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Shootout: 'rm -Rf /' vs. 'Format C:'

Posted by timothy on from the as-in-shoot-out-the-lights dept.

skyshock21 writes "There's an article over at hohle.net about what actually happens when you type the commands Format C: in windows versus rm -Rf / in Linux. Very interesting results indeed. Myths are busted, and hilarity ensues."

10 of 513 comments (clear)

  1. A more appropriate shootout by cyborch · · Score: 5, Insightful

    would be 'mkfs /dev/hda1' vs 'format c:'

  2. sudo password by emmavl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In the article he mentions sudo asks the root password, while it's actually asking the password of the user performing the sudo ! So I guess he must have set the root password identical to his user password during the installation.

  3. Get a life by soul_hk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously folks,
    this proves almost nothing.
    This guy really needs to find something better to occupy his time with, ideas include polishing the spoons, re-arranging the sock drawer and cleaning the fridge.

    We all know the best way to screw a Windows XP SP2 user is to convince them to turn off the firewall ..

    mod me down, see if I care

  4. When ls is hosed... by ccarr.com · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...use the shell's built in file expansion:

    echo *

    --
    I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. BB
  5. dissecting frogs.. by mks113 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.
    E. B. White (1899 - 1985)

  6. Re:Unix file philosophy by nilsjuergens · · Score: 3, Insightful
    1) Quickly and silently removing the file, while leaving access hidden inside a link in the /proc filesystem

    The Unix Way

    2) Failing to remove the file (because you're using it right now) and informing you

    The Windows Way, also known as "please reboot for the changes to take effect"

    The OS really really should _not_ try to second-guess whats wrong or right, just let the user do it. The running application may still enforce certain rules if it has to.

    --
    -- Having problems sending big files over the net? Try out Efisto (http://efisto.org)
  7. Re:Unix file philosophy by BlueWonder · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Which is better:
    1) Quickly and silently removing the file, while leaving access hidden inside a link in the /proc filesystem
    2) Failing to remove the file (because you're using it right now) and informing you
    ?

    1) is better, and it would be better even if /proc didn't exist. There is no reason why every file must be accessible through a directory entry.

    Without this mechanism, it would be impossible to replace the directory entry corresponding to an open file atomically, which is a prerequisite for updating running executables or shared libraries.

    I reckon removing a file should be harder if it's currently being used.

    As I explained, removing a file which currently being used is not only hard, but impossible. Only the corresponding directory entries can be removed.

  8. Re:...vs Magnet vs Tossage by Bertie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why? This guy's in a responsible position, he should be more careful. The buck stops with him.

  9. Re:openbsd rm by mcmonkey · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Bruce Schneier mentioned that magnetic media can be read using magnetic dust and a microscope...irrespective of the number of overwrites

    I'm very skeptical of this claim. He's essentially claiming any magnetic media has an infinite capacity.

    For example, take a disk with a capacity of 100 GB. I fill that with data; I read the data.

    Then I overwrite the entire disk with another 100 GB of data. Of course I can read the new data. And supposedly with enough time and patience I can read the data that has been overwritten. By overwriting I've doubled the capacity of the media.

    When I overwrite the disk again I can read the new data, I can recover the data I've just overwritten, and because this process is irrespective of the number of overwrites, I can retrieve the original data that has been overwritten twice.

    This seems to defy some basic laws of physics, but I admit I do not know all the inner workings of magnetic media.

  10. Re:...vs Magnet vs Tossage by umpa · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Unfortunatly a Taxi driver took the PC with him and managed to boot the machine and found an enormous ammount of very confidentinial information on the HDD.

    When you throw something in the garbage, it's still yours. It's not free for the taking.

    The taxi driver stole the computer and the "Dutch TV Crime Fighter" bought stolen property. That's criminal.