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    secure erase Samsung 840 mSATA?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Pirx, Jul 16, 2014.

  1. Pirx

    Pirx Notebook Virtuoso

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    Subject says it all: I'm trying to secure erase my Samsung mSATA using Samsung's Drive Magician software. It creates a bootable USB drive, but when I boot from it and try to erase the drive, I get the ever-popular "Drive is in a frozen state" error, and it helpfully tells me to disconnect the cable while the computer is on. Well, this is an mSATA, so no cables... What do I do?
     
    Pirx, Jul 16, 2014
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  2. n=1

    n=1 YEAH SCIENCE!

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    Once you get that error, try removing the mSATA for 30 seconds, then putting it back in and see if that helps any.

    I had the exact same problem when trying to do the same with my 840 Pro and Evo 2.5" drives. I got lucky because the USB2.0 port on my laptop doubles as an eSATA port. So by disconnecting the drive, then reconnecting after I got that drive frozen message solved the problem.

    Alternatively, I found that plugging the drive in after the laptop has finished POSTing also works. May want to give that a shot -- remove mSATA, power up laptop, boot into the Secure Erase software, then before proceeding install the mSATA back in.
     
    n=1, Jul 16, 2014
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  3. Pirx

    Pirx Notebook Virtuoso

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    Thanks, that's what I feared. This drive sits in a Dell M3800, so in order to remove the drive I need to remove the bottom of the laptop, and putting the drive back in with the laptop running is a huge hassle. Oh well...
     
    Pirx, Jul 16, 2014
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  4. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    While I'm not too familiar with mSATA, are there any USB enclosures that support them? If so, you could use this method. It's what I use to secure erase the SSDs I've used in my Mac.
     
    saturnotaku, Jul 16, 2014
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  5. TANWare

    TANWare Just This Side of Senile, I think. Super Moderator

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    Is there in bios an IDE mode for the port? This used to work on an older pm45 chip set I had with a SSD.
     
    TANWare, Jul 16, 2014
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  6. n=1

    n=1 YEAH SCIENCE!

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    I think really the key is to make sure the drive you want to secure erase is not present in the laptop when it POSTs. If the BIOS doesn't detect the presence of drives during POST then it can't freeze them after the fact.
     
    n=1, Jul 16, 2014
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  7. Pirx

    Pirx Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yes, there are USB enclosures that take mSATA drives. I ordered one of those for next time...

    Nope, no IDE mode, only AHCI and RAID.

    Yes, that's what I ended up doing, and I'm all set now.

    Thanks everyone for your help!
     
    Pirx, Jul 17, 2014
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  8. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Start Samsung Magician, put your laptop to sleep, then wake it from sleep and frequently that will "unlock" the SSD. Or just use parted magic (Linux bootable USB) and it has a secure erase function.
     
    HTWingNut, Jul 18, 2014
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