scapewqp.blogg.se - Ata secure erase

secure erase - defined as writing zeroes over the whole visible disk (does not include reallocated sectors).

For older disks without self-encryption, the difference between erase mechanisms are as follows:.

So no, the length of the password does not matter at all, as it is just a part of the protocol you use to give advanced commands to the disk. Computer BIOSes typically set their own password on the disk during boot in an attempt to protect your disks from unauthorized access (e.g.

The user password is just a command access mechanism with which you can prevent someone from performing dangerous commands on the disk, such as running the internal erase functions. The user password has nothing to do with the data stored on the disk or how it is encrypted for self-encrypting drives.After that none of the data on the disk makes any sense anymore. Internally self-encrypted drives can be very quickly wiped by essentially just destroying the internal encryption key used, just as David explains.

David's answer is perfectly correct in all aspects but perhaps does not specifically answer all questions.