Wiping disks

This article relies on the live media created here

HDD

nwipe is a fork of dwipe which is the utility used in the popular DBAN solution.

1. Open "terminal emulator" from the application menu
2. Run sudo nwipe in the terminal to launch our nwipe session
3. Navigate up and down the list with the arrow keys, select disks by size with the space bar.
   • Removing extra disks from the machine may make this selection easier. Choosing the wrong disk will cause data loss
   • You can change the wipe method by pressing m. DoD short is the default and recomended method. It makes 3 passes over the disk.
   • You can change the number of rounds by pressing r. This multiplies the method. Leaving DoD short and setting 2 rounds would make 6 passes (1 is recommended).
4. Press capital S to start the process

SSD

Secure erase article on kernel.org

NVMe SSD

This relies on the application nvme-cli. It might not be included on all Linux distros, you might have to install it. It is included in the r/Techsupport rescue media.

1. Open "terminal emulator" from the application menu.
2. Run sudo nvme list to see the list of valid nvme drives.
   • Some SSDs will not be listed here. If your drive isn't listed, put your computer to sleep and then wake it up. This is mainly an issue with Samsung drives.
3. Run sudo nvme format -s2 /dev/nvmeX where X is the location of your drive.
   • Example: sudo nvme format -s2 /dev/nvme0n1 Choosing the wrong disk will cause data loss
   • Some manufacturers lock their drives. If you get an invalid field error, you will have to use a tool from your SSDs manufacturer. When doing this, make sure you do a secure erase.