|
Recovery Guides: step-by-step DiskPatch operations:
Disk- or Partition Wipe.
A list of terms used in this page and
their explanation can be found here.
This guide describes a DiskPatch function
in condensed form: if you need additional information, read the corresponding
part of the manual.
| Situation
: |
"i
need to make sure the disk is empty", disk
read errors, "bad sectors" |
| Symptoms
: |
N/A |
| Solution
: |
low-level
format/wipe the partition or disk |
Why do we need to do this?
There are a number of useful applications for the wipe feature:
- security: if the
contents of a partition need to be destroyed, you can use the wipe
feature to make sure the data is not retrievable. You may want to do
this when you sell your disk, or if you decide to throw the disk
away and wish to make sure that no-one can get their hands on your
accounting data.
- cloning: when you need
to clone a disk, it is usually wise to make sure that the target
disk (the disk that will receive the clone) is completely empty.
That way any left-over data can not contaminate the repair session,
if you would (for instance) need to rebuild partition tables on the
cloned disk. Use the wipe feature to clear the target disk before
cloning, if needed.
- repair: if a disk has a
few bad sectors you can attempt to repair them by performing a wipe
(with modern disks a wipe has the same effect as a low-level format
had in the old days). Writing to damaged sectors triggers the disk's
internal repair functions (modern disks have a pool of spare sectors
that can be swapped with damaged sectors, effectively 'repairing'
the bad sector) so a wipe can very well 'fix' the disk's bad spots.
Note: a read/write surface scan basically does the same thing but
without destroying all your data. However, a read/write surface scan
will take significantly longer than a wipe because it will attempt
to read all (bad) sectors first. It's up to you to choose the
procedure that works best for you.
|
Things you need to know before we
start:
- In the world of disks and data
recovery we start counting disks at 0 (zero). So the first disk is 'disk
0', the second disk is 'disk 1', etc.
- Use the cursor keys to navigate
the menus, use the <Enter> key to select an option, use the
<Escape>
key to abort or leave a menu.
|
Here we go:
| Start DiskPatch and select the disk. |
example: your screen will differ. Find more
information on how to select a disk here.
After selecting the disk, the menu
will expand, showing actions that can be performed for the selected
disk.
The selected disk will be marked in high intensity blue in the disk list (disk
1 in our
example). |
Now select 'Disk related tasks',
then 'Wipe'. You can now select the type of wipe you wish to perform.
For details on the different types, read the corresponding
part of the manual.
For our example we'll select the 'Standard DiskPatch wipe'.
Note: if you are wiping a disk before using it as a target disk for
cloning, select the 'Standard DiskPatch wipe': the disk just needs to
be empty and the standard wipe will simply clear the disk. |
A list of partitions will be displayed, if any are on the disk. If no
partitions are found, only 'Select region manually' will be available.
For our example we'll select the first partition on the disk. |
| Press <Enter> to select the
partition, a confirmation screen will be displayed: |
Select 'Yes' to continue. During
the wipe a map display of the disk is shown. The grayed out area
represents the area that will be wiped, the blocks represent the area
that has been wiped so far. Errors (if encountered) will be displayed
on the map to give you a general idea of where they are on the disk.
A progress bar is displayed at the bottom of the screen. |
If needed, the wipe can be aborted
by pressing <Escape>. Time remaining can fluctuate if bad areas are
encountered.
When the wipe has been completed the following screen will be displayed: |
| The screen will show the results of
the wipe. Press any key to return to the menu. |
|