A solid-state drive (SSD) is one of the best upgrades you lot tin can make to your PC. An SSD was in one case a trade-off betwixt disk space, cost, and the speed heave, but large chapters SSDs are now cheaper than e'er.

Like other types of flash memory, you lot tin but write to an SSD and then many times, which presents an issue if you lot want to wipe the solid-state drive clean. Using a regular tool tin impairment the SSD, reducing its lifespan.

And then, how practice you securely erase an SSD without damaging the drive?

Does Secure Erase Harm Your SSD?

By and large speaking, you should never accept to perform any maintenance on your solid-state drive. SSDs are designed with self-sufficiency in listen, using a series of algorithms and fail-safes that the manufacturer puts in place to maximize bulldoze life and ensure data is discarded correctly.

What Is SSD Vesture Levelling?

The first protection comes in the form of wear leveling, designed to evenly distribute stored information between SSD blocks to ensure fifty-fifty wear. Wear leveling is one of the major differences betwixt a regular magnetic hard drive and a solid-state drive.

A traditional hard bulldoze stores files in physical locations on a magnetic platter. The operating organisation indexes the file locations in a file organisation and accesses the data using a mechanical arm. Whereas a solid-state drive is a grade of flash memory, similar a USB pollex drive—but with a much larger capacity.

Instead of writing to a location on a concrete disc, an SSD writes the information to a cake. Each write process causes the retentivity to degrade or "wear."

While the SSD uses a file system to communicate data storage locations to the host organisation, it also re-shuffles the data to ensure fifty-fifty wear beyond all memory blocks. Changes made for habiliment leveling record to a separate file map.

In other words, SSDs do not employ any physically indexable locations, and software cannot specifically target sectors on the disk. Basically, your reckoner has no way of telling "where" that information was just copied to.

What Is SSD Trim, and Should You Utilise It?

Your SSD constantly moves data around to comply with habiliment leveling, ensuring all blocks habiliment at an fifty-fifty charge per unit. What that does mean, notwithstanding, is that some common secure file deletion methods don't work as you would expect. At to the lowest degree, non how they piece of work on a magnetic hard drive.

Solid-country drives utilize a specific command to proceed on top of file deletion, known equally TRIM. The TRIM command marks the blocks of data the SSD is no longer using, gear up for wiping internally. In basic terms, this ways when you delete a file in your operating organisation, the TRIM control wipes the space and makes it available for use.

The next time your operating organisation attempts to write something to that space, information technology tin do so immediately. Simply put, your SSD manages your discarded data.

The departure in how an SSD handles information deletion and wear leveling is why regular secure drive wiping programs are not recommended for an SSD. You volition eventually write 1s and 0s to the drive, but it will cause a meaning corporeality of clothing to the drive memory in the procedure.

Because the drive writes all new incoming data to various blocks, depending on its needs, only the drive knows where this data is written. So, secure deletion tools actually harm SSDs past performing an unnecessary number of additional writes.

For a much more detailed look at TRIM and garbage drove, you should read our article on the usefulness of TRIM on modern SSDs.

How to Securely Erase an SSD

Right at present, yous're probably thinking, "How do I securely wipe my SSD, then?" Thankfully, it is still possible to securely wipe your SSD using software and without damaging the bulldoze. The difference is that instead of securely wiping all data from the bulldoze, an SSD "resets" to a clean retention state (not mill state, which implies there is no drive wear!).

The "ATA Secure Erase" command instructs the drive to flush all stored electrons, a process that forces the drive to "forget" all stored data. The command resets all available blocks to the "erase" country (which is also the state the TRIM control uses for file deletion and block recycling purposes).

Chiefly, the ATA Secure Erase command does not write annihilation to the SSD, unlike a traditional secure wipe tool. Instead, the command causes the SSD to employ a voltage spike to all available flash memory blocks in unison. The process resets every available cake of space in a single operation, and the SSD is "make clean."

Using the ATA Secure Erase command does utilize a whole program-erase cycle for your SSD. So yes, it does cause a modest corporeality of wear, but it is negligible compared to a traditional secure wipe tool.

