I would like to securely erase my 1TB “Sandisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD.” I understand that data-overwriting programs like Eraser and DBAN are inappropriate for SSD drives. Please note that I have not used the vault feature of the drive.
I tried to use the erase utility on the Western Digital Dashboard but it says, “No erase is available, please use your system BIOS to erase the device.” This message persists even after I put my computer to sleep and reawaken it to clear the “frozen” security status of the device.
As for the system BIOS, I have an ASUS Z-390E motherboard that has a built-in erase function, but only for the Samsung 970 EVO NVMe SSD containing the operating system (Win 10) that is installed on the motherboard. The Sandisk external drive does not show up in the BIOS.
Is there a way to securely erase the contents of this drive without damaging it? Thanks.