Question Data remaining after secure erase to SSD

[robertocarlosdinho]

I did secure erase to the Nvme ssd first using diskpart commands and then partedmagic.Then I did the Windows installs and wanted to test if the secure erase works. When it scanned with utility data recovery software, the program informed me that it had 109gb of recoverable data. How is this possible? Is it impossible to delete old files beyond recovery? I have read many articles on the internet but did not get any answer. I'm waiting for your help.

 

[USAFRet]

I did secure erase to the Nvme ssd first using diskpart commands and then partedmagic.Then I did the Windows installs and wanted to test if the secure erase works. When it scanned with utility data recovery software, the program informed me that it had 109gb of recoverable data. How is this possible? Is it impossible to delete old files beyond recovery? I have read many articles on the internet but did not get any answer. I'm waiting for your help.

What specific diskpart command?
That is not "Secure Erase".

Please show us the output of whatever tool you used for this scan.
(upload your pic to imgur.com, post the link here)

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

What specific diskpart command?
That is not "Secure Erase".

Please show us the output of whatever tool you used for this scan.
(upload your pic to imgur.com, post the link here)

The commands i used were:
diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
clear all
and after waiting for half an hour, he wrote the notification that the operation was successful in cmd.
The program I used for scanning was Easeus Data Recovery.

https://imgur.com/a/jN1oEQx

View: https://imgur.com/a/jN1oEQx

 

[USAFRet]

Did you mean "clean all" instead of "clear all"?

Are those actual files, or just file fragments, or just pointers to what used to be files?
Or possibly something that lives in a linked OneDrive location?

Just because your Easus thing shows "files", does not mean they are actual "files".
It does not count until you actually recover that file to some other physical location.

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

Did you mean "clean all" instead of "clear all"?

Are those actual files, or just file fragments, or just pointers to what used to be files?
Or possibly something that lives in a linked OneDrive location?

Just because your Easus thing shows "files", does not mean they are actual "files".
It does not count until you actually recover that file to some other physical location.

Did you mean "clean all" instead of "clear all"?

Are those actual files, or just file fragments, or just pointers to what used to be files?
Or possibly something that lives in a linked OneDrive location?

Just because your Easus thing shows "files", does not mean they are actual "files".
It does not count until you actually recover that file to some other physical location.

yes, I wanted to write "clean all" but I spelled it wrong When I pressed the recover button in Easeus, it extracted various files or data into an empty folder I created. Some exceeded 500mb in size but I honestly don't know what they are.

 

[USAFRet]

yes, I wanted to write "clean all" but I spelled it wrong When I pressed the recover button in Easeus, it extracted various files or data into an empty folder I created. Some exceeded 500mb in size but I honestly don't know what they are.

Well, you'd need to look at them to see if they are actual "files", or simply file fragments or other unusable bits of data.

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

Well, you'd need to look at them to see if they are actual "files", or simply file fragments or other unusable bits of data.

For example, even the extension of the largest file is unknown. How to prevent it from being checked in this case.

 

[USAFRet]

For example, even the extension of the largest file is unknown. How to prevent it from being checked in this case.

That would seem to be just a file fragment. Totally unusable.
Open it in Notepad, see what it shows.


For instance:
You write a book on graphic displays and monitors.
You put the whole book through a crosscut shredder, page by page.
On ONE of the hundreds of thousands of little tiny pieces of paper, you can read the letters "moni"
That does not indicate a faulty shredder.

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

That would seem to be just a file fragment. Totally unusable.
Open it in Notepad, see what it shows.


For instance:
You write a book on graphic displays and monitors.
You put the whole book through a crosscut shredder, page by page.
On ONE of the hundreds of thousands of little tiny pieces of paper, you can read the letters "moni"
That does not indicate a faulty shredder.

I opened some files with notepad and there were almost always meaningless symbols. I guess there is no way to get rid of these file fragment, right?

