12 replies to this topic

[Frost]

It's finally getting to be about time for old Cypher (Quad G5) to transition from active service to Frost's Vintage Macs. There's one thing my Leopard-running G5 can do that my Sierra-equipped MBP can't though: run a full featured version of Disk Utility. The neutered Disk Utility is no good to me. Anyone know of a good Disk Utility replacement?

I know I can use the Terminal to do all this, but for frak's sake, I shouldn't need to hit the command line to do things on a 2017 MacOS that I could do with a nice graphical utility in a 2007 MacOS.

Looking for things like easy partition management, various secure erasure options, formatting options, and very importantly the ability to format decommissioned disks that are going to be resold as Free Space. This is for business usage so if it's a paid utility that's 100% okay.

[Camper-Hunter]

I only know of iPartition.

There is still the Secure Erase function in Sierra's Disk Utility, as found here:

• Select the hard drive (not an SSD) in the sidebar
  
• Click the Erase button
  
• Click on Security Options
  
• Select the level of secure erase in the next window by moving the slider. You'll find that there's an option to randomly write data followed by a single pass of zeros across the entire drive.

[Sneaky Snake]

Another alternative would be running a VM with an older version of macOS, or a Linux/Windows partition and mounting the drive to that VM and wiping via that OS.

Also, I've noticed the warning against data cleaning an SSD. They make a two point argument against secure wiping (overwriting all data) SSDs:

• SSD's aren't magnetic storage, and as such, there is no magnetic signature left on them when you delete data
  
• Overwriting all of the data will shorten the life expectancy of the disk

The first point is valid, but I don't think that the second point is valid anymore. Technically yes - writing 250 GB of data to wipe a 250 GB SSD will shorten is life expectancy, but "0'ing" a disk also shortens a HDD's life expectancy. SSD's are now well beyond the need to worry about how many reads/writes are being done on them, assuming they are operating in a normal consumer/business environment.

SSD endurance testing has shown that consumer SSD's can now write 1-2 petabytes (1-2 million gigabytes) of data before they fail. If you lean on the conservative side of an SSD's lifespan (1 PB) then you can write 250 GB of data to your SSD every day for 11 years.

Concern about drastically shortening an SSD's life because you decided to 0 it are mostly just an old-wives tale now, a legacy of the early days of SSDs.

[Frost]

By free space I actually meant a totally partitionless empty space disk like you would get with a new blank drive, not specifically zeroing (although I agree; total non-issue anymore). Up through Yosemite this was easily accomplished by just electing to format it as "Free Space" versus HFS+, FAT32, etc.

Among other things, Apple removed that in El Capitan. Gah.

[macdude22]

I will fire up Drive Genius and see if it will do a partition-less nuke, but I think it still makes a partition after it zeros a disk.

Most SSDs should have a secure erase command (ATA Secure Erase), you may have to use the manufacture tool. It just directs the drive to have all the capacitors to release their electron at once. Boom. Disk erased.

[Sneaky Snake]

I like using diskpart in Windows to do such a thing.

• Open up command prompt
  
• Type in 'diskpart' (diskpart launches in new cmd window)
  
• Type in 'list disk' (lists all of the disks connected to the machine)
  
• Type in 'select disk X' (X being the disk number that you want)
  
• Type in 'clean'
  
• done

Takes about 10 seconds from pressing the windows key and typing in cmd to being totally done the operation. Erases the drive and leaves everything as blank space with no file format.

[Frost]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking I might end up just doing, taking my HDD dock off my Mac and connecting it to my Tiki.

Windows keeps creeping further and further into my life. I feel like videogames were a gateway drug. It's become especially bad since you can now run a Linux shell within Windows 10 as an officially-supported Microsoft solution. I basically have my trusty Mac bash window available in Windows now too.

[Sneaky Snake]

Windows has really grown on me since starting an IT job supporting environments that have 95%+ Windows workstations, and around 75% Windows servers. OS X is still my primary OS, but here I am typing this from my gaming PC running Windows 10. My knowledge scales have definitely tipped towards Windows over Mac in the last year or two. I wish I could support more Mac environments, but Apple seems to be trending towards leaving the professional computing space entirely.

[Frost]

Yeah, that's my problem too. I still much prefer the MacOS, but there's been an overlap where Apple's allowing professional Macs to languish at the same time Microsoft is under new leadership and actually turning Windows into a really solid OS for the first time in decades. Once my G5 is finally retired soon, my setup will basically be just my Tiki on one side and my MacBook Pro connected to my 24" Apple Cinema Display on the other. MBP still gets used way, WAY more for work, but as I lose capabilities I'm starting to learn how to do the same things using Windows instead.

I used to be upset about it, but now I guess it is what it is. I have one of each, so I can use my Mac for as much as I can, and what I can't use it for, the PC picks up the slack as well as feeding my gaming habit. I was raging at how much Windows blows back in the Vista and 7 eras, but Microsoft really pulled their heads out of their butts with Windows 10 and it has come a LONG way in a very short time.

[Janichsan]

Sneaky Snake, on 26 March 2017 - 02:50 PM, said:

I like using diskpart in Windows to do such a thing.

• Open up command prompt
  
• Type in 'diskpart' (diskpart launches in new cmd window) …

Frost, on 26 March 2017 - 04:48 PM, said:

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking I might end up just doing, taking my HDD dock off my Mac and connecting it to my Tiki.

Seems somewhat inconsistent that you are ready to use a command line tool under Windows, but not under macOS:

Frost, on 24 March 2017 - 05:52 PM, said:

I know I can use the Terminal to do all this, but for frak's sake, I shouldn't need to hit the command line to do things on a 2017 MacOS that I could do with a nice graphical utility in a 2007 MacOS.

[macdude22]

Janichsan, on 27 March 2017 - 10:29 AM, said:

Seems somewhat inconsistent that you are ready to use a command line tool under Windows, but not under macOS:

I think he's mostly complaining Apple removed a GUI feature that has been there for years.

I fired up Drive Geinus and it looks like you can finish it's "shred/secure erase" function by crafting a fresh HFS+ partition, or leave it unformatted. I am shredding a drive now and will let chu know if it really doesn't initialize the drive when that option is not selected.

[Frost]

Janichsan, on 27 March 2017 - 10:29 AM, said:

Seems somewhat inconsistent that you are ready to use a command line tool under Windows, but not under macOS:

Extra context: Some of the customization I do for one product HAS to be done under Windows because it's the only OS that has the custom program written to save me like 30 minutes and hair pulling by jumping into a hex editor. If I'm going to have to use the command line, I might as well just do it all in one place.

Macdude: Thanks for the tip. I think I have an old copy of Drive Genius lying around... I need to see if they offer upgrade pricing.

[macdude22]

Confirmed Drive Genius 4 can spit out an uninitialized drive.

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