I'm about to build a new PC and need to sell my old one, which has a 2TB HDD and a 500GB SATA SSD. I want to completely wipe them to ensure my data is gone before selling. I was considering using Killdisk with a write zeros pass for both drives. Is that sufficient, or are there better methods to securely erase them?
1 Answer
Wiping an SSD is a bit different from an HDD. Using a tool like Killdisk can wear out the SSD cells. Instead, you should use the TRIM command, which helps manage free space without stressing the SSD. In Windows, running the optimize function will automatically perform this without defragmenting. Also, check if your SSD manufacturer has a utility tool for secure deletion, as some just reset the encryption key to remove access to old data without writing zeros.
What does it mean for cells to be marked for deletion? Is it like how you clear things from your trash bin?