Best way to erase personal data/files from SSD

ssal

Active Member

• Jul 22, 2015

• #1

I am selling my used SSD.

What is the best way to ensure all personal data/files are erase without any possibility of being recovered?

 

S

smellsorange

Member

• Jul 22, 2015

• #2

This is a loaded question and I will generally say "no" they can not be erased reliably like a standard harddrive can, Here is more information,

http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/12503/can-wiped-ssd-data-be-recovered

I would just pick out the points and write them here without linking something on whether or not it is a good idea to trust an SSD erase but there is A LOT of information on this one.

 

beers

Moderator

Staff member

• Jul 22, 2015

• #3

You should be able to do a pass of garbage filling up the drive if you're paranoid. This would add a drive's worth of writes to the SSD life but would populate all of the nand with different information.

 

ssal

Active Member

• Jul 22, 2015

• #4

beers said:

You should be able to do a pass of garbage filling up the drive if you're paranoid. This would add a drive's worth of writes to the SSD life but would populate all of the nand with different information.

Click to expand...

How do you "do a pass of garbage"?

I was thinking that I will write a routine to delete every single file and then write a large non-critical database file back with the same names to fill the drive up. Then I will rerun the routine again before I format it. Do you think it will work?

 

tremmor

Well-Known Member

• Jul 22, 2015

• #5

Killdisk will do a military wipe several times but
is a pay ver. the free ver is one write.
I think the free will work fine most.
You can read more here.
http://download.cnet.com/Active-KillDisk/3000-2094_4-10073508.html

 

S

smellsorange

Member

• Jul 23, 2015

• #6

dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda

will write random 'garbage' to a drive.

 

ssal

Active Member

• Jul 23, 2015

• #7

smellsorange said:

dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda

will write random 'garbage' to a drive.

Click to expand...

Can you elaborate a little?
What language? I have VB.

 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member

• Jul 23, 2015

• #8

Parted Magic. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/securely-erase-ssd-without-destroying/

 

ssal

Active Member

• Jul 24, 2015

• #9

Thank you.

I downloaded the software and did a wipe and then a erase. Then I format it.
Hope that it works.