Need to overwrite a hard drive

Stan_Lite · 10-04-2010, 19:32

I tired to install Ubuntu on one of my PCs the other day but it wouldn't recognise the drive as suitable for installation. I did a bit of searching and it turns out that Ubuntu isn't keen on installing on drives that have previously been in a RAID array.

The drive in question used to be striped with another in RAID0 which has been dismantled.

Whilst searching for a solution, I came across a solution that said that overwriting the drive with 0s and 1s would wipe the old RAID info from the drive and allow installation of Ubuntu.

What I would like are suggestions on how best to go about this. Any help would be gratefully received.

Mark · 10-04-2010, 20:11

Does Ubuntu detect the drive at all? If so, then since you're already running the live CD, just open up a terminal and enter:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sd# bs=4096

Where # is the device assigned to your hard disk (a, b, c, etc.). Make absolutely sure you get this right as you don't get a second chance.

PS - this will take a while - probably a few hours.

Stan_Lite · 10-04-2010, 22:59

Cheers Mark, I'll give that a try (tomorrow). Ubuntu sees the drive in the LiveCD environment and will allow partitioning in GParted but won't recognise it during installation

10-04-2010, 19:32	#1
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	Need to overwrite a hard drive I tired to install Ubuntu on one of my PCs the other day but it wouldn't recognise the drive as suitable for installation. I did a bit of searching and it turns out that Ubuntu isn't keen on installing on drives that have previously been in a RAID array. The drive in question used to be striped with another in RAID0 which has been dismantled. Whilst searching for a solution, I came across a solution that said that overwriting the drive with 0s and 1s would wipe the old RAID info from the drive and allow installation of Ubuntu. What I would like are suggestions on how best to go about this. Any help would be gratefully received. __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

10-04-2010, 22:59	#3
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	Cheers Mark, I'll give that a try (tomorrow). Ubuntu sees the drive in the LiveCD environment and will allow partitioning in GParted but won't recognise it during installation __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

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10-04-2010, 20:11	#2
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Does Ubuntu detect the drive at all? If so, then since you're already running the live CD, just open up a terminal and enter: sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sd# bs=4096 Where # is the device assigned to your hard disk (a, b, c, etc.). Make absolutely sure you get this right as you don't get a second chance. PS - this will take a while - probably a few hours.