Secure Erase SSD

[Majestic]

Hello, 

 

So I grabbed the Crucial MX100 256GB ssd out of my laptop, since i'm no longer using it, and followed the steps on this page;

http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Crucial-SSDs/SSDs-and-Secure-Erase/ta-p/112580

 

Follow these steps to delete partitions in Windows:

- Ensure the SSD is connected and is not the boot drive
- Right click Computer and select Manage
- Under Storage, select Disk Management. A list of the connected drives will appear
- In the lower right hand pane, find the drive you want to erase
- Right click on each partition and select Delete Volume.

Once you've followed these steps, you will need to let the drive sit idle for an extended period, ideally at least overnight. This will allow an in-built function called Garbage Collection to clean all the cells and effectively prepare the drive for re-use. Avoiding this step could result in poor performance when re-using the SSD.

 

So, I deleted the partitions but i'm wondering about the overnight bit. My case is a bit different, and it's a bit of a pain to leave it open overnight since the case is the heatsink. I have a USB to Sata+Satapower connector from my other crucial, the question is. Does the TRIM/Garbage Collector work under USB, or does it need to be connected via Sata? And/or is it safe to leave it connected to the USB port for extended period?

 

Regards, 

Maj