How can I overwrite the primary partition?

[Àî]

Hi, I'd like to use file shredder to overwrite the primary partition C:, but
it failed for the partition is in use. What can I do? Can I install another
system on another parition such as E or F, and then boot from E or F
partition, so that I can overwrite the ex-primary partition using file
shredder?

Please help me. thanks.

 

[LD55ZRA]

You can't unless you boot from CD or disk. Depending on your HD, you can
download a tool just for that from here:

http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=502&sid=30&lang=en

The file is: Diag504fCD.iso, burn it on to a CD and then boot your system
with it. It will allow you to write Zeros and Wipe your disk clean!

hth

 

[Paul]

Hi, I'd like to use file shredder to overwrite the primary partition C:, but
it failed for the partition is in use. What can I do? Can I install another
system on another parition such as E or F, and then boot from E or F
partition, so that I can overwrite the ex-primary partition using file
shredder?

Please help me. thanks.

If you need to erase your entire drive, OS and all, try DBAN.

http://www.dban.org/

DBAN will erase *all* connected drives, so use it with care. In the
DBAN forums, there were a few reports of clever people, who managed
to erase their connected "backup" drive. DBAN can erase up to 100
connected hard drives, at the same time.

*******

If you want something with a little more precision, you can boot
a Linux LiveCD, and erase a partition with "dd". For example,
if I booted Ubuntu and did something like this.

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda1

and let it run to completion, that would write zeros over the partition
named "hda1". It helps, if your partitions all have labels assigned.
Or if you have unique files at the top level of your partition, that
may make it easier to verify you're erasing the right partition. (I have
some files like that on my C: drive, so when I'm in Linux, I have a
way to verify I have the right target.)

So you don't absolutely need to install another copy of Windows to
mess about. (I have a dual boot machine, WinXP on one disk, Win2K on
the other, and that is how I get around your current situation, of
not having a second OS to use.)

Now, the next question is, do you have a way to reinstall the OS
on the C: partition ? Don't erase it, if you don't have something
to use for recovery.

And if you're using some tool which erases the whole disk, you could
easily delete your recovery partition as well. So DBAN and Dell, don't mix.
Make sure you understand what the tool is going to do, before pulling
the trigger. If you had a Dell, and a recovery CD in hand, that would be
OK. But if you're one of those people who only has whatever recovery
software is in the hidden partition on the hard drive, then using
DBAN to erase *everything* on the hard drive, wouldn't be very clever.

Paul

 

[?]

Thanks,

But it seems that DBAN can not wipe the disk using 35 passes as file
shredder does. How many passes can DBAN erase?

 

[Paul]

Thanks,

But it seems that DBAN can not wipe the disk using 35 passes as file
shredder does. How many passes can DBAN erase?

The inventor of the 35 pass method (Peter Gutmann), reports that it is unnecessary
for modern disks.

http://www.dban.org/node/40

"some people have treated the 35-pass overwrite technique described in it
more as a kind of voodoo incantation to banish evil spirits than the result
of a technical analysis of drive encoding techniques.

"For any modern PRML/EPRML drive, a few passes of random scrubbing is the
best you can do"

HTH,
Paul

 

[John John - MVP]

The files will be unrecoverable with a single pass.

John