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After starting an erasure, in case your erasure does not start (no activity or stuck at 0%) or errors start counting under the drive (Erasure-step, Advanced-mode) or the software seems unresponsive, the problem can relate to one of the following reasons:

A firmware erasure is ongoing:

  • Check if the drive has remapped sectors (there is a “REMAPPED: X” yellow icon under the drive, X > 0) and if the erasure option “Erase remapped sectors” is enabled: if this is the case, the first step that is started is a firmware command that erases the remapped sectors. The command duration can vary based on the drive size and interface, from a few minutes (on new SSDs) to a few hours (on large HDDs). During the time of the erasure, the erasure progress will be stuck at 0% and it is recommended not to interact with the drive (do not unplug the drive under any circumstance, do not attempt to pause or cancel the erasure, do not attempt to refresh the list of drives… most of these recommendation are at least valid for any Drive Eraser version prior 6.3.0).

Bad cable connection:

  • Check that the drive is properly connected to the machine (power cable and interface cable). Lack of proper connection can result in read/write errors.

OPAL lock:

  • Check that the drive is not locked in any way. There are special locks that can prevent all read/write operations on the drive. One of them is the OPAL security feature that can be enabled either by the computer manufacturer or by the computer owner. Blancco Drive Eraser / Blancco 5 cannot deal (yet) with the OPAL security feature and this feature has to be removed manually prior erasure. In order to remove this security feature, a PSID Revert command has to be issued to the drive. This command returns the drive to its factory state where it can be erased as normally. The PSID Revert command requires a software tool, as well as an access to the PSID (Physical Security ID) which is printed on the drive’s label. The software tool that issues the PSID Revert command depends on the drive manufacturer/model. Below is a list of tools that are required for specific manufacturer's drives:


Other reasons may exist and they should be checked case by case. Make sure that you sava Blancco Drive Eraser / Blancco 5 issue report after witnessing the problem and then contact the Blancco Technical Support.