Secure Erase Your SSD Using a Manufacturer Tool

Well-nigh manufacturers supply software to use with their SSD. The software unremarkably includes a firmware update tool, and secure erase tool, and perhaps a bulldoze cloning choice. While information technology's impossible for MakeUseOf to check the software of every manufacturer, you lot can notice a listing of tools for the major SSD manufacturers beneath.

  • Intel Solid-State Drive Toolbox
  • Toshiba OCZ SSD Utility
  • Corsair SSD Toolbox
  • Samsung Magician SSD Tool
  • SanDisk SSD Dashboard
  • Crucial SSD Storage Executive
  • Western Digital SSD Dashboard
  • Seagate SeaTools bootable SSD utility

The SSD manufacturer's direction app is the commencement place to check for a secure erase tool. However, some manufacturers do not include the ATA Secure Erase command as an option. Furthermore, in some cases, your SSD model may not support the command. If that is the case with your SSD, motion to the adjacent section.

Secure Erase Your SSD Using Parted Magic

Although the SSD manufacturer tool may come with a secure erase tool, many experts advise using Parted Magic instead. Indeed, Parted Magic features as an essential tool to continue in your PC repair USB toolkit.

Parted Magic is a whole Linux distribution featuring all manner of deejay erasing and sectionalization managing tools. The tool does cost $11, but y'all have admission to the suite forever, whenever you demand information technology, and it'south one of the all-time ways to deeply erase an SSD.

Parted Magic is a bootable Linux surround, meaning you install information technology to a USB bulldoze and kick from there. Here's a quick list of exactly what you need to do:

  1. Download Parted Magic and create a mountable USB drive using Unetbootin.
  2. Boot the drive and choose choice one, Default Settings.
  3. In one case booted head to Start (bottom-left) > System Tools > Erase Disk.
  4. Choose the Internal:Secure Erase command writes zeroes to entire data area option, then confirm the bulldoze you want to erase on the adjacent screen.
  5. If you are told the drive is "frozen," yous will demand to click the Sleep button and repeat this process until you can proceed further. If your bulldoze indicates a password requirement, leave the countersign every bit "Zilch."
  6. Confirm that you have read and understood the risks, and so hit Yes to erase your drive.

Secure Erase Your SSD Using PSID Revert

There is a third method to erase your SSD securely. The Physical Security ID (PSID) revert effectively cryptographically erases the content of your SSD, then resets it to the erase state. However, this method only works if you cannot deeply erase the drive due to full deejay encryption.

ssd with psid

A PSID Revert wipes the entire drive. This process also works if the drive is hardware encrypted just not encrypted using 3rd-party software. Find out if your drive supports PSID Revert by completing an internet search for "[your drive name] PSID Revert."

Securely Erasing an SSD for Mac Users

Attempting to boot Parted Magic on a Mac tin can crusade some issues. The issues relate to the method yous use to create the Parted Magic bootable USB drive. Some burning programs piece of work fine, while other options never seem to work.

A forum post on the Apple Stack Substitution provides details on how to boot Parted Magic on a Mac, with some handy pictures, likewise. You should also check out our guide on how to create a bootable USB for a Mac—but retrieve, your mileage may vary!

Other forum posts suggest that if you experience issues with your Mac SSD and it is still nether warranty, you should permit Apple take a wait.

You Can Deeply Wipe Your SSD

Wiping an SSD clean requires different tools than a regular hard bulldoze. At present you know the options, you can securely erase your SSD earlier selling or donating it. Manufacturer secure erase options are handy, only the Parted Magic secure erase option is best.

Remember, if you're not selling or donating the drive and but want to destroy the information, you can always smash it up with a giant hammer. Of class, this will obliterate your data, as well equally the drive itself. But you will securely erase your information in the process.

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Well-nigh The Author

Gavin Phillips (1057 Articles Published)

Gavin is the Junior Editor for Technology Explained, a regular correspondent to the Really Useful Podcast, and a frequent production reviewer. He has a degree in Contemporary Writing pillaged from the hills of Devon, and more than a decade of professional writing feel. He enjoys copious amounts of tea, lath games, and football game.

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