4.2 Windows-based Secure Erase

NOTE: The steps outlined in this section will work only with a secondary drive. If you wish to perform a Secure Erase on your primary drive (the drive containing your OS), please refer to Section 4.3.

To erase a Samsung SSD that is acting as a secondary drive:

1.Select the SSD from the list of available drives. Erasable drives will have a “[Non OS Disk]” label next to them.

2.Click “Start.”

Some PCs automatically “lock” attached drives. If you receive an error message that tells you that the selected disk cannot be erased because it is in a “locked” state, follow the instructions below to power OFF/ON your SSD:

1.Open your computer case to gain physical access to the SSD.

2.Disconnect the cables attached to the SSD.

3.After waiting a few moments, reconnect the cables to the SSD.

The steps above effectively “unlock” the drive and you should now be able to click the [Start] button and successfully perform a Secure Erase on your secondary SSD.

NOTE: If you are not comfortable disconnecting the cables to your SSD, you may skip to Section 4.3 and follow the steps for the DOS-based Secure Erase Utility instead.

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