Ubuntu Disk Overwrite Issue

Hello again Geeks,

Here's the low down:

I'm running Ubuntu from a pen drive. I used the disk utility to remove all partitions from my HDD and then started a disk format with the overwrite option checked. After about 2 hours, the OS just completely froze. Disk overwrite/format was at about 70%.

Since I don't want to have to put my HDD through any unnecessary punishment, I'm wondering, if I create a partition out of the first 70% of the drive, will this part of the drive have been overwritten? Can I then overwrite the last 30% of the drive separately rather than starting over fresh?

I suppose the real crux of the question is: does the disk format/overwrite in Ubuntu (or in general?) start at the beginning and end at the end? I know the question is badly worded, but I'm unable to make it much clearer.

Any help as usual is hugely appreciated. Feel free to ask for clarification as I'm fairly sure this post looks like the ramblings of a madman at this point.

Thanks again.

EDIT:

Or is there a way to somehow look at the drive and see which parts are zeroed out and which are not? I've tried mounting it, but it simply says that there are no files present.

 

Do you mean you were running a 'Live' version of Linux from USB, and then tried to install the OS on your system whilst booted to the USB so you have it permanently installed?
Ubuntu is Debain based as is my Kali Linux.
Once booted to the USB drive you should be given several options to either run Live version or do a graphical Install on your systems HDD.
You shouldnt do any disk writing from the Live version as they can be foggy, slow and unreliable at times especially over USB 2.
Live versions are usually used to test out Linux to see if its what you want, or for trouble shooting an OS that wont boot!

 

I found the same solution in several places.
You can run this from a terminal window.
Make sure you are targeting the correct drive.

Securely Wipe Disk with DD on Linux
https://dominicm.com/securely-wipe-disk-dd-linux/

Ask Ubuntu
https://askubuntu.com/questions/359540/securely-erase-hard-drive-using-the-disk-utility#359547

 

Thanks for replies guys!

Replicator: yes, I am running from a live USB at the moment. I decided to do the disk overwrite from here as the disk is not mounted and therefore can be totally wiped. So are you saying I'd be better off installing Ubuntu to HDD before zeroing the drive? Won't this then cause problems with the portion of the drive that is holding the installation?

mjnc: I'm totally unfamiliar with using the command terminal, therefore I am simply using the "disks" utility which comes with Ubuntu which has an options to format a drive and overwrite with zeros at the same time.

The question is, how can I identify which part of the drive is already zeroed (as it crashed at 70%)? Is the drive Zeroed in a logical order? What I mean is, if I now partition the first 70% of the drive, will THAT be the portion which has already been zeroed?

Does the Ubuntu disk utility zero the drive from beginning to end? Rather like a glass is filled with water, first the bottom of the glass is filled and eventually leading to the top of the glass being filled. Or does it zero the drive in some random order, therefore leaving me not knowing which parts of the drive have already been wiped?

I hope that's helped to clarify my question.

Thanks again!

 

So further to my above reply, might it be wise to do a full install to my USB and THEN perform the HDD overwrite from there? Might that be more stable then doing it from a live USB, or will it make no difference?

Also, do you suspect the disk overwrite operation crashed BECAUSE I was running it from a live USB?

Thanks again.

 

Yes.....and Yes! (a full install to your HDD not USB)
Just use the USB to install from... if you know what i mean?

mjnc made a good point, also make sure you are targeting the correct drive on overwrites!

 

But if I'm running the OS on the drive I'm wiping, what will be the result of that? Is it even possible?

EDIT: Also, let's not lose sight of my original question which is trying to determine which part of my HDD has already been zeroed from the partially completed overwrite before the crash (at 70%).

Now I'm looking at Gparted GUI. I have a nice empty disk showing with no current partitions. Now, if I create the first partition to be 70% of the total drive space, can I be sure that THAT is the part of the drive which has already been zeroed?

Thanks again for your time and efforts

 

You should be running from the USB which you boot from to install the OS on the HDD.

Dont select Live......select 'graphical install' making sure to target the correct HDD you want to install too.

Select the option 'use entire disk space' to ensure a full format remembering that all current data on that drive (including previous OS) will be lost.

 

Well now I'm utterly confused :/

New question: If I now create a new partition with Gparted of the first 50GB of my HDD and install Ubuntu to it, will this first 50GB portion of the drive have already been overwritten by the operation I mentioned in the OP?

