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So...I created a live Debian drive and now that i'm done with it i'd like to re-format with one big empty partition so it's ready to become a live disk ...
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  1. 06-22-2012 #1
    ltnemo2000
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    strange external HD issue

    So...I created a live Debian drive and now that i'm done with it i'd like to re-format with one big empty partition so it's ready to become a live disk for another distro in the future. the thing is, gparted wont pick it up. I thought that was odd so i ran some lines:
    Code:
    mount
    gave me (more than this but here's the interesting bit):
    Code:
    /dev/sdb1 on /media/Debian 6.0.5 i386 1 type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,mode=0400,dmode=0500,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/Debian 6.0.5 i386 1_ type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,mode=0400,dmode=0500,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/Debian 6.0.5 i386 1__ type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,mode=0400,dmode=0500,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/Debian 6.0.5 i386 1___ type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,mode=0400,dmode=0500,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/Debian 6.0.5 i386 1____ type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,mode=0400,dmode=0500,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/Debian 6.0.5 i386 1_____ type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,mode=0400,dmode=0500,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/Debian 6.0.5 i386 1______ type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,mode=0400,dmode=0500,uhelper=udisks)
    fdisk seems to detect /dev/sdb1 but i'm not really familiar with it

    I don't care about what's on here. i just want it to be a fresh drive. what went wrong? how do I fix it and avoid this problem in the future?
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  2. 06-22-2012 #2
    Rubberman
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    You have to unmount it before you can reformat it.
    Sometimes, real fast is almost as good as real time.
    Just remember, Semper Gumbi - always be flexible!
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  3. 06-22-2012 #3
    ltnemo2000
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    actually, the hard drive won't mount at all.
    sdc (4 gig flash drive) shows up in gparted while it is mounted
    no trace of sdb though.
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  4. 06-23-2012 #4
    nujinini
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    SInce you are going to reformat it anyway, perhaps you can wipe the whole disk clean using

    Code:
    dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/YOUR_EXTERNAL bs=512 count=1
    Then you can reformat it ready for your next installation.

    You can boot using any live CD and execute the above.
    nujinini
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  5. 06-28-2012 #5
    ltnemo2000
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    There we go!
    many thanks
    >G
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