Symantec 10024709 manual Diskwipe switches

136Managing partitions using GDisk

Deleting and wiping your disk

The syntax for the delete switch is as follows:

GDisk: gdisk disk /del {/pri[:nth]/ext[:nth]/log:nth/p:partn-no/all} [/qwipe/dodwipe/customwipe:n]

The syntax for the diskwipe switch is as follows:

GDisk: gdisk disk /diskwipe [dodwipe /customwipe:n]

Table 10-6	/diskwipe switches
Switch	Explanation
disk	Represents the physical fixed disk, from1 to 8.
/del	Deletes a DOS partition or logical DOS drive.
/pri[:nth]	Deletes the nth primary DOS partition. The default is 1.
/ext[:nth]	Deletes the nth extended DOS partition. The default is 1. Also deletes
	any logical partitions in the extended partition.
/log:nth	Deletes the nth logical DOS drive from the extended DOS partition.
/p:partn-no	Indicates the partition to delete. Use the number reported by GDisk in
	standard display mode (not using /lba or /raw) for partn-no.
/all	Deletes all partitions.
/qwipe	Overwrites the partition’s data area before deleting the partition. Makes
	one pass of deleting the data on the disk.
/dodwipe	Overwrites the partition’s data area before deleting the partition. Makes
	seven passes of deleting the data on the disk. This is the security
	standard for the U.S. Department of Defense.
/customwipe:n	Overwrites the partition’s data area n times before deleting the
	partition. n can be set from 1 to 100. /customwipe:7 is equivalent to
	/dodwipe.

For example:

■gdisk 1 /del /all /qwipe completes one pass to delete all partitions and data on disk 1.

■gdisk 1 /del /p:2 /qwipe wipes partition 2 on disk 1 with one pass.

■gdisk 1 /diskwipe /customwipe:15 wipes the entire disk with 15 passes.