Sir I am having a segate harddisk of size 250GB which is old and contains many bad sectors. I want to use this disk as secondary storage in Linux. Currently I have installed OpenSuse 13.1 on another harddisk.
Can you please suggest how to Format the damaged disk and use the disk efficiently without any errors in the future.
On 2013-12-02 04:06, rupeshforu3 wrote:
>
> Sir I am having a segate harddisk of size 250GB which is old and
> contains many bad sectors. I want to use this disk as secondary storage
> in Linux. Currently I have installed OpenSuse 13.1 on another harddisk.
>
> Can you please suggest how to Format the damaged disk and use the disk
> efficiently without any errors in the future.
Yes.
Put it on the recycle bin, then go out and buy a new hard disk.
(No, I’m not joking)
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 03:06:01 +0000, rupeshforu3 wrote:
> Can you please suggest how to Format the damaged disk and use the disk
> efficiently without any errors in the future.
Don’t use it if you expect it to not develop further problems in the
future. Given its past, I wouldn’t trust it.
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C
But before you do that, take a medium sized screwdriver and a hammer and make sure to force the screwdriver all the way through the drive. You might however before that save the controller card, they sometimes die and if you or a friend of your’s one day end up with a dead drive of the same brand and model that controller card could become a lifesaver.
I’m not joking either.
On Tue, 03 Dec 2013 21:06:01 +0000, hank se wrote:
> But before you do that, take a medium sized screwdriver and a hammer and
> make sure to force the screwdriver all the way through the drive.
Given that the goal is data destruction, I would point out that data was
recovered from Columbia after it burned up in the atmosphere during re-
entry.
So driving a screwdriver through the drive isn’t going to render the data
unrecoverable, just a little more expensive to recover.
Take it to a recycling center that grinds the drive down into dust -
preferably while you watch. That’s the “nuke it from orbit - it’s the
only way to be sure” option. 
Jim
–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C
Not just a little more expensive, very much more expensive. Of course if I need to protect my data from being read by NSA or KGB grinding it to dust might be a good option, on the other hand maybe they’ve got a backup of it.
On 2013-12-03 23:33, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Tue, 03 Dec 2013 21:06:01 +0000, hank se wrote:
>
> Take it to a recycling center that grinds the drive down into dust -
> preferably while you watch. That’s the “nuke it from orbit - it’s the
> only way to be sure” option.
Nay. I’m sure that there will be a method to join the dust grains like
in a jigsaw game, using a microscope and glue 
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
The main reason that I use encrypted partitions, is so that I won’t have to bother with that step.
Not after the dust is scattered in high wind.
On 2013-12-04 02:26, consused wrote:
>
> robin_listas;2605021 Wrote:
>> On 2013-12-03 23:33, Jim Henderson wrote:
>>> On Tue, 03 Dec 2013 21:06:01 +0000, hank se wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Take it to a recycling center that grinds the drive down into dust -
>>> preferably while you watch. That’s the “nuke it from orbit - it’s the
>>> only way to be sure” option.
>>
>> Nay. I’m sure that there will be a method to join the dust grains like
>> in a jigsaw game, using a microscope and glue
> Not after the dust is scattered in high wind.
Ah, but then you will be fined for breaking the recycling laws and
contaminating the environment
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
On 2013-12-04 02:33, Carlos E. R. wrote:
> On 2013-12-04 02:26, consused wrote:
> Ah, but then you will be fined for breaking the recycling laws and
> contaminating the environment
Mmm.
The OP must be thinking we are nuts. O:-)
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
On Tue, 03 Dec 2013 23:16:01 +0000, hank se wrote:
> Not just a little more expensive, very much more expensive.
True. Companies that do that make a /lot/ of money.
> Of course if
> I need to protect my data from being read by NSA or KGB grinding it to
> dust might be a good option, on the other hand maybe they’ve got a
> backup of it.
Just be sure to submit the correct “please restore my data” form.
Jim
–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C
On Wed, 04 Dec 2013 01:16:02 +0000, nrickert wrote:
> hank_se;2604985 Wrote:
>> But before you do that, take a medium sized screwdriver and a hammer
>> and make sure to force the screwdriver all the way through the drive.
>
> The main reason that I use encrypted partitions, is so that I won’t have
> to bother with that step.
Same here.
Jim
–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C
The evidence is dispersed i.e. no proof, so no case to answer.
Maybe he at least got the message that what he planned to do was not a good idea.
On 2013-12-04 04:36, nrickert wrote:
>
> robin_listas;2605040 Wrote:
>> The OP must be thinking we are nuts. O:-)
>
> Maybe he at least got the message that what he planned to do was not a
> good idea.
Yes, I hope so. We all agree in that.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)
Absolutely! A failing disk will continue to fail increasingly. It’s a one-way trip.
Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Wed, 04 Dec 2013 01:16:02 +0000, nrickert wrote:
>
>> hank_se;2604985 Wrote:
>>> But before you do that, take a medium sized screwdriver and a hammer
>>> and make sure to force the screwdriver all the way through the drive.
>> The main reason that I use encrypted partitions, is so that I won’t have
>> to bother with that step.
>
> Same here.
But once they have the encrypted bits, it’s just a question of sticking
them in a decryption box and waiting. I’m no expert, but that cost may
be less than resurrecting or surface scanning a physically damaged disk.
Indeed, destroy the disk. And, now that we’re talking about it, ask the NSA/KGB if they’re willing to restore the data to the new disk. :D.
Serious: IMHO it would be a shame if you had to go through the misery I found when I -only once- ignored the advice to replace.
On Wed, 04 Dec 2013 13:32:14 +0000, Dave Howorth wrote:
> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> On Wed, 04 Dec 2013 01:16:02 +0000, nrickert wrote:
>>
>>> hank_se;2604985 Wrote:
>>>> But before you do that, take a medium sized screwdriver and a hammer
>>>> and make sure to force the screwdriver all the way through the drive.
>>> The main reason that I use encrypted partitions, is so that I won’t
>>> have to bother with that step.
>>
>> Same here.
>
> But once they have the encrypted bits, it’s just a question of sticking
> them in a decryption box and waiting. I’m no expert, but that cost may
> be less than resurrecting or surface scanning a physically damaged disk.
Depends on the encryption used and what damage there is to the drive.
But it’s not going to end up with data being removed from the drive by a
casual user who sees it in the return bin.
You also have to know /how/ it’s encrypted. If you use truecrypt or
realcrypt, there’s absolutely no header to tell you that it’s encrypted
nor what algorithms are used for the password hash and encryption
mechanism. If you have a long password (say, 20+ characters), and there
are 3 different hash algorithms and 3 different encryption algorithms
(which can be used in combination), that means for each combination of
hash and encryption, you have to brute force a large number of passwords.
So if you stick it “in a decryption box” and just wait, you may well be
waiting for decades for it to be broken.
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C