How fresh is a "fresh" installation

Is it okay to repeatedly reinstall the same Linux OS without wiping the storage? DBAN can clean a disk to make it ready for use again, but it takes so much time. I don't like the time it takes to use DBAN. What I want to know is whether or not security issues can linger when reinstalling a distro like Red Hat. Is a "fresh" install really a fresh install?

 

That's like asking how fresh is a reformat. The data is still there, but will not affect new installation and will be overwritten.

 

How sure are we? Is it something like a physical impossibility for the old data to affect the new?

 

I normally at least reformat the disk before reloading my Linux OS. Using DBAN in my opinion is way-over-kill. I've done a reformat, install numerous times over the years.

You could do a reinstall over and existing OS without formating, it should still work OK, but I would never do that. A reformat does not take very long compared to using DBAN.

 

It's impossible unless you have some sort of advanced rootkit hiding in your HDD. If that's the case, even DBAN isn't surefire.

I assume "fresh" installation means reformat is included, but chrisretusn is right if it's just an overwrite (which usually means Upgrade I think).

 

Every time I install Red Hat, it does something like a reformat, but I'm not sure if it's the kind of reformat you are all talking about.

Do some distributions let you reformat before installation using the installation disc? Maybe that's what Red Hat is doing for me.

 

pretty much all of them.

during the install you will be given the advanced option to chose partitions, format them etc...

 

Does the automatic option do a reformat? I am trying to keep it easy. It seems like Red Hat recreates partitions all by itself, not preserving anything from the previous installation.

 

it probably depends on the distro.

this stuff is quite easy to do on any Debian/Ubuntu derivative.
it's just a matter of clicking a check box during the install process where you choose your partitions.

 

Yes it does.

Cheers, Nick

 

I always do a secure erase, which aside from "wiping" the drive supposedly also has the advantage of returning the SSD to its original performance.

 

Performance-longevity trade-off? I am wondering if your SSD won't last as long because of all of your read-write activity that comes with secure erasing.

 

what i do is something when getting problem with install is use gparted from live cd and delete drive or partition then Recreate it and Format it form installing system it self



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