 

Why do you want to use Gparted to create a partition to install Linux on your HDD?

Is your goal to run a dual boot OS operation? (lets say windows and linux?)

 

Nope, I'm going fully Ubuntu. I want to make a separate partition for OS and apps and another to store my (audio) files. I'm going to be using it for audio recording/editing.

 

Oh ok...cool.

My advice would be a separate second HDD for data only.

Mechanical hard drives are cheap these days and i normally pull them from old systems anyway.

I know this is not the answer your looking for, but it makes logical sense.

Partitioning is old hat nowadays and I dont have any experience with G-parted, maybe another member here has.

Sorry for the confusion......Good Luck!

 

Hay, thenks for the input.

I had a look at the guide you linked. I tried inputting the command "sudo lsblk" into terminal as per instructions. Terminal then tells me "command not found". Am I doing something fundamentally wrong when inputting terminal commands, because from all the tutorials I've read which give such instructions I am always unsuccessful and am told by terminal that the command is not found.

I'm not a computer guy, just a musician who enjoys the increased speed of Ubuntu.

 

Haha, no worries man. I appreciate your help anyway!

 

Having said that, you should be able to select and create partitions on a dedicated install without the need for third party partitioning software such as G-parted.

Your going about it the hard way!

 

Hello johnnyscash
I am also a musician and I don't think that is a handicap or a deterrent.

I am not proficient with the Linux terminal but use it when necessary.
I have found that basic commands work as expected and, generally, following instructions for the terminal works OK.

Occasionally, I get a "command not found" response due to environmental differences.
Try man dd
You should see usage help for the dd command. If you get "command not found", then I think there is some other problem.
I tried lsblk in a terminal with Linux Mint, MX Linux and a Mint live session. They behaved the same.
The sudo prefix is to provide elevated privileges and was not necessary.
------

I do not have an answer for your question about finding what part(s) of your drive were or were not cleared.
Two hours of processing for format overwrite sounds excessive, especially when followed by only 75% completion and program 'crash'.
You did not say what the drive capacity is or if you checked the drive status.

Using GParted for partitioning is fine.
I have used it many times for creating, deleting, moving and resizing partitions and it always worked well.
It's a great utility and probably included with all major Linux distros.

Using a separate partition for your multimedia data is fine and will facilitate backups.
You should have some type of additional drive/storage for backups of your data and OS.

I recommend that you do these things before starting the install process:

Use GParted to create a GPT Partition Table on the installation drive.
From the GParted menu: Device -> Create Partition Table... -> 'Select new partition table type' GPT
It is not necessary to create any of the partitions yet. You will do that during the install process.

For motherboard with UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface):

• Access the motherboard BIOS at the start of the boot process, usually done by pressing the Del or F2 key.
• Disable CSM (Compatibility Support Module)
  Motherboard manufacturers use somewhat different menu structures with their UEFI interface.
  On my ASRock mobo, this is under the Boot menu heading. Depending on the choices given, set it to Disabled or UEFI Only.
  If you later find that you need CSM capability, you can re-enable it after Linux is installed.
• Disable Secure Boot
  This is listed under the Security (or similar) menu heading.

Installation
During the Ubuntu install process, you should see a screen for Installation Type.
Choose Something Else. This will take you to GParted where you will set up your partitions.


Create a Primary Swap area partition. If you have 8GB or more RAM, 2GB should be enough for Swap.
If you plan to use Hibernation, that requires disk space equal to or greater than the amount of RAM!
I think that goes into the Swap partition, so size accordingly.

Some people recommend separate partitions for root and Home.
I don't do that and don't consider it necessary. It's your call on that.
It is recommended to use the ext4 file system with Linux installations.
Create another Primary with mount point /
That is where the OS will go along with your programs and personal data, unless you create a separate Home partition.
25GB to 30GB should be enough.

Good luck. Hope everything goes smoothly.

 

Here is another way to clear a drive with Wipe.
I tried this successfully with a Linux Mint live flash drive, except for executing the wipe.

Code:

sudo apt-get install wipe

// to get the device label
sudo fdisk –l

sudo wipe <device label>

http://www.techieinspire.com/completely-wipe-hard-drive-ubuntu-live-disk/