SSD wiper software

mick4545

mick4545

mick4545

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I will have to wipe my Intel SSD when Win 7 is released. Can anyone recommend anything. I have Acronis Home 11 but that does'nt see any HDs when booting from it. (Running Win 7 build 7100)

I've just spent a whole day getting AHCI working. I initially installed Win7 with the SATA connection set to IDE. As I understand it AHCI is required to update firmware etc. Once Win 7 is installed on the SSD a fresh install won't permit AHCI to be enabled, it can only be enabled on a wiped drive. Or have I got that completely wrong?
 
turboChiken said:
Have a look here http://www.iishacks.com/index.php/2...e-erase-reset-an-intel-solid-state-drive-ssd/

I would have thought if you are going to reinstall Win 7 then change the BIOS to AHCI start the install and zap the existing partitions when asked for the installation location.


Cheers

Richard
Click to expand...

This method did work for me, but not initially.
I found that my M/B (Abit IX38) did not allow for the pure emulation of the IDE mode on my SATA ports. I also took the SDD out and tried in a Dell D830 laptop and it also did not work. So took it out of the Dell and put it in a Fujitsu Siemens S7110 laptop and success!! So the use of HDDerase 3.3 depends on the M/B or laptops support of the pure generic IDE emulation mode on the SATA ports for it to work or not..
 
Now got DBAN on a bootable cd. The only problem is, it wipes all the disks it can see. The SSD has a reserved partition and this will be wiped. Are there any important files in this partition or is it reserved for some other reason.
 
mick4545 said:
As I understand it AHCI is required to update firmware etc.
Click to expand...

Nope, that isn't completely correct. If you wish to update the firmware on your Intel X25-M Solid State Drive, your best bet would be to set the SATA controller to Legacy / Compatible mode. Though, Intel do claim that updating the firmware will work in AHCI mode on many controllers. However, I would still set it to Legacy / Compatible mode just to be on the safe side.

If you wish to use HDD Erase (4.0) to restore the Intel X25-M Solid State Drive back to it's peak performance though, you will need to set the SATA controller to Legacy / Compatible mode. Note: Since the website to get HDD Erase (4.0) which I have linked to above is currently down, you can download the 3.3 version of HDD Erase directly from this link here.

Once Win 7 is installed on the SSD a fresh install won't permit AHCI to be enabled, it can only be enabled on a wiped drive. Or have I got that completely wrong?
Click to expand...

If you installed Windows 7 when the SATA controller was set to IDE mode in the BIOS, if you then change the controller to AHCI mode, you won't be able to boot straight back into Windows 7 without running into problems. Just to add, as Jimbo Mahoney mentioned below, you can indeed change the controller from IDE to AHCI mode without having to re-install Windows. If you wish to do this, take a look at this page here.

If you already have Windows 7 installed and wish to do a clean installation for various reasons, if you boot from your Windows 7 media, continue to go through the Windows 7 set-up until you can delete the relevant partitions. Once you have deleted the correct partitions, restart your system and go into the BIOS and set the SATA controller to Legacy / Compatible mode and then use HDD Erase to restore the drive to it's peak performance. After the process has completed, which doesn't take long, restart your machine and then go back into the BIOS and set the controller to AHCI mode. After you have completed those steps, then simply re-install Windows 7.

If you have the Intel X25-M G2 Solid State Drive, Intel should be releasing a firmware update, presumably shortly after Windows 7 has been released, that includes TRIM support. Once Intel have released their new firmware and you have downloaded it, go into the BIOS and set the SATA controller to Legacy / Compatible mode and then flash the new firmware. After you have flashed the new firmware, go back into the BIOS and set the controller back to the mode that it was on before you flashed the drive. The firmwares that have been released for the Intel X25-M G1 and G2 Solid State Drives previously haven't required the user to wipe the drive after flashing it so the user can simply boot straight back into the operating system that they have installed, as opposed to having to do a clean installation of Windows. This should be the same for any future firmware updates as well.
 
finally!! a tried and tested answer - nice find Mac! seems like google is more your friend than mine - been looking for a concrete answer like that since I got my crucials. Nice to know it works as well!!
 
