I'm looking for a simple tool or method to securely wipe an SSD or NVMe drive on Windows before I send my laptop back. I want to use the original SSD, but I need to ensure all data is securely erased. Since this is a rare occurrence for me, I don't want to set up a whole dedicated rig just for this purpose. Most tools I've seen require booting from an ISO, which isn't ideal.
4 Answers
If you can, plug the SSD into another computer. You can do a full format, run BitLocker encryption with a password, and format it again. Alternatively, you could boot into Windows, delete unnecessary partitions, expand the C drive, encrypt it with BitLocker, and then use a Windows install disk to wipe and reformat the drive from the command prompt. Both methods will work well.
Honestly, I'd recommend against wiping if you can help it. Instead, just encrypt your SSD with BitLocker and then reset the TPM, or forget the randomly generated password to make it essentially unreadable. If you're really concerned, you could boot a live Linux distro and use LUKS with different random passwords to encrypt it multiple times to have extra peace of mind.
Just check if your BIOS has a secure erase feature. It’s usually the simplest method to wipe an SSD safely.
If your laptop is a Dell, there's a built-in option in the BIOS for secure wiping. So you can check that out before going any further!
Good point! I have an HP EliteBook, I'll look into whether it has a similar option in the BIOS.
You could also use the Windows Subsystem for Linux to run the `shred` command or overwrite the drive manually with `dd` several times. There's a tool (name escapes me) that can help do this with multi-pass wipes like DoD standards.