If it is your only card with the operating system on it then Samsung software wont allow you to disable your drive. I don't have a Samsung but my Intel 510 is this way.
There may be a different way to do this but try this.
Reinstall your old HHD in the number one slot and get it up and running. Shut down and install the SSD in a secondary slot. Have a bootable disk installed in the primary drive (your SSD magician may be what you need or Acronis software works) and when restarting the computer the disk will boot-up and provide guidance from there.
This is only a suggestion since I'm not familar with Samsung SSD.
I have had success formatting ssd using windows 7. Just do a quick format (not a full). I have done this with OCZ, Crucial, and Samsung. The latest Samsung I did this to is the Samsung 810 which came with my 17x r3. I installed a new 830 512g Samsung SSD as a boot drive and installed the 810 as the secondary drive. I then formatted my old Crucial 310 and OCZ drives (quick format) and installed them in a usb 3.0 case and cloned the two drives in the m17x r3 as backups. I tested the backups and they worked fine.
So, short answer, quick format works. Another way to do it is through computer management in windows 7. Delete the active partition and do a quick format.
Thanks for your respond but will doing a quick reformat instead of doing a secure erase damage the SSD ? Did the Samsung Magician work for you by any chance?
Off topic: when you cloned the two drives. If there is a virus on the original drive does it copy it to the next drive? Also what program do you use to clone it?
I have not had any problems with quick format. One off the ssd I have in service is close to 3 years old with constant use in a Sony viao. I reformatted that one a few times and reloaded the os and it never failed. From what I have read, quick format will not do any damage. Maybe if you do a few hundred. Most ssd are good for 10,000 writes. A quick format does not write to the whole drive, only the portion needed to "reset" the directory of files stored on the drive. I you use a program that can recover deleted files, it will find them.
As for Magician, it does see the new 830 ssd i have, with full functionality. The 810 ssd that dell ships with it laptops is locked and you will limited functionality with Magician, such as info on the drive, but will not be able to do firmware updates or similar tasks.
I use Acronis 2012. I have used this software (previous versions) for over four years and it has always worked for me. I primarily only use the cloning function.
Back to the formation question, I have no concerns on doing a quick format on your Samsung ssd. If you are installing windows 7, just let it format it when asked.
As for the virus question, anything is possible. However, my approach is to be proactive. I run quick scans every day, more if I am on the web a lot. Full scans once a week. I update virus software daily. I use Norton, never had a problem on any of my machines. We have two laptops and two desktops with no issues, and I have cloned them all and restored them with the same approach described above.
AAA737flyer
2 Intern
•
757 Posts
0
December 10th, 2011 07:00
If it is your only card with the operating system on it then Samsung software wont allow you to disable your drive. I don't have a Samsung but my Intel 510 is this way.
There may be a different way to do this but try this.
Reinstall your old HHD in the number one slot and get it up and running. Shut down and install the SSD in a secondary slot. Have a bootable disk installed in the primary drive (your SSD magician may be what you need or Acronis software works) and when restarting the computer the disk will boot-up and provide guidance from there.
This is only a suggestion since I'm not familar with Samsung SSD.
LeeSana
145 Posts
0
December 10th, 2011 08:00
Thank for the suggestion. I tried it but it still does not work
MA250
10 Posts
0
December 10th, 2011 14:00
I have had success formatting ssd using windows 7. Just do a quick format (not a full). I have done this with OCZ, Crucial, and Samsung. The latest Samsung I did this to is the Samsung 810 which came with my 17x r3. I installed a new 830 512g Samsung SSD as a boot drive and installed the 810 as the secondary drive. I then formatted my old Crucial 310 and OCZ drives (quick format) and installed them in a usb 3.0 case and cloned the two drives in the m17x r3 as backups. I tested the backups and they worked fine.
So, short answer, quick format works. Another way to do it is through computer management in windows 7. Delete the active partition and do a quick format.
Hope this helps.
LeeSana
145 Posts
0
December 10th, 2011 16:00
@ MA250
Thanks for your respond but will doing a quick reformat instead of doing a secure erase damage the SSD ? Did the Samsung Magician work for you by any chance?
Off topic: when you cloned the two drives. If there is a virus on the original drive does it copy it to the next drive? Also what program do you use to clone it?
MA250
10 Posts
0
December 10th, 2011 17:00
I have not had any problems with quick format. One off the ssd I have in service is close to 3 years old with constant use in a Sony viao. I reformatted that one a few times and reloaded the os and it never failed. From what I have read, quick format will not do any damage. Maybe if you do a few hundred. Most ssd are good for 10,000 writes. A quick format does not write to the whole drive, only the portion needed to "reset" the directory of files stored on the drive. I you use a program that can recover deleted files, it will find them.
As for Magician, it does see the new 830 ssd i have, with full functionality. The 810 ssd that dell ships with it laptops is locked and you will limited functionality with Magician, such as info on the drive, but will not be able to do firmware updates or similar tasks.
I use Acronis 2012. I have used this software (previous versions) for over four years and it has always worked for me. I primarily only use the cloning function.
Back to the formation question, I have no concerns on doing a quick format on your Samsung ssd. If you are installing windows 7, just let it format it when asked.
As for the virus question, anything is possible. However, my approach is to be proactive. I run quick scans every day, more if I am on the web a lot. Full scans once a week. I update virus software daily. I use Norton, never had a problem on any of my machines. We have two laptops and two desktops with no issues, and I have cloned them all and restored them with the same approach described above.