In article <noemailhere-F9BBB5.17123730072008@news.mts.net>, The NewGuy <noemailhere@please.comm> wrote:
> When you zero out the data it can take quite a while. Several passes > takes hours for most hard drives. I was wondering if it helps the > security aspect to change the partitioning scheme in Disk Utility. One > could partition in Guid then Apple Partition Map then MBR in less than a > minute. But does it make any difference in the ability for others to > extract data off the hard drive?
Not a speck.
> If not, is there another way of > quickly making a hard drive difficult to read without zeroing out data?
Orbital sander.
You may think I'm being flippant, but I'm not. The most reliable way - and certainly if speed is a criterion - to ensure that a hard drive is unreadable is to physically destroy the recording surface. Disassemble the drive and hit the platters with some kind of grinder or polisher.
-- "Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?" - Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix
