| Author | Message | ||
     David |
Hi When cleaning up an NTFS drive I can select Tools/DiskTools/InitializeMFT Records to clear the directory records of previously deleted files. However when working with a FAT drive I cannot find an equivalent. How can I do the same task on a FAT partition please ? I cannot find any information about cleaning these files in FAT in the manual. I was hoping it would be a simple right click on the folder in the directory view for the option to delete or overwrite but sadly I cannot find this. Also is there a way to only search for text in freespace and also a separate option to search only Cluster space and used space individually ? Otherwise congratulations on a superb application. Thank you in advance for any help. Dave | ||
| Stefan Fleischmann (Admin) |
Sorry, there is no command to wipe unused directory entries in FAT. > is there a way to only search for text in freespace Yes, by right-clicking the fictitious "Free space" file and selecting Logical Search in the context menu. Requires a specialist or forensic license. > a separate option to search only Cluster space and used space In a recursive view, you could select all existing files and directories in all subdirectories and then search them logically. That's equivalent to searching used drive space only. Requires a specialist or forensic license. Sorry, I don't know what you mean by "Cluster space". | ||
| David |
Hi Stefan Wow thank you for your rapid support response ! PGP could learn a lot from your approach to support ! “Sorry, there is no command to wipe unused directory entries in FAT.” Could this be on a future release ? A program called eraser can do this, it is free and open source. I would however much prefer to see what is going on and do this manually sometimes and I would wish for my favourite Hex Editor (WinHex) to have this ability. Is there a simple way I could do this manually for now ? “I don't know what you mean by "Cluster space".” My apologies, it was very late and I was tired when I wrote my question. I meant to say file slack ! Oops ! I understand this is off topic but I have recently read a post on a security forum that WinHex’s random overwrite isn’t quite as random as we thought. I understand WinHex is a Hex Editor and not a cryptographic tool but I wonder if you would perhaps consider making the PRNG a little more …err …random ! I understand this is not high on an average WinHex users requirements but I believe WinHex is and will always be the best at everything it does. If you have the time and the interest I think this is something that WinHex can out perform all other Hex Editors on, yet again ! If you are interested in enhancing this ability there is a free program called DieHard that is apparently the “standard” when it comes to checking for randomness. It is quite hard to find a copy as I have just searched for it now and couldn’t find it on the net to give you a link. I do however have a copy myself and I could e-mail it to you should you need it. Thanks again for your work on WinHex and I do hope you can add my feature requests to your to do list ! Dave | ||
| Stefan Fleischmann (Admin) |
> Could this be on a future release ? Well, yes, but there are 400 other items on the To Do list as well. > Is there a simple way I could do this manually for now ? First of all, you could right-click a file in the directory browser and navigate to its (short filename) directory entry with the Position submenu of the context menu that appears. In order to wipe an already deleted directory entry, select it as a block with the mouse and then fill the block with binary zeroes (Edit | Fill Block). Only be sure to leave the first byte's value at 0xE5. Then File | Save Disk Sectors. > file slack In order to search file slack in addition to all used drive space as described above, simply make sure that Options | Directory Browser | "[x] Open and search files including slack" is checked. > isn’t quite as random as we thought Nobody claimed that the random numbers are cryptographically safe/to be used for cryptographic purposes if it's that what you mean. They are pseudo-random numbers, a very common substitute for real random numbers. Will keep you suggestion in mind. | ||
| David |
Hi Stefan “Well, yes, but there are 400 other items on the To Do list as well.” Sorry, I hadn’t realised. Thank you for your help here and good luck with your future development of WinHex. Dave. |