Erase dvd/cd-rw from Linux command line

Erasing a BD-RE, DVD-RW, or CD-RW disk on a Linux system can be as easy as entering one line command using the wodim utility. In this tutorial, you will see how to erase a rewritable disk (Blu Ray, DVD, or CD) on Linux via command line.

In this tutorial you will learn:

  • How to erase a rewritable disk using wodim command
Erase dvd/cd-rw from Linux command line
Erase dvd/cd-rw from Linux command line
Software Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions
Category Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used
System Any Linux distro
Software wodim
Other Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command.
Conventions # – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user

Erase dvd/cd-rw from Linux command line step by step instructions



  1. In case it is not already installed, you can use the following command to install wodim on Ubuntu, Debian and Linux Mint:
    $ sudo apt install wodim
    
  2. The next step is to identify our CD/DVD burner block device file name with the wodim --devices command:
    $ wodim --devices
    wodim: Overview of accessible drives (1 found) :
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
     0  dev='/dev/scd0'     rwrw-- : 'TSSTcorp' 'CD/DVDW SH-S183L'
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
  3. Next, we will use the fast method to erase the disk:
    $ wodim -v blank=fast dev=/dev/scd0
    
  4. In case if you run into some error during the blanking process you may try to include a -force option:
    $ wodim -v -force blank=fast dev=/dev/scd0
    
  5. In case you prefer a different method, you can see the other blanking methods with the following command:
    $ wodim blank=help
    Blanking options:
    	all		blank the entire disk
    	disk		blank the entire disk
    	disk		blank the entire disk
    	fast		minimally blank the entire disk (PMA, TOC, pregap)
    	minimal		minimally blank the entire disk (PMA, TOC, pregap)
    	track		blank a track
    	unreserve	unreserve a track
    	trtail		blank a track tail
    	unclose		unclose last session
    	session		blank last session
    

Closing Thoughts




In this tutorial, we saw how to erase a rewritable Blu Ray, DVD, or CD disk via the command line on a Linux system. The wodim utility makes this task very painless, and includes numerous different blanking methods depending on your preference.