How do I erase my solid-state drive?

Summary

Instructions on erasing solid-state drives.

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Solid-State Drives

This article covers how to securely erase a solid-state drive.

Solid-State drives offer faster transfer speeds and increased reliability over hard disk drives. The technologies involved with solid-state drives mean erasing them typically requires encryption first before erasing to ensure that data is harder to recover. You can encrypt a drive using built in Windows Bitlocker or macOS FileVault operating system tools. Some solid state drives are compatible with the ATA Secure Erase command, which triggers a manufacturer-specific method within the drive's firmware to securely erasing data..

The preferred method for sanitizing data on solid-state drives is to use software tools provided by the manufacturer. A list of common SSD utilities can be found below.

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