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Secure erase - frozen state

IInte3
New Contributor

I have an intel 330 and h81 asrock board, i want to do a secure erase with intel ssd toolbox but it wont let me, says:

"The selected drive is Security frozen and cannot run Secure Erase. To remove the lock, power-cycle the SSD at this time. This can be done by unplugging and plugging in the drive. After you have completed these steps, click OK to have the Intel SSD Toolbox recheck the Security frozen state of the drive."

I did the power-cycle thing but no luck... is there any way to disable it in uefi?

1 REPLY 1

jbenavides
Valued Contributor II

Hello intellicious,

The Security Freeze lock means that the UEFI/BIOS recognized the SSD as being plugged. Secure erase commands cannot be run if the SSD is in this state. Computers running Windows* normally issue a security freeze lock as soon as the drive is detected.

Here are some links with details of possible workarounds and alternate methods to do the secure erase:

- Power Cycle the SSD when you get the lock message from Intel® SSD Toolbox during the Secure Erase process (SATA hotplug must be enabled in the BIOS):

http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/CS-034543.htm What Do I Do if a Security Freeze Lock is Detected on the Drive?

- Hotplug the SATA data cable to the SSD right before attempting the Secure Erase:

https://communities.intel.com/message/156369# 156369 https://communities.intel.com/message/156369

- Use a Linux Operating System to do the Secure Erase:

https://communities.intel.com/thread/54842 https://communities.intel.com/thread/54842

- Change Intel® RST settings to modify the refresh rate:

http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/CS-031890.htm Unable to Run Secure Erase on Intel® SSD Toolbox

- Use a 3rd party tool to run the low-level format (secure erase):

http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/CS-032319.htm When Do You Need to Run a Low-Level Format on an Intel® Solid-State Drive?