disable UEFI from Linux
 

My question is: how can I disable UEFI secure boot to enable Dban to boot.

I have compromised my HDD with too many failed attempts at OpenVPN. My machine is unstable at this time. Firefox often freezes the machine. I want to wipe the HDD and make a clean install of Mint 17.2.

Acer Aspire E1-510P-2810.

When I hit F2 during boot, I am asked for a password of which I have no idea.

I have run <dd> from a live CD. It took hours and concluded with a several paragraph text output that froze up and I had to hard shutdawn to escape. The original file system was destroyed and I reinstalled 17.2. The new installation is unstable. I want to use Dban to clean up the HDD.

Any help or questions for clarification will be greatly appreciated.

Not sure dban will fix your problems. If you don't know the password to bios then you will have to get it. Some laptops simply won't be easy. Not even sure I've seen a utility to remove password from a uefi bios yet. Should be there I'd think.

You usually don't have to run dd for a very long time. I'd just boot to a distro that can boot like Ubuntu LTS and use it's partition tool. I guess you can download almost any program while in live if you have enough ram.

Like I say, all of this hard drive issue won't fix your problems.

Thank you, Jefro. I think I need Acer manufacturer's assistance to overcome this apparent blockage of access to my own computer.

On some computers you can clear the BIOS password by jumping the appropriate pins on the motherboard. Either google search how to do this for your particular computer or get a flashlight and look on your board for cmos bios password or something along those lines.

If you don't have the documentation for how to clear the BIOS RAM, you can always take the battery out and give it a few minutes to die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonvolatile_BIOS_memory

seabag,

Some suggestions for you:

Instructions for clearing the BIOS password of a similar Acer E1 laptop are shown here:
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/440...1.html?page=65

There is also CmosPwd from CGSecurity:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd

Dogbert’s Blog may be of use:
http://dogber1.blogspot.co.uk/2009/0...ered-bios.html

There is no need to use DBAN.

Can you remove the hard drive and format it, either in another computer or inside a USB enclosure connected to another PC?

Thanks, DavidMcCann. I am reluctant to dig out the CMOS battery on my new computer! :-) I will hold this process as a valuable but last resort.

Thank you, BeachBoy, for referencing these very clear instructions, especially the first one. I feel confident that when I wish to open the unit that I will at least know what I am looking for. I have marked this thread closed with the understanding that the solution will probably be hardware based. Thank you to this community as well.