 

[drivinfast247]

I opened some files with notepad and there were almost always meaningless symbols. I guess there is no way to get rid of these file fragment, right?

DBAN

 

[USAFRet]

I opened some files with notepad and there were almost always meaningless symbols. I guess there is no way to get rid of these file fragment, right?

Basically, those are just random 0 and 1s, that EaseUS thinks were files.

Not usable in any instance.
None of your info remains.

And using the SSD for a while, the TRIM function invalidates even those 'fragments'.

But if you want a deeper level of erasure, look into the manufacturers Secure Erase function.
That is NOT 'diskpart'.

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

DBAN

As far as I know, it is said that dban is not a suitable program for ssd's... Am I wrong?

 

[USAFRet]

As far as I know, it is said that dban is not a suitable program for ssd's... Am I wrong?

Correct.
DBAN is NOT for SSDs.

It even says that on their website.

Darik’s Boot and Nuke – DBAN

Erase hard drives, desktops, laptops or servers free with a Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) download. Try it now.

dban.org

"While DBAN is free to use, there’s no guarantee your data is completely sanitized across the entire drive. It cannot detect or erase SSDs and does not provide a certificate of data removal for auditing purposes or regulatory compliance. Hardware support (e.g. no RAID dismantling), customer support and software updates are not available using DBAN. If you are an enterprise that needs to erase data from SSDs or requires a Certificate of Erasure for compliance purposes, request your free Blancco Drive Eraser Trial for Enterprise Organizations. "

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

Basically, those are just random 0 and 1s, that EaseUS thinks were files.

Not usable in any instance.
None of your info remains.

And using the SSD for a while, the TRIM function invalidates even those 'fragments'.

But if you want a deeper level of erasure, look into the manufacturers Secure Erase function.
That is NOT 'diskpart'.

Unfortunately, I guess the ssd manufacturer does not have such support. I searched but couldn't find it. My ssd brand is Sk Hynix.

 

[COLGeek]

There is often a "secure erase" function built into the BIOS of modern motherboards. Just sharing for future reference.

 

[USAFRet]

Unfortunately, I guess the ssd manufacturer does not have such support. I searched but couldn't find it. My ssd brand is Sk Hynix.

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/secure-erase-ssd-or-hard-drive

 

[drivinfast247]

Correct.
DBAN is NOT for SSDs.

It even says that on their website.

Did not know that. The last time I used that program was maybe 2008.

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/secure-erase-ssd-or-hard-drive

There is often a "secure erase" function built into the BIOS of modern motherboards. Just sharing for future reference.

There is often a "secure erase" function built into the BIOS of modern motherboards. Just sharing for future reference.

I couldn't find such an option in the bios (

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

There is often a "secure erase" function built into the BIOS of modern motherboards. Just sharing for future reference.

I wonder how can I do secure erase via bios? My laptop is Lenovo Legion 5. I watched many YouTube videos and read many articles but it didn't work. There isn't any option for secure erasen in bios.

 

[USAFRet]

I wonder how can I do secure erase via bios? My laptop is Lenovo Legion 5. I watched many YouTube videos and read many articles but it didn't work. There isn't any option for secure erasen in bios.

If it does not exist in your BIOS, it does not exist.

However.....as you yourself have seen, there is no real data to be gleaned from this drive.
"I opened some files with notepad and there were almost always meaningless symbols. "

What EaseUS is showing you are not "files", to be opened and read.

 

[robertocarlosdinho]

If it does not exist in your BIOS, it does not exist.

However.....as you yourself have seen, there is no real data to be gleaned from this drive.
"I opened some files with notepad and there were almost always meaningless symbols. "

What EaseUS is showing you are not "files", to be opened and read.

Thanks for your interest )

 

[fzabkar]

AIUI, Diskpart's Clean All command will write zeros to every LBA.

https://www.diskpart.com/articles/diskpart-clean-all-ssd-7201.html

In fact, simply reformatting the partition(s) should invoke TRIM and eventually wipe the data.