDKEY USBClear and Purge are categories from NIST SP 800-88. NIST does not certify this product. The report names the method that actually ran.
One-Go, in plain language
RedKey calls the sanitization pass its One-Go process. The computer starts from the USB. The selected disk is sanitized in that run — overwritten in software, or cleared with a command the drive supports — and the screen says whether it succeeded.
On a spinning hard drive, a verified overwrite is the usual path. On many SSDs and NVMe drives, a supported sanitize command is the stronger path, because wear leveling can hide data from a naive file delete. The report should name the method. A slogan should not.
We do not describe the work as military-grade. That phrase is not a standard.
What the certificate is
Ultimate produces a PDF on the RedKey system: device or disk, sanitization method, date, time, result, and optional customer or asset details. A real report can carry a unique ID and a digital signature. Home edition shows the on-screen result and does not create that PDF. Jobs that need a file are run on Ultimate.
The report supports record-keeping. It can sit in a GDPR or HIPAA file. It does not confer compliance, and it is not an approval from NIST or from an auditor.
Vendor status, checked against RedKey’s documented-erasure page in November 2026: RedKey does not currently hold independent third-party approval. Earlier ADISA Product Claims Test certificates, including listings valid through 31 January 2026, are not presented here as current. Reassessment is the vendor’s work, with no date we can promise. Read RedKey’s page.
APPOINTMENT
Drop-off is by appointment.
Call, or send the form. The street address comes back with the confirmation. Riverside, Jacksonville 32205, Roosevelt / Highway 17 exit from I-10.