For what it's worth, I get better (benchmark) performance from my M225 in IDE mode, rather than ACHI.

I'm usng the latest Intel drivers on an ICH10 chipset with Vista 64.

In addition, you can easily change between IDE and AHCI mode, you just need to enable the driver in Windows with a registry tweak, although I'm afraid I forget the details at this very moment. From what I recall, it's as simple as changing a "0" in the registry to a "1", so that the driver loads.
 
Jimbo Mahoney said:
For what it's worth, I get better (benchmark) performance from my M225 in IDE mode, rather than ACHI.
Click to expand...

What's the performance like between IDE and AHCI mode in real life situations in your experience?

I personally can't tell the difference at all between the SATA controller running in IDE mode and the controller running in AHCI mode. If you're using an Intel X25-M G1 / G2 Solid State Drive though, due to the drives taking advantage of Native Command Queuing, it would be silly not to change the controller to AHCI mode.

In addition, you can easily change between IDE and AHCI mode, you just need to enable the driver in Windows with a registry tweak, although I'm afraid I forget the details at this very moment. From what I recall, it's as simple as changing a "0" in the registry to a "1", so that the driver loads.
Click to expand...

If you or anyone else is interested, the link here explains what you have to do to change the SATA controller to AHCI mode without having to re-install Windows. I have also added it to my previous post.

LinktoInsanity said:
Fire wizard, is there another link for HDD Erase you can post up? As that one doesn't work for me. :(
Click to expand...

It would seem the actual website is currently down which is why the link I posted isn't working. Though, you can still download HDD Erase 3.3 version directly from here. It's not the latest 4.0 version but it will still do the job.
 
Fire Wizard said:
What's the performance like between IDE and AHCI mode in real life situations in your experience?

I personally can't tell the difference at all between the SATA controller running in IDE mode and the controller running in AHCI mode. If you're using an Intel X25-M G1 / G2 Solid State Drive though, due to the drives taking advantage of Native Command Queuing, it would be silly not to change the controller to AHCI mode.
Click to expand...

I doubt I would be able to tell the difference between IDE and AHCI in general use.

EDIT - NCQ - I'm not certain about it. I've seen it both increase and decrease performance.
 
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Thanks Fire Wizard and Mac. After reading the thread I'm going back to IDE after win 7 arrives. Loading drivers for AHCI is the slowest part of the boot process.
 
finally!! a tried and tested answer - nice find Mac

It's actually on my site ;)

What part of the image doesn't work by the way? It's not too hard to modify to support different chip sets and the like.
 
Hi Mac - Just did the HHDERASE and it worked but seemed to take like a nano second to complete per 64 gb disk - is that right. Said Succeeded. Then gave some error about drive a: fail abort, retry , fail but then I havent got one or assume the iso thinks its floppy or somet. Tried with HHD4 and that worked fine aswell no errors but again split second completion per disk. Does this sound right? Cheers
 
is there a way to put the hhdearse onto a usb 2gb pen drive,i anit got any disc's and me win7 comes tomrow?

my ssd is the crucial 65gb will this software work?
 
SSDs make my head hurt...

Some people are saying never to do a format, others are saying a format will restore performance, some say to run it in AHCI mode, some say to run them in IDE mode.

I've just bought a 2nd hand PC with 2 x Crucial 64GB drives. One of them has a version of Win7 installed (I think it is the RC) and the other has got a few files on. I have received my retail copy of Win7 today and really don't know what do because of all the conflicting advice.

What's the best way for me to install my copy of Win7 and clear the other drive?
 
I reset mine in Disk Managent then formatted it.

Didnt do any harm and Win7 Ultimate (yeah I know, showing off) installed no issues.

Got AHCI mode in bios and didnt notice any trouble either.

If I could be assed I'd try again in IDE/Legacy mode but tbh I'm more than happy with it the way it is now.
 
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