[plug] HDD Erasure

[Bret Busby]

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005, Chris Watt wrote:

> 
> Hi Guys,
>
> Just curious if there is any way to seriously wipe a HDD beyond the
> point of retreival by anyone?  As far as I'm aware it isn't possible
> without the pysical destruction of the drive.  If someone knows of
> something though?
>
> ~Chris
>

There used to be a switch for the PC-DOS format comand, which would 
cause the format utility, after formatting a drive, to write a character 
specified by the user, to each byte on the drive, so that, for example, 
in using the command, a person could fill a HDD with the character '1', 
from start to finish.

Perhaps, if an equivalent does not exist in any of the flavours of 
Linux, a person could write such a script.

But I am sure that the CIA or the NSA or some other subversive 
government agency, could find a way of retrieving data, unless a person 
uses a blow torch to erase the data.

--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
  you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
   Chapter 28 of
   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
   A Trilogy In Four Parts",
   written by Douglas Adams,
   published by Pan Books, 1992

....................................................