On Thu, 2008-06-12 at 22:25 +1000, Daniel Mons wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Bevin Watson wrote: > > delete the files from it. It seems the simplest thing is to just > > reformat the whole device. However, I'm getting a little out of my > > league thinking about partitions versus the whole device. fdisk etc. > > seem to be partition-based. Should I just "dd" all over it? > > nb: The USB stick shows up as /dev/scd1 (ISO 9660) and /dev/sdd1 (vfat) > > I'd zero the device with dd. Find out the device using "sudo fdisk -l" > to print out all partitions and physical devices. If it turns up as > /dev/sdd, for example, use the following dd command to wipe it: > > sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdd > > This will give no output until the dd operation is complete. It will > simply write zeros (as in binary zeros, not the ASCII charcter "0") to > the physical device, destroying all partitions in the process. (Again, > I cannot stress how important it is to check and ensure you are wiping > the right disk - do this to your system or data disks and you can kiss > their contents goodbye). > > Once done, eject/remove the device, re-insert it, and type "sudo fdisk > - -l" once again. The device should show up all on it's own with no valid > partition information attached. > > - From here, partition and format it in whatever way you feel comfortable > (fdisk, gparted, whatever). > > On a semi-related note, those who want to securely wipe hard disks can > use a similar method with alternating passes of /dev/zero and > /dev/urandom. I do this as standard when decomissioning desktops and > laptops if they are to be donated, re-imaged, or eBay'ed somewhere. > Servers and machines carrying highly sensitive data get a more severe > dose of DoD 5220.22-M via "Darik's Boot and Nuke" (Google it for details). > > - -Dan Failed. It seems to see them as different devices (scd and sdd) I tried again, writing zeroes to scd but it didn't seem interested in me. [EMAIL PROTECTED]:/media$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/scd dd: writing to `/dev/scd': No space left on device 514929+0 records in 514928+0 records out 263643136 bytes (264 MB) copied, 16.7721 s, 15.7 MB/s [EMAIL PROTECTED]:/media$ sudo gparted ====================== libparted : 1.7.1 ====================== Unable to open /dev/scd1 read-write (Read-only file system). /dev/scd1 has been opened read-only. Unable to open /dev/scd1 read-write (Read-only file system). /dev/scd1 has been opened read-only. Unable to open /dev/scd1 - unrecognised disk label. Unable to open /dev/sdd - unrecognised disk label. I'm strarting to think I should just leave the USB next to a big magnet for a few days...
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