Re: Linux kernel - Libata bad block error handling to user mode program

Mark Lord
2010-03-14T16:02:10Z

On 03/11/10 13:29, Greg Freemyer wrote:
>>
>> But really.. isn't "hdparm --security-erase NULL /dev/sdX" good enough ???
>>
>
> This thread seems to have died off. If there is a real problem, I
> hope it picks back up.
>
> Mark, as to your question the few times I've tried that the bios on
> the test machine blocked the command. So it may have some specific
> utility, but it's a not a generic solution in my mind.
..

Yeah, a lot of BIOSs do a "SECURITY FREEZE" command before booting,
which disables things like "SECURITY ERASE" until the next hard reset.

So, on a Linux system, just unplug the drive after booting, replug it,
and usually it can then be erased.

But yeah.. that all makes things tricker for non-techies.

Cheers