How do you secure erase your SSD?

Can't seem to get HDD Erase to get to work, it gets to the loading point and then I just get the blinking cursor stalling point. Set SATA to ATA mode, can't think of anything else to do. Does anyone else have another program that works on the M17X? Don't have a mini SATA power converter so I can't just use my desktop to secure erase it. haven't tried the hot plug method yet, but it's next on my list.

also found this:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2865/2
which suggests trim SSD's do not require a secure erase, and a quick format forces trim.

 

https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/ATA_Secure_Erase

 

I have that link saved in my favorites. That and the ubuntu link. Lozz post how painful or painless this is for you. I opted out after creating the USB and everything.

 

Moving to main aw forum for all....

Good question.

 

Good luck.

Let us know if you still need help

 

post removed

 

Just like to add to Stamatisx post : There is an easier way to get the SSD into the unfrozen state. No need to unscrew and remove your SSD drive. I have used the same procedure above on my M17X R2. Once you have typed the following command :

hdparm -I /dev/sda

It will show your drive as frozen. All you have to do, is to simply close the lid on your M17x, wait a minute or so until it goes to sleep, and then just re-open the lid. It will resume into Unbuntu and reset the frozen status to unfrozen. You can verify this by typing the above command again and view the output. Then proceed with the rest of Stamatisx steps.

 

I stopped being stupid and tried it on my desktop with the flash USB drive, but it seems that my desktop doesn't have the necessary IDE enhanced mode to even see the drive under HDD erase. I can get to the drive selection point but there are no drives to select lol. Going to try your suggestion next stam after I try hot plugging it on my desktop.

edit:
was able to fiddle enough with the IDE settings in my desktops BIOS to make HDDerase work. 3 hours worth of work for 3 seconds (exactly 3 seconds) worth of reward lol.

 

Which version of ubuntu do I use to create the drive? There are so many? I assume you have to choose your usb drive and drive letter. i downloaded a 10.1 version live and it didn't work. the usb drive would not boot up. Still went into windows 7. Is there another step to ready the usb drive before installing from the application listed above? thanks! StevenX

 

You can try 9.04, 9.10, 10.04 (I haven't tried the 10.10 yet). The drive letter corresponds to the usb drive. You have to make sure the USB emulation is Enabled under the BIOS otherwise you won't be able to boot. (I had problem once with a usb stick that couldn't boot, I tried a different one and it worked)

 

I just use the free partition wizard home edition, just install it to windows then use it to create an boot cd, then run the cd and delete all partitons then select the unpartioned space and run "fill sectors with zeros"

http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html

 

This is actually the worst thing you can do because it will increase the wear of the SSD and shorten its lifespan. Zeroing the SSD and secure erasing the SSD are not performed in the same way and do not have the same results.

 

You definitely never want to zero out your ssd. I use hdderase. Just plug in the power to the drive and boot to hdderase from a boot disk or flash drive. Then plug in the data cable. Then run the program and it comes up just fine. Takes about two minutes. I didn't see any reason to go through all the linux cr@p when I could do it so quickly with hdderase. I hook it up to my desktop machine to do it. Taking the drives out of the laptop is quick and easy.

 

I don't have a desktop since 1999, isn't this reason good enough to do it with linux?

 

I wouldn't recommend removing the drive and reinserting it while powered on. You are not only disconnecting and reconnecting the data cable but the power connector as well. There is too much of a chance of frying your drive and/or laptop. These laptops are not made for hotplugging a hard drive into power. On my desktop, I connect the drive to the power cable before turning on the system. Then all I do is connect the data cable when using hdderase. That way I don't run the risk of damaging the ssd or my system. Even if you don't see immediate damage to your drive, it still could be. Not worth the risk imo.

 

I would suggest you to look up for SATA AHCI and hot-swappable feature first, I am on my phone otherwise I would provide links. The risk is the same as unplugging a USB flash drive.

 

exactly. SATA drives were designed to be hot-pluged and removed. Infact when in AHCI mode my desktop with 7 home specifically has the main drive in the removable devices list on the taskbar. What do you think ESATA ports were made to do?

