How do I format/erase an SSD before sending back?

streettriple · 12 Jan 2016 at 18:59

Hello,

I have a Samsung SSD 840 EVO solid state hard drive. I need to erase the drive and send it back to Amazon due to a fault. What would be the best way to make sure my files are non recoverable?

Thanks,

streettriple · 18 Jan 2016 at 15:02

Hi,

Thanks for the help, it looks like I will use Samsung Magician to secure erase.

If it makes sense to encrypt the drive before doing this, what is the best way to go about encrypting the drive please?

Thanks,

streettriple · 18 Jan 2016 at 23:12

Edit: Not relevant now.

streettriple · 20 Jan 2016 at 17:17

I've encrypted the drive with Bitlocker, I'm now trying to erase it but running into problems.

-Samsung magician - I created the bootable USB but when I ran it the screen came up with garbled text. I googled this and noticed it was well known, but when I tried to enter the command they suggested into the command prompt it gave an error and I had to turn it off.

- Cc cleaner doesn't let you erase an SSD.... not even the basic 1 pass overwrite.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I should do to this drive before returning it? Or is it secure enough to return it to Amazon (and presumably it gets back to samsung) just encrypted with Bitlocker?