I recently tried using the Secure Erase+ feature for my 2TB SSD, and it took an incredibly long time—so long that I fell asleep while it was running! When I woke up, the message on the screen was gone, but I'm unsure whether that means the secure erase was successful. Since this is my first time doing a Secure Erase, I'm curious if there's a menu that pops up to indicate it's done, or if it just finishes without any notifications. Every time I tried to search for info on this, I couldn't find a clear answer, so I'm hoping someone here can help me out!
3 Answers
Possible, if you waited and the error screen disappeared, it could mean it's done. But always keep an eye on your BIOS afterwards to ensure the SSD registers. If you ever try it again, you might want to time it or check forums to get an average idea for your specific SSD model.
When you use Secure Erase, it completely overwrites all existing data on the SSD with zeros, which makes recovery nearly impossible. Unlike a standard format that just marks the space as available, Secure Erase really cleans the drive. However, I totally understand how confusing it can be—especially if there’s no clear indication that the process is done. You can usually check your BIOS after some time to see if the SSD is still detected. If it is, there's a good chance the process finished successfully!
Don’t stress too much about the time it took. Secure Erase can vary widely depending on the size of the SSD and how much data it initially held. The screen message might just disappear when it’s done, so it's hard to know for sure without a confirmation screen. Just give it some time and check back in the BIOS to see if the SSD is listed.
Just to clarify, yes, the SSD should still be usable after the Secure Erase. The purpose is to prepare it for fresh data without any old information lingering around.