How to Wipe SSD from BIOS: Ensuring Complete Data Erasure
Deeply, deleting all the data on your Solid State Drive (SSD) is a very difficult task for several computer users. Whether you are attempting to sell your device, aiming to enhance its performance, or troubleshooting, wiping your SSD from the BIOS offers a reliable solution. In this article, we will cover how to properly wipe SSD from BIOS with the right precautions and guaranteed steps to achieve a secure wipe.
Reasons to Erase SSD from BIOS?
There are several reasons to wipe SSD from BIOS: Certainly!
- Resale or Recycling- Before selling, donating, or recycling your computer or SSD, wiping out all the data which ensures that the new owner or recycling facility cannot use or access your old data.
- Performance re-establishment- Over a period of time, SSDs store some temporary files which is of no need that can slow down performance. Wiping the SSD and restoring your device can help you to increase the speed as if it is a new device.
- Resolving System Errors- Wiping out SSD and re-installing the OS can fix software problems like often crashes, freezes, and other problems that don’t go away with troubleshooting settings.
- Change OS- Wiping the SSD guarantees a clean installation free of any footprint or conflicts from the previous OS that gives the guarantee of smooth interchange between OS.
- Security- Wiping all the SSD data assures that your sensitive and private information cannot be retrieved before you sell or dispose of your computer.
Precautions Before Format SSD from BIOS
Before wipe SSD from BIOS we should take these 2 precautions:
- Backup Data: Make sure all backups of all the important files before wiping the SSD.
- Power Supply: To prevent disruptions throughout the procedure, confirm that your device is plugged into the power source.
Method 1: Erase SSD from BIOS
Format SSD from BIOS with the right precautions and guaranteed steps to achieve a secure wipe.
HP Laptop
- Start your HP device by powering the ON button or you can restart the system.
- During the power-on process, press the BIOS key F10 repeatedly unless the BIOS/UEFI menu will open.
- If F10 tab does not working then you may try Esc or F2 according to your paricular HP model.
- Use the arrow keys, and go to the ‘Security’ tab or ‘Advanced‘ tab. Look for an option labeled
- Look for an option named ‘Secure Erase’ ,‘Secure Wipe,’ or something similar.
- Next, choose the SSD you want to wipe from the list.
- Then, follow the instructions to confirm the drive selection.
- Commence the secure deleting procedure. Confirm the process by typing YES or selecting OK.
- The device will start the procedure of overwriting all data on the SSD.
- After all the process is done of wipe SSD from BIOS, save all the modifications and close the BIOS/UEFI.
- Your system will reactivate, and the SSD will be completely clean and prepared for a new installation of OS.
Dell Laptop
- Turn Off the Laptop: First of all, turn off your laptop by choosing the shutdown option on the start menu. You have to run to the BIOS, where you can set the options of the computer hardware.
- Enter BIOS: Shut down the laptop and then switch it on; as soon as the dell logo appears press the F2 button several times. It will lead you to the BIOS setup as shown below. In some vehicles, there is the need to press F12 to display the boot menu and then go further to choosing BIOS.
- Find the Secure Erase Option: In the BIOS, search for a link named ‘Security’ or something like that or ‘Maintenance’. In this section, you will want to locate an option that says “Secure Erase” or “Data Wipe” or a similar action. This feature is dedicated to remove all the data on the computer to the SSD irreversibly.
- Select the SSD: If you have multiple drives, select the SSD you want to erase among them are C: D: E: and so on. Be careful to choose the right drive because this procedure will erase every information from it with no probability to be recovered.
- Confirm and Wipe: Some BIOS’s will even prompt the user for further action before going to the next stage. Once you confirm, the secure erase process will begin all together. This may take a few minutes depending on the size of the SSD in question or in the system’s virtue.
- Restart the Laptop: At the end of this process, type ‘exit’ to exit BIOS and save the changes, if any was made. And your laptop will be restarting, the SSD will be now erased to zero.
Note- These steps are different for every PC device like HP, Dell, ASUS, Lenovo, Acer, etc. to wipe SSD from BIOS.
Method 2: How to Wipe SSD using CMD
If your device doesn’t boot or is stuck at the time of power ON then you can use the Command Prompt (CMD) method to format SSD. Using Windows’ diskpart program is needed to wipe an SSD through the Command Prompt. Here are the step-by-step guide on how to wipe SSD using CMD:
Steps to wipe SSD using CMD
- Launch the Command Prompt (CMD) by pressing “Win+R” or PowerShell as Administrator Mode by pressing “Win + X”
- Open the Diskpart Utility by typing diskpart
- Press Enter after typing the list disk into Diskpart. This cmd will list the drives or disks that are interconnected to your device.
