PLEASE HELP - How to Wipe SSD with OS and configure as storage drive?

[technewbie101]

Hey LTT community!

 

This is my first post on the forum and as you can tell by my username, I'm a newb when it comes to tech and computers.

 

Here's my situation.

 

I have an old laptop in which I recently installed an SSD on to improve it's performance.

 

I recently got a new laptop with an SSD + HDD config and would like to replace the HDD with the SSD in my old laptop.

 

My old machine's SSD has an OS on it (provided free with my school) that I would like to completely wipe out (or format... not completely sure what the proper term is) so I can use it as a second storage drive on my new laptop in replacement of the new laptop's HDD. Both are 2.5" SATA III drives.

 

I would most likely use the HDD as an external drive afterwards.

 

I have down some research online and am quite newbie at this type of stuff and scared i would damage the SSD if i do something wrong

 

If anyone can provide me with a step by step process as to how to properly do it without damaging my hardware, would be greatly appreciated!

 

Any feedback and/or tips and tricks are appreciated!

 

Thanks

[MysticalRainXIV]

@technewbie101 When It comes to wiping an ssd you do need to be careful as they operate differently than a regular harddrive. Usually to format a standard HDD you would spend hours writing zeros on the whole thing, but this is very bad for a solid state as they have limited ability to continuously write to the drive. Basically it hurts the lifespan. Darik's Boot and Nuke is the best tool imo to wiping any sort of hard drive, but requires you to be able to access the BIOS and boot from a flash drive.

[Butter1484]

If all you want to do is use it for storage, the first step would be put it in the new laptop and boot it. Then you can go to This PC and you should be able to right-click the drive and choose Format to completely remove all data from the drive.

[MysticalRainXIV]

If all you want to do is use it for storage, the first step would be put it in the new laptop and boot it. Then you can go to This PC and you should be able to right-click the drive and choose Format to completely remove all data from the drive.

Windows wont properly wipe it. SSDs need to be wiped differently, and can be fully wiped much faster with a simple voltage spike, using the proper utility of course.

[DanTheDJ]

 

Hey LTT community!

 

This is my first post on the forum and as you can tell by my username, I'm a newb when it comes to tech and computers.

 

Here's my situation.

 

I have an old laptop in which I recently installed an SSD on to improve it's performance.

 

I recently got a new laptop with an SSD + HDD config and would like to replace the HDD with the SSD in my old laptop.

 

My old machine's SSD has an OS on it (provided free with my school) that I would like to completely wipe out (or format... not completely sure what the proper term is) so I can use it as a second storage drive on my new laptop in replacement of the new laptop's HDD.

 

If anyone can provide me with a step by step process as to how to properly do it without damaging my hardware, would be greatly appreciated!

 

Any feedback and/or tips and tricks are appreciated!

 

Thanks 

Firstly, welcome to the forums!

 

In Windows, it is quite easy to format drives. You could plug the SSD into the laptop you wish to use, and it should show up as a drive in My Computer/File Explorer.

 

If you are on Windows 8 or Windows 10, right click on 'This PC' and click manage,

If you are on Windows 7, go to the start menu and right click on 'Computer' then click manage.

 

It should bring up a program called 'Computer Management'

 

On the left hand side you should see 'Disk Management' - click this and it should bring up an overview of all of your connected drives. You should see your OS drive, plus the other SSD.

 

Right Click on the SSD bar at the bottom of the screen, and click 'Delete Volume'

 

Let it do it's thing then right click on it again and click 'Create new partition'

 

(Call the disk what you want to name it and choose a drive letter)

 

The newly formatted drive should show up in This PC/ My Computer

 

 

Normally I would just right click on the drive in This PC/My Computer but I have had multiple problems multiple times with doing this with SSDs. The Computer Management way always seems to work for me.

 

Enjoy the forums!

[TonyStark]

Also, based on the above comment, SSDs should NOT be defragmented. Basically for 2 reasons....one, for the life span and two, because they do not need defrag.

[MysticalRainXIV]

Also, based on the above comment, SSDs should NOT be defragmented. Basically for 2 reasons....one, for the life span and two, because they do not need defrag.

Another thing, its always good to leave 10% of your SSD not partitioned, to help increase the lifespan of the drive

[technewbie101]

First off, wow at how fast the responses come in! Thanks a bunch, guys!

Secondly, my laptop has a warranty sticker that can void it if I remove it to install the SSD. 

 

It is an MSI laptop so is there a way I can avoid voiding the warranty if I'm doing is replacing the HDD with the new SSD?

 

I am asking this because I am unable to do what you're telling me if it means I am voiding my warranty.

 

@DanTheDJ Am I able to just delete the partitioned OS portion and save my other files and continue using as storage or do I have to wipe the entire drive? If I delete the OS portion of the SSD would it automatically recognize my m.2 SSD as the new OS and continue operating or clean the entire storage drive?

 

@MysticalRainXIV Also, how do I leave 10% of my drive unpartitioned? 

 

Thanks! 

[MysticalRainXIV]

First off, wow at how fast the responses come in! Thanks a bunch, guys!

Secondly, my laptop has a warranty sticker that can void it if I remove it to install the SSD. 

 

It is an MSI laptop so is there a way I can avoid voiding the warranty if I'm doing is replacing the HDD with the new SSD?

 

I am asking this because I am unable to do what you're telling me if it means I am voiding my warranty.

 

Also, how do I leave 10% of my drive unpartitioned? 

 

Thanks! 

Usually taking apart a Laptop will void a manufacture warranty. To leave 10% unpartitioned simply do a little napkin math and create the primary partition as 10% smaller than your total space.

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there technewbie101 Welcome to the community! 

 

Here are my thoughts on this:

- Wiping your SSD should be relatively easy as all you need to do is format it when connected to another computer (internally or externally). @DanTheDJ gave you a pretty straightforward guide on how to do this. You can do it even if you connect the drive externally with a SATA to USB cable, docking station or an external enclosure. Here's how to get to Disk Management: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=vB6CT8

 

- Since you will be voiding your warranty on your new laptop by swapping the new HDD with the old SSD there really isn't much sense in doing all of this. I would contact the manufacturer of the laptop and check with them if the storage drive swapping voids the warranty or not.

 

Regarding the 10% issue, it is connected to the drive's caching abilities and garbage collection (TRIM function). Older SSDs needed about 15%-20% of free space in order to work at optimal speed. Newer SSDs don't have these problems and can be filled up quite a bit before any performance issues are detected. This is because newer SSDs come in larger capacities and part of it is not accessible by the user as it is reserved for these specific functions. It is still a good idea, though, to leave some free space on a SSD. This article, even though it's a bit old, can give you some useful info regarding SSD handling: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2110095/the-ultimate-guide-to-proper-ssd-management.html

 

Feel free to ask if you happen to have questions

 

Captain_WD.