[Discuss] Disk/Tape Eraser

[feenberg at nber.org (Daniel Feenberg)]

On Tue, 12 Jun 2012, Shirley M?rquez D?lcey wrote:

> On 6/12/2012 6:19 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote:
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> Can anyone recommend a piece of hardware used to erase hard
>> disks/tapes/floppies?  I've done some googling, looked on Amazon and
>> NewEgg, but can't seem to find anything that fits the bill.
>
> Radio Shack used to sell bulk tape erasers. They're no longer available from 
...

Does a degausser really erase a disk drive? The case is usually ferrous, 
so I would expect the magnetic moment experienced by the disk platters to 
be very attenuated. It isn't something I have tested, though. We have been 
using the Wiebetech Drive Erazer for Sata and IDE drives, it has the 
further advantage that the drive is reusable.

Of course dd can do pretty much the same thing (but may miss some remapped 
sectors, if that matters).

dan feenberg