I think something like this will come close. lots of random writes tune2fs -O ^has_journal device shred shreddees tune2fs -O has_journal device The lots command is to clear propriety information from the journal. It's probably unnecessary. It might be useful if the new journal is not in the same place as the old. In that case, you might want a program that "shreds" the "file" consisting of all the unused blocks and use it after restoring journalling. -- Mike hennebry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "There are three kinds of people, those who can count and those who can't."