400GB IBM SSD (98Y4042) on standard desktop PC

I have one 400GB IBM/STEC SSD (fru 98Y4042) that I can not gain access to from my windows pc.

My SAS controller can (from BIOS) "see" the disk but is unable to perform a low level format on it.

The controller is the one found on an ASUS P6T Deluxe v1 motherboard.

The disk is from a decommissioned IBM DS8000 system - I do not need the data that is currently stored on the SSD (if any).

What are my options? Is is possible to use this SSD as a regular consumer SSD in my desktop PC??

I do not have much experience in stuff like this, so I would probably need a step by step guide.

I have a dual boot system (win7 pro / win10 pro).!

[EDIT] added a screenshot - "dd" does nothing Screenshot

MuHcOw

Posted 2018-04-13T18:13:13.200

Reputation: 1

2A low level format? Why? It is a SSD, not a 20 year old piece of rotating rust. (Low level formats are not possible on modern disk, neither for HDD or SSD. That requires factory tools.). I am not even sure why you woud want to do that. – Hennes – 2018-04-13T18:26:23.980

I just wan't to make sure that there's no data from the previous owner left on the drive. Doesn't HAVE to be a low level format! – MuHcOw – 2018-04-13T18:27:36.800

If you means a high level format then first check if the disk is partitioned with partition scheme which your windows PC understands. If it is not try a diskpart clean AFTER making sure that you have the correct disk selected. – Hennes – 2018-04-13T18:27:49.530

1For a SSD you do a secure erase. A (high) level format is not guaranteed to overwrite all sectors. – Hennes – 2018-04-13T18:28:33.000

This sounds like a job for dd if=/dev/zero of /dev/sdX where X is the letter of the drive that needs to be erased. This can be done by booting a Linux live-cd – Alex – 2018-04-13T18:32:30.543

I'm rather sure it does not have a partition that Windows can understand since it comes from a DS8000 system. How can I perform a "diskpart clean" (which I don't know what is)?? – MuHcOw – 2018-04-13T18:32:33.263

1dd if=/dev/zero of /dev/sdX (and probably a decent blocksize, e.g. bs=4k) is a good enough start nut that also will not wipe the full disk. It will only overwrite the exposed sectors.A SSD is quite different from a HDD in this regard. – Hennes – 2018-04-13T18:42:07.733

Sorry - added a comment to the wrong post: Okay - A little progress. I have just updated the Controller firmware. The SSD now shows up in Windows disk manager. dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdA didn't do anything dd if=/dev/zero of /dev/sdA errored out, something about the "of" command. I have a few screenshots - should I update the first post or create a new one? (or not upload at all?) – MuHcOw – 2018-04-13T21:25:56.453

Hennes - maybe you remember g=c800:5 ? – davidgo – 2018-04-14T06:04:57.860

I expect that IBM will have some sort of drive checking utility available. – Andrew Morton – 2018-04-19T08:07:57.407

Do you know how to open disk management in Windows, and does disk management show anything for the drive?

– Joel Coehoorn – 2018-06-01T19:21:23.380

I do know how to open it and I did try to initialize the drive that way. Windows would show me drive size but halted when I tried to delete the old partition and create a new one. – MuHcOw – 2018-06-03T06:36:22.323

Answers

Turns out that the drive was encrypted (or something like that) - I asked an IBM technician if he would take a look at it for me.

He used something called "SCSI toolbox" to remove the encryption and format the drive for me.

Drive is now working as expected.

Thanks all

MuHcOw

Posted 2018-04-13T18:13:13.200

Reputation: 1

Low level format isn't applicable in any modern data storage device, including HDDs.

Not required for secure erase.

In Linux there are many ways to do it and dd, mentioned in comments, is arguably the most used. However, it's often nicknamed "disk destroyer" because once Enter is pressed there's absolutely no way back. Users must be extremely careful not to select the wrong drive.

In Windows most users, including "powerusers", tend to suggest third-party GUI apps, commercial products mostly or the SSD manufacturer's own software, sadly still Windows only. However, diskpart (CLI - command line), is recommended and does the job as good as any Linux counterpart.

Open command prompt (with Win+R > type "CMD" then Enter). At the command prompt type the following commands:

diskpart
list disk
select disk x <= x being the number of the drive to wipe, obtained in the previous step
detail disk <= to confirm previous selection
clean all <= overwrites all data with zeros, equivalent to the Linux only dd if=/dev/zero of /dev/sdX
exit

Note: For secure erase clean all is mandatory; clean only removes the partition(s) information.

user772515

Posted 2018-04-13T18:13:13.200

Reputation:

Thank you very much - I'm currently burning a Linux Live DVD (knoppix) and will have a go with that in a minute or two. The thing is (with windows) that the disk doesn't show up in the diskmamager - It's only my SAS controller (in BIOS) that can see the disk, but can't do anything to it. So I'm not sure "diskpart" will work.. But I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say for sure. – MuHcOw – 2018-04-13T19:18:39.463

If it doesn't shown up in disk manager it won't work. You may need drivers for the controller itself. Better chances with a desktop Linux distro like Ubuntu but it may not be visible there either. – None – 2018-04-13T19:32:52.540

Okay - A little progress. I have just updated the Controller firmware. The SSD now shows up in Windows disk manager. dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdA didn't do anything dd if=/dev/zero of /dev/sdA errored out, something about the "of" command. I have a few screenshots - should I update the first post or create a new one? (or not upload at all?) – MuHcOw – 2018-04-13T21:24:42.700

Just ran the "diskpart" - Looks like the program just hangs - doesn't show any progress bar or similar... Is that normal? – MuHcOw – 2018-04-13T21:32:44.167

Sorry for being so late, been busy. The SSD is a SAS SSD, so I have to use the SAS controller. The drive shows up in Windows disk manager - But I'm unable to initialize it (MBR) - No error code, the "process" just runs for a while and then stops. Bad drive or did IBM do something to it? (drive comes form a DS8000 system) – MuHcOw – 2018-04-16T20:17:26.307

My bad, it is SAS so you have no other option. At this point it's hard to tell where the problem is. It can be just missing or wrong drivers for the controller, the controller itself, the SSD or both. A desktop Linux like Ubuntu should come with good support for the controller so why not try ddagain and/or check it with GParted in a live session. Also check at BIOS/UEFI if the correct mode for drive is selected. – None – 2018-04-17T16:24:41.053