 

I followed the directions posted by stamatisx and did the sleep trick. Worked perfectly. You guys ROCK!

(and the guys on the Corsair forum said it couldn't be done without using a desktop.... ha!)

 

Anybody tried this app to do an secure erase.

Q. How can I reset a solid state disk (SSD) to a fully erased, clean state?

 

It seems some SSD controllers don't work well with that program. I was able to secure-erase easily with the instructions in this thread.

EDIT: In my laptop I wasn't able to "unfreeze" the SSD until I had cleared the "HDD Password" out of the BIOS and then did the "sleep trick".

 

I'm also tryin to run HDDErase on my m11x but I have no clue whatsoever on how to bypass the "security lock" of my ocz ssd without playing arround with any cables..

from the ocz forums:

Q: How can I bypass the Security Lock?
A: You can try the following:
1. Boot your SSD to another computer.
2. Switch your SSD to another SATA channel.
3. Hot Plug your SSD (Dangerous):
Turn your PC off.
Unplug your SSD power cable but leave signal cable in.
Power back on your system, complete boot, re-attach your SSD power.
4. Set a password for your SSD in your BIOS.

I have no idea how I will be able to do any of that with the m11x? I can set a password to boot in the bios but not for the ssd itself..

 

UPDATE: I managed to do it using this guide:

Guide Secure Erase From Within Linux For Windows Users

1 question though.. is it normal that when issuing the "security erase" command, it will almost instantly execute it? I mean no waiting for the format etc?

 

I guess you missed the sixth post of this thread...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/520731-how-do-you-secure-erase-your-ssd.html#post6739065
or here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-boot-time-tweaks-allowed-13.html#post6518062

Anyways, yes the secure erase is fast (about 20 sec on my SSD) and normal, plus
secure erase != format

 

Thanks..!

Problem is:

it keeps stating

" not supported: enhanced erase"

 

Which guide did you follow?

 

1. Guide Secure Erase From Within Linux For Windows Users

then

2. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/520731-how-do-you-secure-erase-your-ssd.html#post6739065

it's basically the same just different commands..

 

So you saw first " not frozen" then " enabled" and after that
" not supported: enhanced erase" ?

 

Everything was just as in the first guide I posted..

not enabled
not frozen

then

enabled

then not enabled

but " not supported: enhanced erase" during the entire time..

 

Your controller may not support the enhanced erase. So far I haven't encountered a similar problem. I suppose though that you successfully performed a secure erase, right?

 

Same for me. It always said not supported for enhanced erase. But it seems that it actually did the secure erase. The drive had nothing on it afterward. But the actual "erasing" only took about 6.5 to 7 seconds. So, I wonder if I actually did get a secure-erase. Drive lifespan did go down a point, which indicates to me that every cell was affected. Performance is up to specs. But it's still only a couple weeks out of the box.

 

Yes all these indicate that it worked.

 

Due to a bad OS install, I did another secure-erase. Drive lifespan dropped another point (from 98% to 97%) after the erase. I'm going to avoid doing that from now on. I should have just deleted the partitions. A secure-erase really wasn't necessary. But, at least, now I know the consequences.

 

yes that's true and it's good that you posted your results, so that people will use it only if necessary.

 

That just tells me the drive lifespan estimator is inaccurate.. a secure erase is only 1 write cycle, although it's on every block. however, Unless your drive NAND is only rated to 100 write cycles, there's absolutely no way 1 secure erase= 1% loss of 'life'. NAND flash on MLC drives are rated for thousands of writes per block. When you're secure erasing every few days it will kill a drive real quick, but otherwise I wouldn't be concerned about it. If you secure erased once a month and did a whole OS reinstall you'd still have a working drive at or near it's rated capacity 3-4 years later. Remember you acutally have 10-18% additional storage space that replaces bad blocks as they die.

 

well it will be nice when the SLC drives drop in price, and you don't have to worry about this as much.

But as far as how long these drives will last, I think we are the Guinna pigs who will find out just how accurate the estimates are