SSD Management: Problems With Secure Erase
Our testing lab truly appreciates the excellent support provided by Intel, OCZ, and Samsung. All three companies provide some sort of SSD management software that make tasks like secure-erasing or updating firmware a pain-free proposition, allowing us to test drives in quick succession. Secure-erasing SSDs from other manufacturers can quickly become complicated using utilities like HDD Erase.
Unfortunately, we discovered that all of our Marvell-based SSDs (except the Octane and both m4s) do not properly respond to the secure erase command from within HDD Erase, consistently generating a “HPA/DCO area” error. Typically, it isn't necessary for you to use secure erase, since the TRIM command helps maintain the performance of your solid-state drive. However, there are occasions when it comes in handy, particularly before a re-format or prior to rebuilding a RAID array.
We're not expecting Corsair, Crucial, or Plextor to release their own erase utilities. However, you can achieve the same outcome using the free erase tool from Parted Magic. Quick Tip: use the Universal USB Installer to put the Parted Magic ISO on a thumb drive.
