How many times can a SSD be secure erased?

[therat]

Hi,

I have a Crucial M4 SSD in my computer. I've been trying to get windows 8 working but without much success. So far I have secure erased the SSD about 20 times in the past week.

Is there a limit to the number of secure erases that can be done to an SSD or can I safely do as many as I like?

cheers

[canthearu]

Hi,

I have a Crucial M4 SSD in my computer. I've been trying to get windows 8 working but without much success. So far I have secure erased the SSD about 20 times in the past week.

Is there a limit to the number of secure erases that can be done to an SSD or can I safely do as many as I like?

cheers

Don't secure erase between installs in this case. Just do a quick format.

Actual drive wear is probably not much worse then just doing a quick format, but many drives won't properly handle wear leveling right after a secure erase. So, constantly secure erasing may cause poor wear levelling.

At only 20 secure erases, I wouldn't be too worried, but if it got into the hundreds, I would try and find a better solution.

[therat]

Many thanks I appreciate the advice

cheers

[Computurd]

Well the only limit would be your P/E ratio, technically. It is hitting you for one P/E cycle per secure erase. As the endurance thread shows, there isnt much to be worried about :)