Best way to wipe SSD for clean install?

[CC268]

I have always used diskpart to wipe my drives (SSD and HDs). Is this a good method or is there a better way to ensure a "clean" drive?

[BigDay]

initiate the secure erase command on the ssd

[babadoctor]

you could use darudes nuke and boot

[babadoctor]

http://www.dban.org/

[CC268]

initiate the secure erase command on the ssd

Not sure how to do this...already wiped Windows off of it using diskpart.

[CC268]

you could use darudes nuke and boot

I have Parted Magic which is essentially the same thing but not sure if this is safe for it?

[BigDay]

you should have gotten a cd that can initiate the secure erase command on the ssd. its the most effective way to remove data. if you don't have the cd, google your ssd name with secure erase and go from there.

[Opask]

@CC268

Do not use secure erase on an SSD. It writes blank digits over your data so unless you want loads of unneeded writes don't do it.

 

What you have already done is perfectly sufficient. 

[CC268]

you should have gotten a cd that can initiate the secure erase command on the ssd. its the most effective way to remove data. if you don't have the cd, google your ssd name with secure erase and go from there.

Not CD but it is a Samsung 850 EVO...probably one of the most common SSDs...I will take a look on the Samsung website

[FizzyFantom]

Is this a secure wipe for an SSD that you are selling or just to remove the old data for your own use.

 

If you are keeping the drive in your possession then a reformat would be sufficient. You may run a clean command and rebuild the partition tables from diskpart, but these are extra steps and shouldn't be necessary.

 

If you plan to sell the SSD (or use it in a laptop that could get lost) you should do a full wipe. I would probably recommend DBAN as stated above, but you should be careful with your settings. SSDs should only be overwritten once when wiping to avoid wearing out the drive. Depending on your SSD there might be a tool from the manufacturer. Adata have their Adata SSD Toolbox which should work for any SSD, but Samsung Magician software has an option for this as well (plus it has the option to create a bootable disk for this purpose).

[CC268]

No I am just doing a clean install of Windows...so should I not worry about doing a Secure Erase using Samsung Magician then?

[Opask]

No I am just doing a clean install of Windows...so should I not worry about doing a Secure Erase using Samsung Magician then?

Correct.

 

What you have done by formatting is marked all the data as OK to be overwritten when you try to write something to you drive.

When your drive gets to that specific block then it will put the new data there.

Until that point the data could be recovered which is why you might want to use secure erase if you were selling the drive.

[FizzyFantom]

No I am just doing a clean install of Windows...so should I not worry about doing a Secure Erase using Samsung Magician then?

In that case don't worry about it. Secure wipes are only for drives that are going out of your control.

[BigDay]

No I am just doing a clean install of Windows...so should I not worry about doing a Secure Erase using Samsung Magician then?

 

just do it. it's the fastest way to get it done. it'll be done in less than 60 seconds

[CC268]

Thanks guys...in terms of performance...would I get better performance by doing a Secure Erase or would I not be able to tell?

[FizzyFantom]

Thanks guys...in terms of performance...would I get better performance by doing a Secure Erase or would I not be able to tell?

It won't make any difference after the format. The format will flag every block as empty and the SSD will perform the same as before the format.

[Opask]

Thanks guys...in terms of performance...would I get better performance by doing a Secure Erase or would I not be able to tell?

No.

When you secure erase a drive it writes a 0 to that specific block. You still have to overwrite it with new data. There will be zero difference.