- Check the drive sizes to determine which SSD is yours from the list and write down the SSD’s disk number for example(Disk 1/Disk 2).
- Enter “clean” and press Enter to erase the drive or disk partition and data completely.
- Press Enter after typing exit to get out of Diskpart.
- Get the Command Prompt window closed.
- Copy this code to perform wipe SSD using cmd
diskpart
list disk
select disk X (Replace X with your SSD’s disk number)
clean (Use ‘clean all’ for a more secure wipe)
exit
Drawbacks of the Manual Solution for Format SSD from BIOS
Wipe SSD from BIOS is a viable method for securely erasing data, There are multiple limitations of the above method that users should be aware of:
- Without the technical expertise, accessing to BIOS/UEFI interface might be a difficult task. A misstep can change important system configurations.
- Unintentional disruptions or power outages at the time of the wiping process may leave data that requires the procedure to start from the beginning.
- There are no Mechanisms for confirming that the data has been safely deleted in Bios-based wiping.
- Bios-based wiping aims at the completed drive and there is no option to remove from particular partitions, files, or folders.
- Due to the chance of human mistakes in ( BIOS-based-wiping), data loss from unintentional devices may occur if the incorrect drive is selected for erase.
Wipe SSD from BIOS using the Expert Solution
If you want to wipe SSD from bios completely, then you can go with this efficient approach which is SysTools Data Wipe Software. SSD can includes SAS, NVMe, etc. Hard disks, PCs, and laptops are all wiped out by this software easily. This tool has multiple effective features that can overwrite the files and ensure there is no option for data recovery.
Key Features of the Expert Solution to Wipe SSD from BIOS
- Ensure that all data residue and classified data leaks are successfully erased and also prevent any possibility of data retrieval.
- You may ensure targeted data destruction by using the fast selection tool to burn off traces of particular files and folders.
- Removes all remnants of an application, including caches, logs, temporary files, recent file lists, and other traces.
- Create reports that provide verifiable evidence of data sanitization after the audit trail is finished.
- Perform comprehensive data sanitization in order to get computers ready for disposal or repurposing (decommissioning), making sure that all organizational and regulatory requirements are met.
- Ensures compliance with strict data protection laws by adhering to more than 20 global standards, including NIST, ISO, DoD, and others.
- Replace all of your data using a variety of advanced erase techniques, including military-grade standards like
- US DoD/US Air Force (3 Passes)
- Russian GOST-R-50739-95 (2 Passes)
- British HMG IS5 (3 Passes)
- Peter Gutmann (35 Passes)
- Both 32-bit and 64-bit OS are supported that ensures consistency with a wide range of systems and configurations.
Steps of the Expert Solution to Wipe SSD from Bios
- To initiate this process follow these steps: Click start then go to control panel. Go to All Programs » SysTools Data Wipe Software will be started.
- To sanitize the folder you want to select click on the Select Folder button.
- Navigate to define the location from where the wipe folder is going to be created.
- Then, press on pick Folder tab to add the wipe folder to the software.
- On the Web page that displays, click Next to start the folder / file scanning procedure.
- As the scanning goes on successively, you can conveniently select the Data Wipe Methods when the scanning process is over.This option has several methods to delete data that is, the less pass means take less time to delete and more pass takes more time to delete it, so choose it as you want.
- After you chose the Wipe method on the options above, you click on the Wipe button.
- The warning pop shown which is about the deletion of folder, click Yes.Note: The data that has already been wiped, cannot be recovered again.
- We stop and the Wiping process has been started.
- The pop-up that appears after the successfully completed wipe process has appeared, click Ok.
- Once done it will display the Details of deleted folder to you.
Conclusion : Format SSD from BIOS
In this article, we discuss wipe SSD from bios and the reasons to erase SSD . To guarantee that all data is erased of SSD via the BIOS is a dependable and efficient method. Wiping your SSD in the right manner gives you a fresh start to safeguard your private data, This process is easily done through a professional solution that offers advanced features and with international data protection regulations. It’s possible to get a safe and clean SSD by taking the right safety measures and using the correct approach.
FAQ: Wipe SSD from BIOS
Q1. How does erase SSD from BIOS improve the system performance?
Ans. Over a period of time, SSDs can collect temporary file data that may decrease the system’s performance. Wiping the SSD deletes these unused files that restore the speed like taking the new device.
Q2. What are the advantages of using advanced overwrite methods like those provided by expert solutions?
Ans. Advanced overwrite methods guarantee that data is removed completely and prevent from data recovery. This method matches the military and global standards for data destruction that provides extra security for sensitive information.
Q3. Is a professional solution compatible with both 32 bit and 64 bit OS?
Ans. Yes, expert solutions support both 32 bit and 64 bit OS that ensure compatibility with various systems.
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