how do i format a ssd?

Nodiggidy123 · 20 Oct 2011 at 17:56

is it a low level format only? i know 1 type of format is a big no no.

Levirginien · 20 Oct 2011 at 19:51

Check the Crucial website for the appropriate formating / erasing tool

Broken Hope · 21 Oct 2011 at 07:21

Just run a full format if the drive has been used previously, this will return the drive to it's full speed properly.

Philtor · 21 Oct 2011 at 08:04

Never full format a SSD! If you must then a quick format is fine but I would secure erase the drive personally.

R5GTT · 21 Oct 2011 at 08:10

I use GParted (Free Downloadable boot CD) not only can you format(quick) easily but then you can align the partition for best performance.

It's always a good idea to do it if you've been doing a lot of benching in crystal mark too as it will return some of the performance.

DragonQ · 21 Oct 2011 at 10:52

A quick format doesn't return performance at all. You need to do a "secure erase" for that. You should never full format or defrag an SSD. A quick format is fine but it won't regain factory performance like a secure erase will.

R5GTT · 21 Oct 2011 at 10:55

Yep gparted can be used to secure erase and gain the performance back. Another tool is HDDErase to do the same thing.

Broken Hope · 21 Oct 2011 at 16:56

Where's the stupid idea that you shouldn't full format a SSD come from? It's completely wrong, the whole point of the TRIM command is that delete/format commands restore performance back to new.

This proves the point perfectly.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4712/the-crucial-m4-ssd-update-faster-with-fw0009/6

Finally if we format the entire drive we get to see how well the m4 responds to the ATA TRIM command. To avoid giving the m4 an easier time I secure erased the drive, re-ran our torture test without the second pass (above) and then TRIMed its contents to produce the graph below:

muon · 21 Oct 2011 at 17:40

Just delete the partition and let Windows 7 make a new partition? TRIM in W7 should take care of the rest.

DragonQ · 21 Oct 2011 at 18:31

Broken Hope said:
Where's the stupid idea that you shouldn't full format a SSD come from? It's completely wrong, the whole point of the TRIM command is that delete/format commands restore performance back to new.

This proves the point perfectly.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4712/the-crucial-m4-ssd-update-faster-with-fw0009/6

A full format is a quick format followed by a sector check. Not necessarily harmful but, like a defrag, it just wastes read/write cycles.

TRIM is about keeping performance optimal by telling the drive when certain data is no longer needed (e.g. deleted files) but a secure erase will give you back factory performance without having to issue TRIM commands on the entire drive. It just makes sense to do if you're going to reinstall Windows or whatever anyway.

mikeo · 21 Oct 2011 at 18:37

Broken Hope said:
Where's the stupid idea that you shouldn't full format a SSD come from? It's completely wrong

Pretty much any FAQ regarding SSD'd as far as I'm concerned.

For example:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...BC-for-OCZ-SSD&p=567557&viewfull=1#post567557

From what I understand (layman here) "write amplification" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_amplification) is one thing you want to avoid with any FLASH memory based product (IE. SSD's). And full formatting an SSD is not good news here I would have thought.

The TRIM command is basically something that gets passed to the firmware in the SSD and it's up to the firmware what it does with it.