Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Wiping the hard drive clean

Posted on 02/22/2004 11:53:26 AM PST by EveningStar

This is so embarrassing. I haven't used DOS commands for years and have forgotten most of them.

Here's my problem:

I have an old computer that I want to junk but I first want to wipe the hard drive totally clean. The drive is partitioned into C and D drives. The OS is Windows 95. The computer is a Pentium Pro 200.

What is the best command to use to erase everything - partitions, data, etc - and make it unrecoverable?


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Computers/Internet; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: faq

1 posted on 02/22/2004 11:53:26 AM PST by EveningStar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Assemble A hammer, knife, screwdriver and strong magnet. Cut, bed, smash, fold, magnetize and demagnetize all parts of the drives.
Fire up your BBQ, and roast for 2 hours at 500 degrees.
After all the above has been done, you might, just might, have destroyed the data.
2 posted on 02/22/2004 12:11:06 PM PST by Lokibob (All typos and spelling errors are mine and copyrighted!!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Or using evidence elimnator or cyber scrunb, run a 35 pass hardrive wipe.
3 posted on 02/22/2004 12:42:43 PM PST by John Will
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John Will
There appears to be no software solution that is completely unhackable - traces of data can be reconstructed no matter how many times the drive is "wiped".

The method described by Lokibob is probably the only 100% secure solution.
4 posted on 02/22/2004 1:22:14 PM PST by So Cal Rocket
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Try this.
http://www.r-wipe.com/?GGLAW300
5 posted on 02/22/2004 1:26:04 PM PST by Keeper of the Turf (Fore!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Take the old hard drive out to the country, bring along your favorite firearm, eye and hearing protection.

Set the thing against a safe backstop at least 20 meters away, so you won't get hit by fragments of hard drive.

Open fire. Repeat as necessary.

Seriously, back in the day when I was in the Corps, hard drives used for classified material were decommisioned by sandblasting the oxide off the platters, or other destructive method.

6 posted on 02/22/2004 1:31:47 PM PST by LibKill (My sigil: Two crossed, dead, Frenchmen emblazoned on a mound of dead Frenchmen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LibKill
Can he do that in California?
7 posted on 02/22/2004 2:01:09 PM PST by Lady Jag (It's in the bag)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Apply solution #2 first, then combine it with solution #1, unless of course you can shoot it (#3), in which case, eliminate #1 or re-sequence to 2, 3, 1.
8 posted on 02/22/2004 2:03:40 PM PST by Lady Jag (It's in the bag)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Install Linux and let it handle it (I recently installed red hat 9 on a p200). fdisk is ok, get the new os on and then download some utilities to wipe it clean.
9 posted on 02/22/2004 2:17:46 PM PST by chance33_98 (Check out profile page for banners, if you need one freepmail me and I will make one for you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sciencediet; EveningStar
Can he do that in California?

Erp! Missed that little detail.

No! I would not recommend this method in Orange County California, and I have lived there.

Disassemble the hard drive. Take the platters (round flat things) and have them sandblasted until there is no oxide (shiny stuff) left on them, just bare aluminum.

10 posted on 02/22/2004 2:17:56 PM PST by LibKill (My sigil: Two crossed, dead, Frenchmen emblazoned on a mound of dead Frenchmen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: sciencediet; EveningStar
Y,know, having been back in Texas for so long, I sometimes forget that other places are not firearm-friendly.
11 posted on 02/22/2004 2:23:00 PM PST by LibKill (My sigil: Two crossed, dead, Frenchmen emblazoned on a mound of dead Frenchmen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: LibKill; EveningStar
Maybe somebody can help you shoot it.
12 posted on 02/22/2004 4:07:39 PM PST by Lady Jag (It's in the bag)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar; sciencediet
DOH!

I should have thought of this earlier.

Go fishing on the big blue Pacific Ocean.

Bury the hard drive at sea. Problem solved. You may even catch some fish. :)

13 posted on 02/22/2004 5:28:45 PM PST by LibKill (My sigil: Two crossed, dead, Frenchmen emblazoned on a mound of dead Frenchmen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
If it were me, I'd load a Knoppix Linux CD and run:
dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda
14 posted on 02/22/2004 6:05:49 PM PST by sigSEGV
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Would you like a real answer?

FDISK

No, that won't wipe it clean so the FBI or CIA couldn't read it, but I'm sure it will do for your purposes.
15 posted on 02/22/2004 10:23:19 PM PST by SendShaqtoIraq
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Doing a format and then creating some really big files that use up all available disk space will get 99% of the data off the drive pretty well. If you need to erase the drive in such a way that a company like OnTrack won't be able to recover it, you'll have to destroy it. Modern drives include magnetically-recorded information that cannot be regenerated without special equipment. If you erase the drive thoroughly enough to ensure that no data remains, you'll also erase the servo information that would be necessary to make the drive work.
16 posted on 02/23/2004 7:17:10 PM PST by supercat (Why is it that the more "gun safety" laws are passed, the less safe my guns seem?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar
Physical destruction is best. Other posters have good ideas. Rewriting random data to the hard drive is not an absolute guarantee. It's easier, cheaper, and more reliable to just break it into small pieces.
17 posted on 02/24/2004 3:51:43 PM PST by rogueleader
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson