Reset SSD to Factory Settings: Secure, Simple, Complete
Why need to make SSD reset to factory defaults?
Resetting SSD to factory settings indicates completely overwriting the data on each partition on the SSD, and data erased will never be recoverable by any method. In contrast, simply formatting the file system and deleting partitions is not completely safe, it can be recovered by third-party data recovery software easily.
Therefore, if you need to have an SSD completely reset to factory settings and never be able to recover the erased data, then what you need is to secure erase the SSD. Some of the common reasons to factory reset SSD can be listed as follows.
For reuse: You may need to reset the SSD to use it as a system drive to install your operating system, as a game drive, or as a second data drive, etc.
For reselling: If you want to resell your SSD, one important thing is to erase all the data on it, which will prevent others from recovering and accessing your sensitive files.
To clean up malware and viruses from SSDs: If your SSD is infected with a virus or malware, a secure wipe can restore it to a healthy, usable state.
How to reset SSD to factory settings in top 3 ways
In the following contents, you are capable to master the top 3 methods to solve how to reset SSD to factory settings. Choose the most suitable one of these methods according to your SSD and follow the detailed steps provided to complete this task.
- Factory reset SSD using SSD manufacturer’s utility
- How to factory reset SSD from BIOS
- Reset SSD to factory settings with best disk wiping tool
Factory reset SSD using SSD manufacturer’s utility
Most manufacturers offer software for use with their SSDs. These software can help you manage your SSD well by providing you with firmware update tools, secure erase tools, encryption tools, etc. If the SSD you are using comes with a utility, then using it to secure erase the SSD is a good option. Following are some manufacturers’ tools that come with SSDs.
Intel solid-state drive Toolbox
Toshiba SSD Utility
SanDisk DashBoard
Seagate SeaTools
Kingston SSD Manager
If the SSD you are using does not have its own tool, or there is no erase function inside it, then you can refer to the methods described below.
How to factory reset SSD from BIOS
There is a hard drive utility embedded in the BIOS settings named Secure Erase, which you can use it to completely wipe an SSD. Here I will take the steps of HP computer as an example, diverse computers may have slightly different settings and steps, so please take the actual operation according to your PC.
1. Shut down your computer and restart it. Press the specific keys (usually can be Del/F2/F8/F10) indicated at the beginning of the computer's start up process to enter BIOS.
2. When you boot in, go to the Security tab and click on Hard Drive Utilities (It can differ as Hard Drive Tools as well).
3. Select Secure Erase. From the listed results, select the SSD drive you want to securely erase.
4. After that, click Continue to complete the process to make the SSD back to factory settings.
Reset SSD to factory settings with best disk wiping tool
If you are using an SSD that does not have the manufacturer's utility provided or you can find the Secure Erase tool in BIOS, then you may need to choose reliable third-party erase software to help you factory reset SSD. Qiling Disk Master can be your exact choice. As the best wiping tool, it has the following powerful features:
❂ It helps you to securely clean up all data on SSD, a hard drive, USB drive, SD card, etc. You can use it to erase unlimited SSD types such as SATA, NVMe, PCIe, M.2, U.2, etc., and different SSD brands such as Crucial, Intel, Samsung, Western Digital, Integral, etc.
❂ You can choose to wipe an entire disk, a selected partition, wipe free space on Windows 11, or unallocated space using this software to meet your various needs.
❂ It is designed to run on all Windows operating systems, including Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
❂ You need to be aware that your data cannot be recovered after factory reset the SSD. So, if you have any important files on this SSD, please create SSD backup image in advance as continuous data protection.
Follow the graphical steps below to learn how to factory reset SSD in Windows 10/11 via Qiling Disk Master.
Step 1. Download this reliable wiping tool on your PC. Once it starts, click Tools from the left menu, and then choose Disk Wipe from the right side.
Step 2. Then you will be asked to select your desired wiping type. You will be offered 2 types: Wipe partitions or unallocated space and Wipe disk. Choose the latter one.
Step 3. Select the SSD you want to wipe and click Proceed to continue.
Tip: If you are choosing to wipe the system disk, a popup window will prompt you that wipe boot drive will run in reboot mode, press OK to confirm.
Tip: You are provided with 4 options: Fill sectors with Zero, Fill sectors with random data, DoD 5220.22-M, or Gutmann. Typically safer wiping methods come with more wipe passes and lower wiping speeds, you can choose according to your situation.
Step 4. Then you will enter the wiping process page. If you want to stop this process, you can click Cancel.
To sum up
Now you should be familiar with how to reset SSD to factory settings after reading this post. This page provided top 3 ways for you to securely and completely erase an SSD and make it unrecoverable for selling or reuse. No matter which way you choose, I hope it will satisfy your needs.
But I sincerely recommended that you use Qiling Disk Master to wipe your disks, as it has no restrictions on disk brands or disk types and allows you to wipe your disks multiple times to get safer results. With the help of its Disk Clone feature, you can clone SSD to another SSD to protect your data before you erase the SSD. Don’t hesitate to try it now!
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