How to fdisk /mbr?

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Usy
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 06, 2013 8:25 am

How to fdisk /mbr?

#1 Post by Usy » Mon May 06, 2013 8:51 am

Hello.
I am very new here.

What do I have to do to get the exact same result with an UBCD like using "fdisk /mbr" from Microsoft?

Thanks in advance,
Usy

pica
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:35 am

Re: How to fdisk /mbr?

#2 Post by pica » Thu May 09, 2013 5:41 am

I'm not real familiar with DOS commands, I moved to linux over a decade ago.

I think you want to format a disk or something and put FAT32 or NTFS. There are a bunch of ways to do this, but I'll try to talk you through using Parted Magic.

1. Boot UBCD
2. Select Parted Magic. If the first menu option works for you, take it. That will put the entire program in memory.
3. You want to double-click on gParted, except I think they call it "Drive Partition" or something. (This is a GUI program, not command line)
4. Using the thing in the upper right hand corner, select your disk. You haven't given me much details, but you can double check you have the right disk if you know what size to expect. Be double damn sure you get the right one because this program can destroy data.
5. See if you can figure out the reminder, as again you've been thin on details. I don't know what you want to create, if the disk has ever been used before, if this is flash memory or a hard drive, etc. You basicly use the program to delete the old formattng and make the new one, with the option to make more than one partiton of dozens of formatting type. Then you must apply the changes to have them take effect. This wil overwrite any data already on the disk.

This might help you understand the specifics, now that you know what the keyword to search for is:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=gparted+howto

Usy wrote:Hello.
I am very new here.

What do I have to do to get the exact same result with an UBCD like using "fdisk /mbr" from Microsoft?

Thanks in advance,
Usy

ady
Posts: 832
Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 5:26 am

Re: How to fdisk /mbr?

#3 Post by ady » Thu May 09, 2013 6:06 am

I don't know what exactly Usy wants to achieve. FWIW, "fdisk /mbr" is related to (attempt to recover) the MBR only, while gparted is related to partition table(s), partitions (and, optionally, formatting them).

Usy, whichever the case, you should be sure what you are doing (and what you want to achieve) before doing it ("first, do no harm").

Usy
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 06, 2013 8:25 am

Re: How to fdisk /mbr?

#4 Post by Usy » Thu May 09, 2013 10:24 am

Well, I am coming from Windows and I pretty much know only Windows. I was told, that (only?) "fdisk /mbr" deletes previous disk signatures.

What I exactly want to achieve is easy: Delete/Overwrite as much as possible on a hard disk with a bootable CD.

pica
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:35 am

Re: How to fdisk /mbr?

#5 Post by pica » Thu May 09, 2013 4:24 pm

Usy wrote: What I exactly want to achieve is easy: Delete/Overwrite as much as possible on a hard disk with a bootable CD.
The aim of deleting your hard disk most closely matches:

1. I want to do a clean install on this drive. The existing data must not interfere with the new software.

Then what I gave you above is what you need to do.

2. I want to sell this hard drive, but it has information on it that I don't want to fall into anyone else's hands because of privacy or identity-thief concerns.

DBAN - (Darik's Boot and Nuke) This will overwrite every drive connected to your system, so if you want to only wipe one drive, make sure that all the ones you want to keep are unplugged when you run the program. No second chance with this program.

This program should be on the UBCD under "HDD".

Also, there is a version of DBAN in Parted Magic that will target only one drive. There is also an option called "secure erase" but the drive must be new enough to support it. I would try this one first. (there are sometimes issues using Secure Erase over a USB to PATA or SATA adapter, but DBAN should always work)

3. I have "sooper secret" data that I don't want the CIA, FBI or NSA to read.

The answer to #3 is to (optionally) do what you did for #2 and then (non-optionally) physically destroy the drive

ady
Posts: 832
Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 5:26 am

Re: How to fdisk /mbr?

#6 Post by ady » Fri May 10, 2013 8:11 am

pica wrote:DBAN - (Darik's Boot and Nuke) This will overwrite every drive connected to your system
FWIW, DBAN has many options, including the selection of which disk(s) to wipe (and using the simple one pass quick zero-out option is more than enough for common users). Having said that, it would not be the first time that a user doesn't really know what he is doing and wipes out the wrong disk (specially by wrongly using the "automatic" mode in DBAN).

pica
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:35 am

Re: How to fdisk /mbr?

#7 Post by pica » Wed May 15, 2013 9:45 am

Ah, this page says that FDISK /MBR is a secret or undocumented feature to overwrite and recreate the Master Boot Record

* FreeDOS probably implements this

* Gparted can totally overwrite and recreate this (this would be my first choice as I'm use to it and it has a nice GUI, but it may be too much for someone coming from the MSWindoze world)

* The GNU version of fdisk can do this

* one could zero out (overwrite with all zeros) the entire 446 or 512 byte sector if /dev/sda with $ dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1

* DBAN of course would wipe it.

Hope he got what he needed.

Usy
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 06, 2013 8:25 am

Re: How to fdisk /mbr?

#8 Post by Usy » Thu May 16, 2013 2:19 pm

On another site I read that fdisk /mbr from DOS does more than others. That might be wrong of course.
I just want to delete everything without using that old DOS.
If you tell me, that you are sure, that your suggestion delete everything, I believe in you and be happy.
If I can choose, I would pick a graphical version, because I think, that it is easier to use.

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