On Thu, Jan 09, 2020 at 12:11:54PM +1300, Ben Caradoc-Davies wrote:
I use ATA secure erase <https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/ATA_Secure_Erase>; I activate it with hdparm from a live usb drive (you may need to install hdparm). I do not know if ATA secure erase is supported by the mini bios and drive. Many bioses I have seen that freeze security can be unfrozen with a suspend/resume cycle.
This is generally the best solution, but verification can be difficult and drive vendors are notorious for not properly implementing specs. Secure erase alone is the only viable option for SSDs.
No HDD can be fully overwritten in two minutes.
If speed is a factor the usual solution is to use an encrypted disk and only erase the key. Does need advance planning. :)
If you need to protect against an attacker willing to examine your HDD with magnetic force microscopy, there is no substitute for physical destruction of the media.
Yes--if single-pass all-zeros erase isn't sufficient, the next step up is physical destruction, not multi-pass pattern mumbo-jumbo.