[TriLUG] data recovery---Linux low-level format program avail able??

[Mike Johnson]

Vestal, Roy L. [rvestal at rti.org] wrote:
> Low Level format IDE. Not really necessary, since the onboard bios does
> that, but a utility you can use under MS or Linux is BCWipe. www.jetico.com
> is where to get it. It meets Finland and USA DOD wipe certifications.

Erm, a -true- low level format of an IDE drive is a bad idea.  It will
render the drive unusable -- you'll need to send it back to the drive
manufacturer.  A bit of the IDE functionality (maybe it's just the
disk geometry info, I forget) is stored on the platters themselves.  
Wiping that bit will leave you with an expensive paperweight.

Low level formatting is for SCSI drives, not IDE.

As for the 'DOD wipe certifications', that's doing a lot more than
just erasing the data.  It's actually writing data -over- the data
that's there, many, many times.  Simply formatting a drive is not
enough to stop someone from recovering the data.

Mike
-- 
"Let the power of Ponch compel you!  Let the power of Ponch compel you!"
   -- Zorak on Space Ghost

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