Clear the contents of the drive using the following Disk Sanitizer commands steps:
i. Turn on or restart the computer, and then quickly press esc.
ii. Select the Security menu and scroll down to the Utilities menu.
iii. Select Hard Drive Utilities.
iv. Under Utilities, select Disk Sanitizer, select the hard drive with the data that you want to
clear, and then follow the on-screen instructions to continue.
NOTE: The amount of time it takes for Disk Sanitizer to run can take several hours. Plug the
computer into an AC outlet before starting.
Nonvolatile memory usage
Use this table to troubleshoot nonvolatile memory usage.
Table 10-1
Troubleshooting steps for nonvolatile memory usage
Description Volatility description Storage user data How to erase
Primary storage device, holds the
OS, applications, and application
settings
Non-volatile, 8-256 GB of
eMMC or NVMe SSD storage,
removable
Yes
1
Follow instructions below
under “Erase the Primary
Storage Device”
System memory (RAM), holds
transient data during system
operation
Volatile, SODIMM socket.
Removable (4 GB/8 GB/16 GB)
Yes Unplug unit from power
Permanent system BIOS settings Non-volatile; 16 KB; stored
No
2
Follow instructions below
under “Clearing BIOS
Settings”
System boot ROM (BIOS) Non-volatile memory, 128 Mbit
(16 MB) socketed, removable
No Download the latest BIOS
for your model from the
HP website and follow the
instructions to flash the BIOS
that are on the website
RTC (CMOS) RAM Volatile memory, 256 bytes
located in AMD embedded
System on Chip (SoC)
No Unplug unit from main power,
remove top cover and press
Clear CMOS button
Keyboard/mouse (ROM) Non-volatile, 2 KB embedded in
the super I/O controller (SIO2)
Yes N/A
Keyboard/mouse (RAM) Volatile, 256 bytes embedded in
the super I/O controller (SIO2)
No Unplug unit from main power
LOM EEPROM Non-volatile, 2 MB embedded in
LAN controller
No N/A
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Non-volatile; 51 KB ROM for
firmware and 38 KB system
parametric data
No
3
Follow instructions below
under “Clearing TPM”
1
Under typical operation, the only user data stored on the primary storage device are preferences for
device configuration and settings for connections. However, the administrator can configure the system
to allow users to store data locally.
78
Chapter 10 Statement of memory volatility