I have a usb drive which I would like to put a linux distribution on but it already has some files on it on /dev/sdc1. Using fdisk, I deleted the first partition and wrote the changes. When I printed the table, the first partition was gone.
Then I created a new partition (/dev/sdc1).
However when I wrote these changes to the usb, the old files were still there. I followed these instructions after deleting the first partition
http://www.zorge.net/?p=22
Are there any commands in fdisk (I'm trying to get comfortable in fdisk, so no gparted for me) to completely wipe out all the information on a drive?
Best Answer
fdisk
manages partitions, but does not format or write data to the disk.To format the disk, use
mkfs
However, formatting does not overwrite your data, it just removes the pointers to where it is. To overwrite your data you actually need to write over it, use
dd
or a utility such asscrub
See also man scrub