BCWipe TWO reports that ATA Secure Erase is frozen.

Modified on Wed, 27 Dec, 2023 at 8:07 AM

It happens because modern BIOSes disable the ATA Secure Erase hardware command to prevent data loss.

BCWipe Total Wipeout automatically removes freeze lock before wiping ATA and NVMe drives to enable support for ATA Secure Erase and other firmware-specific commands.

It is achieved by sleeping/resuming the machine.

Usually, the screen just goes black for a second and returns to normal and the command becomes unlocked.

If the machine does not go to Sleep automatically for some reason, it is possible to do that manually.

To send the computer to Sleep mode, please do as follows:

1. Press Alt+Fn+F2 to switch console.

2. Type

>echo -n mem > /sys/power/state

3. Wake up with keyboard/mouse.

If neither automatic nor manual operation does not work, it is possible that some BIOS setting blocks the Sleep mode.

It can be "Block Sleep" or similar, depending on the device manufacturer. For example, for Dell computers, it is located in 'Power management' group:

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