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Is it possible to create a huge file (320GB or bigger) to use as a wiping tool? I.E. a file that contains just binary 1's or a text file containing all jumbled up ASCII (the sort of stuff that gets churned out of the printer when there has been a spool error). Would it be possible to create it in Microsoft Notepad?

MD XF
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user3674128
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    You certainly will need another tool. Notepad begins to choke with a few Megabytes – Lorenz Meyer May 25 '14 at 17:24
  • What on earth would you need a 320GB file for?!? In all of the many tools I've used (and written), including tools for large operating systems, there has *never* been a need for a file larger than 25GB. – MD XF May 11 '17 at 19:51

2 Answers2

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You can use fsutil like this to create an arbitrarily sized file:

fsutil file createnew C:\fatboy.tmp SIZE_IN_BYTES

enter image description here

It will be binary zeroes, but they cover stuff just as well as ones - all bits are opaque really.

Another way is to put your unwanted disk in the freezer for a week, then to put it in boiling water for a few hours and finally put a high-speed steel drill bit through it in several places - makes them awfully hard to read and is quite therapeutic!!!

Mark Setchell
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Or, you can use ImageMagick's convert to create a PNG image full of random noise like this:

convert -size 14000x14000 xc: +noise Random random.png

which will result in a 1GB file called random.png. You can then make it arbitrarily big using COPY like this:

copy /b random.png+random.png+random.png+random.png 4x.png
Mark Setchell
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