topic Re: How to erase/format a SSD ? in Archive

How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:46:58 GMT

Hi there,

I doubt someone is running the operating system on SSD for years. How to go on now that you want to format/wipe it and reianstal with the operating system again?I cant believe that intel has no tool for it.

thank you

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:21:22 GMT

What OS do you have? Why a tool? The OS can format an SSD and erase. I have used both Vista and Windows 7 with no issues to format and erase.

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:02:35 GMT

ambizytl, what about with respect to TRIM vs no TRIM drives and whether TRIM was used during its previous use?

I mean, if you format an ssd (using the OS tool, eg. during Windows setup) that has been trimmed (either manually/automatically), then it sounds like this would be fine, performance would be good.

If you have an older G1 drive, something like HDDErase is needed, right? otherwise, if you just formatted, performance would be bad?

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:03:20 GMT

It was firtly installed using windows 7. I heard simple formating a SSD is lowering it's speed.

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:50:45 GMT

I am not certain it would make a difference formatting a G1 or G2 drive using the full/long format; I never had a G1 drive and cannot speak from experience.

I believe Anand said doing a quick format was fine with drives using TRIM, and I have done a quick format with no issues. I do recall Anand suggesting HDDErase for G1 drives or drives without TRIM.

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:54:06 GMT

I formatted my G2 SSD with TRIM using a simple quick format and have not seen any issue with speed. If your drive is empty, never used, a simple quick format should be fine for drives with or without TRIM.

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:56:23 GMT

maybe u can also try hdat2

http://www.hdat2.com/ http://www.hdat2.com/

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:29:56 GMT

You can use HDD erase 3.3 (but not the newer version) to do a full secure erase of your intel SSD

see here for more details: http://www.iishacks.com/index.php/2009/06/30/how-to-secure-erase-reset-an-intel-solid-state-drive-ssd/

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:02:45 GMT

If you do a clean install the operating system formats the drive. I'm assuming you're using Windows 7 as you give no information in your op?

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 10:23:29 GMT

Later versions of Hdderase can be used if your drive has the latest firmware version. If you have Win 7 however and do a fresh install when you format the drive it does the same thing, so there is no benefit of doing a secure erase.

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:29:00 GMT

Intel does have a tool for erasing an SSD. It is a feature of the latest Intel SSD Toolbox, 2.0.1. Here's a screen shot of the Toolbox screen where that option is available, it called Secure Erase.

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:25:49 GMT

^ SSD optimizer, last run 2/10/2010...wow, that was a year ago!

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 04:31:44 GMT

Wow, good eyes there dude! I like to live dangerously, on the edge, ya know... I don' need no stinkin' optimizer...

Sigh, the explanation is mundane, that was an old screen shot I used for another post a year ago... that is quite a coincidence that almost a year to the day I used it again... but wait, did Toolbox 2.0.1 exist a year ago... (Twilight Zone music in the background) How is that possible??

I'm from the future (Arnold/Terminator voice) wait... wait... I'm from the past no... no... uhm... I'm from the island on Lost...

Ok, busted, I reset my BIOS and did not set the date correctly... geez, are ya happy now?! Wait, wait, the Toolbox didn't catch the wrong date, that's a bug, an error, it doesn't work...

... well, do I get credit for answering the question of this thread, or what?? And no, HDDerase don't cut it, the original post said:

"I cant believe that intel has no tool for it"

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 06:39:55 GMT

so, it was the Bios, there's no such thing like time travel... right?

Re: How to erase/format a SSD ?

idata — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 07:03:06 GMT

No time travel? Sure there is! Windows let me change a two digit date to be interpreted between the year 0 and 9999. Who knows what the limits in the calendar is? I can set my date to whatever I want, try that with a paper calendar.

Actually, and this is a true story, there was a guy in the US that made millions of dollars in the stock market in a very short time, and was investigated by the IRS. He was arrested for some reason, and when asked how he knew what stock to buy and sell, he said he was from the future and so knew what to do. That story was in the newspaper, but then I never heard about the guy again. I'm serious, I did read that and I wondered whatever happened, but I never saw a follow-up story that said the guy did it by some other method. You never know......