Need a utility to Zero a hard drive

[Pemolis]

I'm looking for a utility that I can use to completely Zero a hard drive (write 0's over every sector, and hopefully random other junk on it to really screw the data up).

I tried google.. but got back garbage (maybe I'm using bad terms).

Any help here (freeware would be best).

[zero2dash]

Did someone say "zero"? :heh:
I kid, I kid.

This site (http://www.ariolic.com/activesmart/low-level-format.html) has links to the major HD manufacturers and the apps pages to do a low level format. :thumb:

[edit]Apparently some of the manufacturers don't seem to have the software up anymore to download; at least it looked like Western Digital didn't, and Maxtor requires you to have a Maxtor drive to use MaxBlast. Check that site first and if you can't find a software from the drive manufacturer, you could also try this program called Kill Disk (http://killdisk.com/). (there is a free version to download that will work fine)

[edit 2]Found another site that has links to the software from the manufacturers, for those that don't supply it anymore. Here (http://www.ameriwebs.net/groupworks)

[edit 3]Samsung (http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/support/faqs/faqs_20000120_0000000036.htm)

I think I've covered them all. :heh:

[mechmike0034]

There are several of these on The Ultimate Boot CD - a handy addition to your toolkit, and free.

Download the .iso from http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

[bachviet]

A big magnet would certainly do. :P

[shocky123]

* grabs a big magnet and begins writing zero's *

Man this is faster than fdisk'ing for formating.. wheee

LOL, well depending on which OS you're running, it's really not a horribly intense experience to create a program that just writes out zero's to a specific 'file'. File being the 'file descriptor' that is associated with your drive.
Then you can easily write 'random data' onto the disk in the same fashion using seeded random function calls.

However, this may take an hour or two, so I'd suggest the magnet trick :)
(j/k)

~Kyle

[Markel]

http://www.download.com/Eraser/3000-2092_4-10231813.html?tag=lst-0-5

[fiestaball]

Depending on how many you have to do you can always try Blancco.

http://www.blancco.com

[Cubsfan]

So what are you trying to hide? :)

Are you trying to blank this and then sell it, or just throw it away. If you're going to throw it away, then do everything to it: zero it, magnet it, and bust it up (plust the last part will be fun).

[rajatQ2]

In our lab we use Darik's Boot and Nuke.
http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.

We are writing security software, so are pretty particular about our software choices. It is easy to use too.

[Maarchk]

I support the ultimate boot cd. Very useful tool..

Oh and i must be Stupid Mike. I can't do the math... :(
there are dumb people on the internet? Such as myself?

[Pemolis]

To the question "what am I trying to hide". I run though alot of used hard drives.. and some of those drives have... well stuff I wouldn't want to touch with a 10 Ton Missle. So I like to make sure its COMPLETELY gone before I use it. That and having items that contain illegal stuff is..well illegal. Well intentioned or not.

I'd rather just make sure its wiped out completely (because I have reconstructed and recovered hard drives and found many a disturbing things).

[mechmike0034]

I support the ultimate boot cd. Very useful tool..

Oh and i must be Stupid Mike. I can't do the math... :(
there are dumb people on the internet? Such as myself?

Two of my sig quotes (the one you're referencing, plus the Boss K quote) sum up the reason I fix computers.

Keep in mind that I am not specifically pointing a finger at any individual. :)

BTW, DBAN, (along with most of the other drive utilities noted above) is on the UBCD. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com
It does a multipass DoD wipe, and I use it often.

[shocky123]

this'll do it:

'dd if=/dev/zero of=(path to drive) bs=4096 count=(total size of partition in bytes/4096)'

..try that one out, it'll "zero" it. Make sure you partition the drive to have one partition which spans the entire drive, then mount that drive to (path of drive) and use that in the above.

oh yeah, UBCD should get you to a point where you have a /dev/zero device, I think... though dont quote me on that.

~Kyle