What’s the best way to securely wipe a Windows 10 SSD before reusing it?

Connect the SSD to the other computer, open Disk Management, carefully identify it by its capacity and model, then delete its existing partitions and create a new volume. This is enough for reusing the drive, but ordinary formatting or partition deletion is not the best choice if you’re selling the drive and want the old data securely erased.

If the drive supports encryption, encrypt it first and then perform a cryptographic erase or reset so the old encryption key is destroyed. That makes the existing data effectively inaccessible without needlessly writing zeros across the entire SSD. Check the SSD manufacturer’s utility for the exact procedure.

DiskPart’s `clean` command removes the partition information, while `clean all` writes zeros across the drive and can take a long time. Be extremely careful to select the correct disk by checking its size and model—two 240 GB drives can look very similar. For an SSD being sold, Secure Erase or Sanitize is usually the better approach than `clean all`.

A bootable drive-wiping utility can also remove old partitions and provide SSD-specific erase options. Use one that supports the drive’s Secure Erase or Sanitize command rather than relying only on a slow overwrite. Afterward, initialize the SSD in Disk Management and create a new partition for storage.

For an SSD, the preferred secure option is the manufacturer’s Secure Erase or Sanitize function, often available in the SSD maker’s management software or sometimes in the motherboard firmware. It resets the flash storage without repeatedly overwriting every block, which is generally more appropriate than a traditional full zero-fill.