Bulk erase methods

I've been lurking at this thread for awhile...

If the OP meant that bulk erase was needed to render the floppies disposable with security, then mechanical destruction is certainly the only reliable way.

If the OP only wanted to re-use the floppies himself, what's wrong with simply "delete *.*" ??

If he meant to distribute erased floppies for others to re-use, but with security, there exists software which will write randomized data over the existing data.

...Jim Thompson

Why not just reformat? Even the CIA would have to be lucky to recover any data after that.

John

Another poster claimed that they could get data even from a reformatted disk.

Maybe, but I doubt it myself.

...Jim Thompson

Digital media, floppys in particular, have a much higher coercivity than reel-to-reek audio tape, so don't expect the "bulk eraser" to work very well. A shredder is a far better method. If the floppys are to be reused, formatting them will deter all but the black-hats.

If it's only been reformatted once, then it's not very difficult to recover the data. I've had this demonstrated to me briefly.

That's exactly what I said much earlier in the thread :)

If the data is that sensitive, shred the things. In fact, shred them anyway. Floppys are dead. ;-)

thanks Jim. Theyre for reuse by other people, floppies are not obsolete yet. High security is not needed, but the info does need to be all truly deleted rather than simply delete *.* which leaves it all on there. And finally, putting loads of floppies thru a PC and writing them one by one is not worth it, I want fast bulk erase and no cost. There are a lot to wipe, PCing them individually isnt even worth considering.

I'll try this actuator magnet later, and also the microwave.

Thanks, NT

Yep. Riaisng the temperature above the curie point works too, but that likely amounts to the same thing.

That simply clears the directory. The files are still there.

The new data won't cover the old data completely, unless it was written by the same drive (and it hasn't changed calibration). If any security is required, go back to solution #1.

Sheeesh! Floppies are CHEAP. Just destroy the originals and BUY new.

...Jim Thompson

would achieve precisely none of the aims here. It wont be me that reuses the flops.

And why buy USB stick when you can use a HDD for more capacity at lower price?

NT

Years ago, bulk magnetic tape erasers were sold for erasing reel-to-reel magnetic tapes. You might be able to find one in an antiques store ;-) and use it for your purpose.

Al

They have to be formatted after a bulk erase anyway. You're just moving the time needed for the format to the point at which they're needed (and perhaps needed *now*), rather than when one is doing something else and can feed the drive.

DOn't count on them (perhaps including the microwave) being useful after the nuking. ....particularly 3-1/2" floppies.

Destroy the floppies and buy a USB stick and/or CD R/W drive. ;-)

I've only used floppies once in the last two years; to flash BIOS. I didn't want to figure out how to do it from the HD.

I still sometimes have to erase a floppy to use it, if the format is not recognized by the computer. A standard hand held bulk eraser is what I use. Still a somewhat time consuming process, as it takes several passes to do it. Is there still such a thing being sold? Ebay?

Using the computer to erase is obviously a very long chore.

greg

I use floppies in my PC, my CP/M system and my Commodore. Without a bulk erase, you get many, many errors.

The ones for cassette tapes are a bit weak. The Radio Shack videotape eraser is quite strong and very low priced.

Hold the eraser and the floppy as far away from each other as your arms will reach. Turn on eraser. Bring them together, taking at least 5 seconds to do so. Do one circular pass on each side. Bring them arms-length apart again. Turn of the eraser. Always move slowly, never more than one foot per second, and never turn the eraser on or off while near the target.

Radio Shack. Videotape eraser. Works great. Cheap.

Also fun with CRT monitors (but *NOT* Trinitrons! You can actually tangle the shadow mask wires!)

Even more fun with metal surfaces such as filing cabinets. Makes a loud noise that is perfect for that special moment when someone powers up newly built or repaired electronics.

Really erasing is hard. In teh past I'bve purchased 'recycled' flops from software packages. Some were readable, some partially. Got me a nearly free copy of Lotus 1-2-3 :)

You could try a degausser coil from a TV picture tube. Be careful as it runs on line voltage.

You could try 'improving' it by folding it to have more turns... all turns obviously in teh same direction. This should be a 5 second job.

Thomas

I tried that in the days of cassettes, but it didnt work. Made the bit of metal rattle, but nothing got erased. Professional tape degaussers are beasts compared to a tv degauss coil.

NT

perfect

they wont be if it arcs. worth a try.

NT