On 2010-03-06 09:41, Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. wrote:
In <[🔎] 20100306015538.GP11387@wasteland.homelinux.net>, Jochen Schulz wrote:Mark:I hope there is a simple answer to this question (fingers crossed): how do I overwrite an existing partition (hda2 for example) with all zeros (essentially blanking the partition clean in preparation for installing Lenny), without destroying the partition table?Why do you think you need to blank the partition before installing lenny? There *are* reasons to do that, but they have nothing to do with the installation of a new OS.(reiserfsck --rebuild-tree) has a nasty habit of necromancy. In particular, it might link files from the old file system into lost+found. It can also destroy the heck out of your file system if you happen to store a reiserfs file system in a file. (e.g. [reiserfs] -> /home/bss/Sid.qemu -> [reiserfs]).This is widely considered a significant flaw of the reiserfs tools -- I've not heard of other file systems with the same issues. Also, the --rebuild-tree option is rather last-resort anyway.
Non sequiter? -- Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson LA USA "If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn't have given us arms." Mike Ditka