How to erase/format hard disk data in RS6000 AIX PowerPC model 43 ?

Hi,

You can erase or format by diag menu, tape:
# diag
-Task Selection(Diagnostics, Advanced Diagnostics, Service Aids,etc.)
-Format media.
Good Luck,

MAZOUARI/Morocco

Thanks.

But I can't. It said "The 'diag' command is not supported on this system".
Anyway, I had manually take out the hard disk and throw on the floor for several times. Think the data in the hard disk can't be recovered.

We drill holes through our hard drives for old PC's.

Hi,

Normally all versions of AIX support the ' diag' commande, except if there are filesets that miss to your system you can verify by the control:
#lslpp -l bos.dig. *
you must have some things as:
#> lslpp -l bos.diag *
Fileset Level State Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Path: /usr/lib/objrepos
bos.diag.com 4.3.3.81 COMMITTEDS Common Hardware Diagnoses
bos.diag.rte 4.3.3.83 COMMITTED Hardware Diagnoses
bos.diag.util 4.3.3.80 COMMITTEDS Hardware Diagnoses Utilitieses

Path: /etc/objrepos
bos.diag.com 4.3.3.75 COMMITTEDS Common Hardware Diagnoses
bos.diag.rte 4.3.3.83 COMMITTED Hardware Diagnoses
bos.diag.util 4.3.3.75 COMMITTEDS Hardware Diagnoses Utilitieses
if not you must install them.

you can format or erase it by # diag menu. But after this your data can be recover by the use of data recovery software. To completely erase your data you should use drive wipe software which completely erase hard drive. You can get lots of erase utility over internet or try Stellar drive wipe software.

Hope it helps

If you just want to make the (previous) data unreadable and beyond any chance fo recovery use /dev/zero (even better but slower: /dev/random) as a data source and use "dd" to write its output directly onto the disks device. Make sure the disk is not part of any VG first (for example: hdisk3) :

This will suffice as long as the people you are trying to hide the data from are not the CIA or some similarily well equipped agency. In this case reapeat the process either several times or - better yet - make a (better: several) big hole(s) through it.

I hope this helps.

bakunin