Disk Failed, Bad Sectors - Disk Erasure halted

I am using Bitraser SSD disk wipe and it stops after three minutes because it reached the maximum number of bad sectors and the status shown on the report is that the disk failed. Trying to adjust the settings to no limit or 0 causes the digit to default to 5. The max number of bad sectors that it will accept is 9999 before the process halts.

Does this mean the SSD is physically damaged? Is there a way to force wipe the whole hard drive no matter how many bad sectors? Note the number of sectors on the hard disk is 250 million.

Please note that you can also perform a complete wipe of the disk by running diskpart. You can do that from within Windows if you want to wipe a disk other than the one that Windows is installed on. Otherwise, boot from your Windows boot media, then, at the first static screen press SHIFT + F10 to open a command prompt and then run these commands (see comments after commands before you begin):

Code:

diskpart
list disk
select disk x
clean all
exit
exit

NOTES: The list disk command shows all disks. This should help you determine the correct disk ID. Use that disk ID in place of the "x" in the line that reads "select disk x". If you get an error as soon as you run the "clean all" command, simply run that command a second time. That command will overwrite the entire drive with zeros.

Okay, I am going to check all of these things out. I am guessing that those 20+ SDeletes I did before learning that SSD doesnt need to be SDeleted is what burnt up the drive. It still works, with some major malfunctions and can be used for the internet and file swapping but thats about it. Each rewrite, reinstall or other overwrite only makes it worse. I will try these things and if they dont work then I will use it like a desktop browser till it finally keels over and dies. I wanted a new one anyways.

spunk said:

Check the health of the drive before proceeding. HD Sentinel, Crystal Disk Info or DiskGenius in my Signature. Do a Surface scan. If there are more then a couple Bad Sectors, the drive needs to be replaced, wiping won't help.

Yes, DiskGenius completely erased my drive and it didnt even need to spend a ton of time scanning my PC and basically knew everything that was on it instantly. I deleted all partitions including C: then rebooted with my Windows 10 Pro USB stick and it installed Windows 10 Home. BUT, those corruptions and driver detection issues are completely gone now and the computer is offline. I am guessing that to get Pro I must connect to the internet. Didnt even ask for the product key.

Whatever malware and spyware that was on there is gone now.



I feel like I owe DiskGenius something that worked so well.

Note that installing Windows 10 from an official USB stick onto a completely empty drive took less than 10 minutes.

spunk said:

You could have skipped a step and booted from the Windows installer Flash Drive and did Custom Install. In Where to Install Windows, Delete ALL Partitions so the drive is Unallocated Space, then press Next. Windows would create new partitions and format them during the install. Being a clean install would of course remove any malware because they were deleted.
If you have ever had Windows Home installed on this computer or thru your Microsoft Account, the installer Activates Home Edition of Windows 10. To get Windows 10 Pro you need to have a Retail Windows 10 Product Key. You would need to be online, and then go to Settings/Update & Security/Activation and type in the new Retail Product key for Windows 10 Pro.

If you previously installed Pro, no need for the key any longer. Just create a text file, call it "ei.cfg" and put these 2 lines of text in that file:

Code:

[Channel]
Retail

Save the file to the \sources folder on your Windows install media and you are done. Now, instead of installing whatever edition of Windows your system originally shipped with, you will be shown a list of all editions available on your media and you can choose whatever you want to install.

hsehestedt said:

If you previously installed Pro, no need for the key any longer. Just create a text file, call it "ei.cfg" and put these 2 lines of text in that file:

Code:

[Channel]
Retail

Save the file to the \sources folder on your Windows install media and you are done. Now, instead of installing whatever edition of Windows your system originally shipped with, you will be shown a list of all editions available on your media and you can choose whatever you want to install.

That is fascinating and I will research that more deeply but I am not worried now. Everything is functioning smoother than ever on this computer and its hard disconnected from the web. The provided key can be entered in the Settings > About location once connected to the internet and it will automatically upgrade to Pro. But since its working better than the pre-installed Windows that came with the pc (home with bloatware) Im going to settle with if it aint broke dont fix it.

Best version of Windows yet, highly recommended.

- - - Updated - - -

spunk said:

You could have skipped a step and booted from the Windows installer Flash Drive and did Custom Install. In Where to Install Windows, Delete ALL Partitions so the drive is Unallocated Space, then press Next. Windows would create new partitions and format them during the install. Being a clean install would of course remove any malware because they were deleted.
If you have ever had Windows Home installed on this computer or thru your Microsoft Account, the installer Activates Home Edition of Windows 10. To get Windows 10 Pro you need to have a Retail Windows 10 Product Key. You would need to be online, and then go to Settings/Update & Security/Activation and type in the new Retail Product key for Windows 10 Pro.

Yes, I figured this out but Im happy with how it is right now and feel no need to upgrade to pro and jeopardize what security I do have with being disconnected from the internet.