>>>I ran BCWipe on the laptop 3 times, and got the same message -
Time: xx Reporter: xx:xx Action: Wipe freeSpace Path:C\ Status: Failed.
The described problem may be caused by the fact that some background process is running on the disk.
For example, automatic defragmentation, or antivirus scan.
You should either disable the background process, or run "Wipe free space" in non-elevated mode
(when BCWipe notifies you about "advanced verification" and asks to elevate the process - click No).