Formatting 850 EVO (250GB) with Windows 10

In the beginning of windows install there are partition options. Delete all partitions then create a new partition of the whole empty space, format it (it is a quick format) and then install windows.

Normally this would be the right way to go. However since an ssd loses its speed the more its used a proper format would be needed to return it to factory condition which involves secure erase but im not sure the exact process of going from -
Windows 10 installed 850 evo - format with secure erase first or delete partitions then remake whole partition and format? then install windows. if anyone has the exact steps to properly factory reset and install windows 10 please feel free to write them here.

Ok, I know this thread is old but hopefully this will help anyone who stumbles across it with a search. I purchased a Samsung 850 EVO SSD for the same reasons as this poster 'Jordan' did. I wanted to extend the life of a laptop and increase I/O speed. Recently I had performed a Samsung SSD swap/install on a friends laptop without problems so I did not expect one myself....heh heh. I have spent 4 frustrating days trying to get this resolved, and have finally done so with good results with a method that should work for anyone. Here is what I have discovered:

1. The problem is definitely with the Samsung SSD. I used a Thermaltake BlackX 5G USB dock which I had no problems plugging any other drive and having it be recognized by Windows 10, except the Samsung SSD. I tried putting the SSD in a laptop, installed Windows on it, then extract it, boot up my source hard drive and put it in the dock - no luck. It was then I noticed that the unit would hang the BIOS on startup. Any other hard drive allowed boot up without issue. So clearly this thing has a problem with SATA-to-USB. I investigated and tried every known fix like making sure the SSD was formatted, etc. None worked.

2. The problem appears to be drive related. The symptom is the dreaded 'Error Code 10' when you go to 'Device Manager' and look at the properties of the driver. Originally I thought Windows 10 installs the wrong driver or a bad one, but after seeing the unit hang the BIOS PRIOR to any driver install, it was obvious a different driver wouldn't solve the problem.

3. Samsung website was no help. I could have called Samsung support, however I had proven the disk worked (fresh install of Windows worked great). They were either going to tell me to send the unit back or buy their 'special' cable, no doubt after spending a considerable amount of time on the phone with someone reading through a diagnostic script. Pass. With the SSD known good I felt I could resolve this faster myself.

What finally worked:

1. Find an external USB (or network drive) that is large enough to allow you to perform a 'system image' backup. Perform that backup using Windows Backup and Restore. (Search 'Backup and Restore'. It may return as 'Backup and Restore (Windows 7)' - don't worry about that if you have Windows 10 installed, it works.)

2. From the same utility select 'Create a system repair disc'. This will give you a DVD you can boot from that leaves your hard disk (in this case the new SSD) free to be imaged.

3. Install your SSD, then boot from the repair disk. Important: When prompted, select 'Diagnostics' then Restore Windows. Since this was a Dell machine, the Dell Backup and Restore appears on the main menu - ignore it. Dell (and probably other vendors) wants to rebuild by creating a new factory default image from its recovery partition. Since I upgraded to Windows 10 like most everyone else, this recovery partition is still Windows 7 - not helpful.

4. Proceed to 'Diagnostics' and perform a Windows system image recovery. With your USB plugged in, the utility will know/discover your last backup. If not, just browse to it. Since I was using a USB 3.0 interface to the Thermaltake USB dock, and writing to SSD, recovery of 360GB took a little over an hour.

5. The recovery will manage everything. When it is done, it does a reboot from the SSD and you will find everything is all good.

I tried several other variations, like swapping the source disk to the dock and booting from USB, but ran into problems right away. This method worked ~perfectly~ as it should. Additionally, I now have TWO backups - the original disk which I can pop in and boot, and the USB backup. Should anything go wrong with the SSD in the next month or so I can always recover.

I get that this is not the ideal and less convenient (but not more difficult) than using the Samsung Data Migration (which seems to be quirky itself per web comments). But it works perfectly and wouldn't take any more time than the usual method. Yep, its a 'Well....duh!' answer, but sometimes we overlook the obvious. Do you want it to work or do want to spend an afternoon with someone on the phone?

You don't need to do a format with SSD's. The trim function as well as the chip's garbage collection does the job. Trim only works with Windows 7 and newer OS's. There are apps that will optimize the free space if you think you need to. SSD's do slow down when close to full as there is not enough free space to carry out all those functions.