Make a real blunder trying to erase my hard drive.

[Anteries]

Instead of erasing the files directly. I decided to use boot and nuke, expecting it to take all night, and finding instead that is going to take 48 hours continuous. It is a 1.5 TB. But it was only one third full. I cancelled boot and nuke, after it had already started, and I lost all my partition tables.

I'm kicking myself for not just erasing the files when I had the chance as I can't see them now . particularly as the empty space on the drive had never been filled. So I've been forced to erase the whole drive the whole 48 hours worth.

[spac3d]

lol

[peterb]

Well, boot and nuke will give you a secure erase, while just deleting them (unless you were using a secure erase function) would not.

The primary partition table (being near the start of the disk) will be one of the first things to go, after the MBR. (Assuming boot & nuke clears the disk sequentially from LBA 0 onwards)

[dangel]

Boot and nuke has driver issues - depending on which version you try it'll sometimes take FOREVER type long and then you try another and it's 'ohhh that was quick'. Took me a bit of experimentation with it when erasing several laptops.

[Sputnik]

I think you would have been better off just deleting the files using Heidi Eraser.

[Anteries]

I think you would have been better off just deleting the files using Heidi Eraser.

good one using it now linked another hard drive and made five new partions, to do it in stages. wish it had a boot disk option though. great gereneral eraser as well.

[Anteries]

by the way avoid seagate 1.5tb 7200 drives CCH1 firmware.

read about here. http://forums.seagate.com/stx/board/...cending&page=1

[golwg]

Heidi Eraser.

That a good one to use then? does it take long with that one?

[oolon]

I see little point in writing zeros over a drive I am going to keep (it does not make it any faster than just a reformat), and (almost) never pass personally my favourette is to erase disks with a power drill or remove the platters.

[Anteries]

Heidi Eraser.

That a good one to use then? does it take long with that one?

on mine 6hours per 345gb three pass wipe of empty space.

my drive dodgy though