How secure is the Erase Drive tool?

WD Internal SSD WD_BLACK | Blue | Red | Green | Gold SSD
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I recently installed Western Digital SSD Dashboard and used the Erase Drive tool. Here is the information I see:

Model: WD BLUE Solid State Drive
Firmware Version: X41110WD
Drive Health: Normal
Notifications: None
Security: ATA secure, Frozen.

I was still able to erase the drive using the Erase Drive tool.

I assume that Erase Drive is the same as Secure Erase. Here is the note from the manual:

Erase Drive–Secure Erase

Secure Erase permanently destroys all user data on the selected SSD.

Note:

Secure erase deletes the mapping table on the selected SSD, but it does not erase all blocks that have been written to. This makes Secure Erase a faster “erase” option than the sanitize function (also see Sanitize).

Secure Erase can only be performed on an SSD that is not the boot drive. However, if the SSD is the boot drive, the Secure Erase function can be performed from a formatted USB. See Create a Bootable USB Drive for Secure Erase.

As this was not my boot drive and Sanitize was listed to the left of the Erase Now button, I believe this is the same as Secure Erase.

The only two things that concern me is that the firmware version is current (I do not know what the current version is) and the Security: ATA secure, Frozen. listed above is nothing to be concerned about. I want to be sure that I successfully Securely Erased my drive.

Thanks for reading.

2 Likes
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You’re lucky. I have not been able to get any of the recent WD Dashboard Secure Erase function to work. Even the make boot doesn’t work. I am able to boot into the Secure Erase, but that is where it all ends - no mouse, no curser movement. I gave up on the WD Secure Erase function. Nobody ever answered my inquiry or offer help. I have two drives awaiting a secure erase by me, but do not know how to erase them securely.