"Fixing" problem USBs

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malspa
Posts: 298
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:21 am

Re: "Fixing" problem USBs

#21 Post by malspa »

uncle mark wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:33 pm I always use dd to write zeros to the entire drive, then use gparted to write a new msdos partition table and format to fat32.
I do the same. This thread is a keeper, though -- thanks for the tips, everyone!

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galen
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Re: "Fixing" problem USBs

#22 Post by galen »

cheap USB sticks are not worth the hassle, the firmware tends to be tweaked hence unreliable to use as a boot stick

you can also use shred with care to put the drive out of its misery
shred -n 666 /dev/sd[USB device]
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BitJam
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Re: "Fixing" problem USBs

#23 Post by BitJam »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote: Tue Jun 18, 2019 2:38 pm Well I don't really agree that the live-usb-maker tool is necessarily any safer than the simple commands I listed because the all it does it list any connected drives that have "1" in /sys/block/sdX/removable and this would include any USB-attached drives.
1) How would you recommend we automatically identify backup drives and drop them from the list? You seem to be making the false argument that since perfect safety is impossible then all attempts to provide safety are useless.

2) We have several other safety measures in place. I admit we cannot prevent someone from wiping their backup drive when it is not in use but I don't think any program can. There are many many dire situations that we do prevent.

3) if the user is the first party and MX/antiX is the third party then who is the second party?
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool."

-- Richard Feynman

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Head_on_a_Stick
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Re: "Fixing" problem USBs

#24 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

BitJam wrote: Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:39 pm How would you recommend we automatically identify backup drives and drop them from the list?
How about prompting the user to insert the troublesome USB stick and then only offering to wipe the newly-inserted device?
BitJam wrote: Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:39 pm You seem to be making the false argument that since perfect safety is impossible then all attempts to provide safety are useless.
I am arguing that it's better for the user to understand /dev/ and how devices are assigned and to check for themselves that the correct drive is being operated on.

I am not claiming that your attempts to provide safety are "useless", I'm just pointing out that the safety provisions are far from perfect and should not be relied upon absolutely.
BitJam wrote: Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:39 pm if the user is the first party and MX/antiX is the third party then who is the second party?
Debian, the Linux kernel and the core system utilities upon which you build your "helper" abstractions and pre-configuration.
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fehlix
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Re: "Fixing" problem USBs

#25 Post by fehlix »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 9:44 am
BitJam wrote: Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:39 pm How would you recommend we automatically identify backup drives and drop them from the list?
How about prompting the user to insert the troublesome USB stick and then only offering to wipe the newly-inserted device?
Another nice idea. That would indeed add a further layer of safety to the USB handling process :happy:
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BitJam
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Re: "Fixing" problem USBs

#26 Post by BitJam »

fehlix wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 9:51 am
Head_on_a_Stick wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 9:44 amHow about prompting the user to insert the troublesome USB stick and then only offering to wipe the newly-inserted device?
Another nice idea. That would indeed add a further layer of safety to the USB handling process :happy:
+1
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool."

-- Richard Feynman

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