archlinux

8 - Erase the partition (optional)

Previous: Partition the disks

References:


If you don’t need to erase the partition, go to 9-format.

First, create a temporary encrypted container on the partition or complete device to be erased (replace /dev/sda2 accordingly):

cryptsetup open --type=plain --key-file=/dev/urandom --sector-size=4096 /dev/sda2 to_be_wiped

You can verify that the container was created with

lsblk -f

Wipe the container with zeros by executing

dd bs=1M if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mapper/to_be_wiped status=progress

The above comand will run until the device is full:

dd: writing to ‘/dev/mapper/to_be_wiped’: No space left on device

Finally, close the temporary container:

cryptsetup close to_be_wiped

Next: Format the partitions