Partitioning a Seagate FreeAgent
Outline
Check for bad blocks (not required)
badblocks -c 10240 -s -w -t random -v /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0
Partition drive. In this case, I create one 'Linux' partition which spans the whole drive.
cfdisk /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0
Create a LUKS device (partition) on the drive
cryptsetup --verbose --verify-passphrase luksFormat /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0-part1
Open that device
cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0-part1 FreeAgent
Create an EXT partition on the device.
mkfs.ext3 -j -m 1 -O dir_index,filetype,sparse_super /dev/mapper/FreeAgent
These options aren't necessary. The following will also work fine:
mkfs.ext3 /dev/mapper/FreeAgent
Mount the encrypted partition
mkdir /media/FreeAgentLuks
mount /dev/mapper/FreeAgent /media/FreeAgentLuks
Transcript
This is something I did before, following instructions from somewhere.
[root@exciter ~]# badblocks -c 10240 -s -w -t random -v /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0
Checking for bad blocks in read-write mode
From block 0 to 488386583
Testing with random pattern: done
Reading and comparing: done
Pass completed, 0 bad blocks found.
[root@exciter ~]# cfdisk /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0
Disk has been changed.
WARNING: If you have created or modified any
DOS 6.x partitions, please see the cfdisk manual
page for additional information.
[root@exciter ~]# cryptsetup --verbose --verify-passphrase luksFormat /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0-part1
WARNING!
========
This will overwrite data on /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0-part1 irrevocably.
Are you sure? (Type uppercase yes): YES
Enter LUKS passphrase:
Verify passphrase:
Command successful.
[root@exciter ~]# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0-part1 FreeAgent
Enter LUKS passphrase for /dev/disk/by-id/usb-Seagate_FreeAgentDesktop-0:0-part1:
key slot 0 unlocked.
Command successful.
[root@exciter ~]# mkfs.ext3 -j -m 1 -O dir_index,filetype,sparse_super /dev/mapper/FreeAgent
mke2fs 1.41.4 (27-Jan-2009)
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
30531584 inodes, 122095871 blocks
1220958 blocks (1.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=4294967296
3727 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
8192 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208,
4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968,
102400000
Writing inode tables: done
Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done
This filesystem will be automatically checked every 34 mounts or
180 days, whichever comes first. Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.
Un-mounting
umount /mnt/FreeAgent
rmdir /mnt/FreeAgent
cryptsetup luksClose /dev/mapper/FreeAgent
(safe to remove)
Notes
- With LUKS, you can easily change the pass-phrase, and even have more than one at a time. See luksAddKey in the manual (man cryptsetup).
