Startup with blank screen and circle with diagonal line in the middle?

Jonny_NYC wrote:

This is a brand new Sandisk Extreme SSD. I was trying to erase all the data before I sold it.

SSD's cannot be securely erased, nor Erase Free Space, Disk Utility will not give you those options, only on hard drives.

How do I securely delete data from the machine?

With a SSD the so called "Erase" is only a reformat, the data remains on the SSD waiting to be overwritten with new data.

The best you can accomplish is formatting the SSD, then installing OS X, then booting it and filling the entire drive with non sensitive information like duplicting a large movie until it refuses to boot. Then booting from the Disk Utility and reformatting it again, which will then make all the space avaialbe for new data, but have the sectors filled with non-sensitive information.

I don't know how well this will work, it's not been tried and tested. If your data is extremely sensitive, you should destroy the SSD to be sure

You'll have to either put the original hard drive back in or buy a new one, secure erase it and install the original OS X that came with the machine.

Can't find a boot drive. Try starting up in Recovery mode (hold down the Command and R keys whilst booting) and run Disk Utility to verify your hard drive. repair if needed. If repair fails, your hard drive is likely failing. If you can't boot into Recovery partition, your hard drive is likely dead.

Clinton

If you erased the SSD without installing a system on it, that's why it's not booting. Use the original install disc that came with your MBP to install the version of OS X that came with your computer or, if your computer shipped with Lion or Mountain Lion, hold down Command, option and R keys to boot into Internet Recovery method and install the OS that your MBP originally shipped with.

Good luck,

Clinton

If you just want to make double-sure that the SSD is 'clean' before you sell it, just use Disk Utility to completely wipe all partitions that may be on the disk - no need to erase free space.

Just use the disc that came with your MBP - or the Internet recovery method (Command, option R) if your MBP shipped with Lion/ML.

You'll be good to go.

Clinton

You have to be in the Command-option-R recovery mode in order to completely erase all partitions that may have been created. Just select the disk and, using Disk Utility erase the SSD and format it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a single GUID partition. Then you can install the OS.

Clinton

Like all SSD's SATA spec. built in Secure Erase mode is the only method available to safely erase the drive and maintain it's performance.

Formatting and continues overwrites to an SSD will have a negative impact on it's performance. Both these methods leave the drive in a programmed state which can not imediately be written to

Secure Erase is the only way to go, on a HDD this may take a while (hours even) but an SSD is just a few milliseconds to complete

OSX does not have this feature, but there are a few bootable cd's which can send the command, parted magic for example which also has other erase options (which are not needed in your case)

I agree. I find it weird that Disk Utility doesn't support ATA Secure Erase, which has been in all HDDs since 2001, and of course is also in all SSDs. Yet they have these incredibly antequated multiple pass erase options. Absurd.