Question Wiping an SSD with bad sectors to return it under warranty ?

[JohnSSD]

I am one of the unlucky ones who bought a 4TB Samsung 870 EVO from the (known) bad batch around Q1 of 2021. 🙁

The SSD failed with "bad sectors" all over the place and it's under warranty (3rd year out of 5 years).
Obviously I want to return it and get a replacement but, despite the bad sectors, by using several disk utilities like easyus, aomei, minitool etc. it is possible TO READ the data that was written to it.
So I need to erase or wipe this data (because there are personal files there) before I return it.
I tried the "wipe function" of the tools I mentioned above but they do not seem to work, all stuck at 0% ?

Any ideas on how can I wipe the data so I can return it?

TIA

 

[USAFRet]

Secure Erase from Samsung?

If that fails, you are probably out of luck.

 

[Lafong]

Has Diskpart clean or clean all failed?

I think some motherboards have a secure erase function from the BIOS?? Mine doesn't, but I hear about it. Maybe only on upper end boards?

Depends on how anxious you are about the data. You can buy a new 4 TB for under 300........would you pay 300 to avoid wondering who's rifling through your personal files?

 

[fzabkar]

If there is a PSID on the label, try PSID Revert.

 

[JohnSSD]

Has Diskpart clean or clean all failed?

I think some motherboards have a secure erase function from the BIOS?? Mine doesn't, but I hear about it. Maybe only on upper end boards?

Depends on how anxious you are about the data. You can buy a new 4 TB for under 300........would you pay 300 to avoid wondering who's rifling through your personal files?

I have already bought another one, but why Samsung should walk away without paying for their fault?

I used one more time DISKPART and I get this message:
"DiskPart has encountered an error and the request cannot be performed due to I/O device error."

 

[JohnSSD]

Secure Erase from Samsung?

If that fails, you are probably out of luck.

I will give it another go with the most recent version of Magician, but magician sucks. Tried on Win10 and Win7 (I have dual boot) and doesn't see the disk.

Also with other disks that I have still Magician doesn't work properly.

Maybe I should put it in a microwave...
then return it.

 

[JohnSSD]

If there is a PSID on the label, try PSID Revert.

Yes there is.
What can I do with it, to wipe my data?

 

[USAFRet]

I have already bought another one, but why Samsung should walk away without paying for their fault?

I used one more time DISKPART and I get this message:
"DiskPart has encountered an error and the request cannot be performed due to I/O device error."

The drive is apparently too far gone to 'wipe' in any fashion.

Send it back as is will likely get you a free replacement.
'put it in a microwave ' won't.

 

[Lafong]

I have already bought another one, but why Samsung should walk away without paying for their fault?

In my opinion, they shouldn't.

It's entirely a personal decision to return it or not if you cannot wipe it to your own satisfaction. Several factors on each end of the scale, but it's up to you to assign their weight.

I assign a heavy weight to my personal data, so I have long since conceded I will never make a warranty claim on a hard drive. You may well differ. Most people do.

Good luck.

 

[fzabkar]

PSID Revert will cryptographically erase your SSD, if it is supported.

 

[Bob.B]

I am one of the unlucky ones who bought a 4TB Samsung 870 EVO from the (known) bad batch around Q1 of 2021. 🙁

The SSD failed with "bad sectors" all over the place and it's under warranty (3rd year out of 5 years).
Obviously I want to return it and get a replacement BUT despite the bad sectors, by using several disk utilities like easyus, aomei, minitool etc. it is possible TO READ the data that were written.
So, I need to erase or WIPE those data (because there are personal files there) before I return it.
I tried the "wipe function" of the tools I mentioned above but do not seem to work. Stuck to 0%.

Any ideas on how can I wipe those data so I can return it?

TIA

Look through the bios for a secure erase option.
If you find such an option make sure this disk is the only disk connected before executing the erase.

 

[JohnSSD]

A follow up:
I started a very long process of wiping the drive while is plugged externally in an old laptop.
The % counter shows that it wiped (don't know yet if it actually wipes anything) 67% after 5 days. Tuesday I opened the thread till now,
So I guess I have 3 more days for the rest of it, to see if it did the actual wipe.
Don't remember if I told it to write 0s or 1s or a pattern but I remember choosing a "fast" option that if it works it lasts close to 10 days.

 

[USAFRet]

I started a very long process of wiping the drive while is plugged externally in an old laptop.

With what tool?

 

[JohnSSD]

AOMEI partition assistant.
Don't know if the other I tried could work because they stuck at 0%.
This one it shows MB/GB even if it is 0% so I left it.
Others might work too.
But obviously I don't know if that works...yet

 

[USAFRet]

AOMEI partition assistant.
Don't know if the other I tried could work because they stuck to 0%.
This one it shows MB/GB even if it is 0% so I left it.
Others might work too.
But obviously I don't know if that works...yet

Well, just let it run.
See what happens.

It may or may not work.

 

[JohnSSD]

Well, after it ends I will check if I can retract the files (another slow process) and if I can't I will return it for a replacement. (3rd year out of 5)

 

[JohnSSD]

Shame of Samsung. I bought the first 4TB 870evo to change an 2TB 850evo as more ...reliable.
If you add the fiasco of Samsung Note 7 that ...explodes, that brand is now for me unreliable.

 

[USAFRet]

that brand is now for me unreliable.

For me, that list of "unreliable" would have to include...
Toshiba
Western Digital
Seagate
SanDisk
Kingston

One of each failed or failing in the last few years.

None of my 10 or so Samsung drives have failed, or shown any signs of slowing down since brand new.

 

[JohnSSD]

I had Sandisc usb sticks failing all the time so it sucks, but Samsung definitely sucks too.

After 8 days the aomei program told me it wiped the files but I can still see them and revive them, so that's that.

 

[JohnSSD]

Now I wonder if I can put it near a magnet or something.

 

[Pimpom]

A magnet won't do anything because SSDs don't use magnetic materials or magnetic fields to store data.

 

[Bob.B]

Now I wonder if I can put it near a magnet or something.

Did you look for a secure erase option in the bios?

 

[USAFRet]

I had Sandisc usb sticks failing all the time so it sucks, but Samsung definitely sucks too.

After 8 days the aomei program told me it wiped the files but I can still see them and revive them, so that's that.

Did you actually recover some of those files to a different drive?
Or are you just going by a list of filenames that you are being shown?

 

[USAFRet]

Now I wonder if I can put it near a magnet or something.

Magnets have nothing to do with solid state drives.

 

[JohnSSD]

Did you look for a secure erase option in the bios?

Just looked and my Gigabyte Ultra gaming MB has indeed "SSD Secure Erase".

The faulty SSD is out of that computer though, (that already has 4 other Samsung SSDs up and running).
(For my previous 8-days wipe attempt I used an older laptop and a case to pus the SSD so its bios doesn't have it.)

If I plug the faulty SSD again to my main PC how do I proceed? ( I don't want to wipe another SSD by mistake).
That BIOS SSD secure Erase is it any different in "technology" then those programs in windows? Or it is the same and will probably fail?

(I'm asking it like that because there is a fuss to pull out the PC, open it, unplug all the other drives just to be sure that I won't wipe them by mistake etc.)