Windows 7 re-install on SSD

Cosimo

Cosimo

Cosimo

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I am already on Windows 7 using a Crucial SSD with TRIM enabled and will be doing another clean installation. Do I still have to do the HDD Erase part as described below to set the drive back to peak condition?

Fire Wizard said:
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 its 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.
Click to expand...

Or as I have already been using the drive with TRIM enabled skip the HDD Erase step?
 
Since the function of TRIM is only to clear data that is no longer active (deleted files, etc) from the SSD then it seems likely that the blocks used by active files (OS, apps, etc) will remain occupied. So I would have thought you'd still need to clear the drive as Fire Wizard describes for a clean and fast reinstallation.

I'll certainly be doing so, especially seeing as my first Windows7 install has failed to recognise the drive as an SSD (defrag still enabled, etc) and so I'm not convinced that TRIM is active (benchmarks seem to be slowing down gradually).
 
Formatting a drive isn't going to remove any data though, so the blocks will still be filled with crap wont they?

I'd do HDDErase just to be safe mate, it really doesn't take long at all, and at least then you know that the drive has been wiped properly.
 
Formatting a drive doesn't remove the data, just the address tables (it is possible to recover most data from a formatted drive).

In the case of an SSD, after formatting, the data "blocks" on the flash chips will still be occupied and the controller will still have to go through the time consuming read-erase-modify-write cycle whenever those blocks are used in the new installation.
 
A full format is pretty much a quick format combined with a thorough check of the drive for bad sectors. It won't erase data to the standards required for MI5, the CIA, or a clean and empty SSD. HDDErase will.
 
From a performance perspective, if you have a solid state drive which has a firmware which supports TRIM, using the format option in Windows 7 setup process will actually TRIM your solid state drive and return it back to near new performance as stated on this page here from the The SSD Improv: Intel & Indilinx get TRIM, Kingston Brings Intel Down to $115 article by Anandtech. So, there isn't any need to perform a Secure Erase using HDDErase to restore your solid state drive back to it's peak performance.

Regarding the security side of things, if you are concerned about your data, then using the format command isn't going to get rid of all of the data on the disk. The command that will delete the contents of your disk though by specifying each and every sector on the disk to zero is the "clean all" command via Diskpart. Once you have entered the Windows 7 setup process, if you bring up a command prompt by pressing Shift + F10 and then enter the following commands:

  • Diskpart
  • List disk
  • Select Disk (Insert disk number here)
  • Clean all
However, there isn't really any need for the above when you can easily use HDDErase and the Secure Erase command which seems the most effective way of destroying the data on a hard drive: How to REALLY erase a hard drive. It will also restore your solid state drive back to it's peak performance too. If you haven't currently got a DOS USB stick, which you need to use HDDErase, simply follow the instructions from this page here.
 
Thanks for the updated info, Fire Wizard. I had no idea TRIM works its wonders at the format stage; my apologies to the thread for propagating out of date info.

Could have saved myself some time and effort last night using HDDErase. :D
 
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