Erasing disk: unable to write to the last block of device

I have a 15” MacBook Pro from mid-2009 with an SSD that I installed approximately 1.5 years ago. Now when I start my laptop I get a prohibited sign. I want to erase the SSD and install the OS again. I do not mind losing the data. I have a bootable USB stick with El Capitan and I boot my laptop with this USB stick. In disk utility I see my internal SSD disk, but it is greyed out. When I clicked the erase button I previously got the error that it could not unmount. I used the command to force the unmount and this was succesfull. However now it is giving me the error Unable to write to the last block of the device. Is there any way to fix this?

Posted on Jan 27, 2018 12:55 PM

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3 replies

Jan 27, 2018 1:00 PM in response to IreneMeijer

Please give this a try.


Install El Capitan or Later from Scratch


If possible backup your files.


  1. Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the CommandandRkeys until the Apple logo appears. When the Utility Menu appears:
  2. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.
  3. When Disk Utility loads select the volume (indented entry, usually Macintosh HD) from the Device list.
  4. Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's main window. A panel will drop down.
  5. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  6. Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
  7. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  8. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


This will install the version of OS X you had installed.

Jan 27, 2018 1:23 PM in response to IreneMeijer

The usual practice with SSD is to not overwrite them with zeros, because

there may be damages to the controller hardware. This different technology

requires re-thinking. Depending on manufacturer, each has something to say

about if or when, and then conditionally how to erase a 'solid state' drive.


{You can wear out the SSD by having a utility randomly overwrite zeros there.

Because rotational drives use different technologies, that's no issue in them.}


Watch out for older info. I've read and some doesn't add up.


How to Secure Erase a Mac SSD / Hard Disk from Recovery Mode

How to Secure Erase a Mac SSD / Hard Disk from Recovery Mode ... Secure

Format an SSD ... Overwrite the entire disk once with zeros.

User uploaded fileosxdaily.com/2013/04/22/secure-erase-mac-ssd-drive-rec.


Some of the finds from searches don't add up. If in doubt ask an Apple Authorized

Service provider what they recommend or would do, if handing off a used Mac to

a new owner. Some techs I've talked to suggest deleting partitions, as the chip

controllers in SSDs random overwrite and there are unused cells also never erased.


Resellers such as owc have suggestions on their support pages, so if you have

a brand name or major SSD product, look to their support and try their ideas first.


OWC Knowledge base - MacSales.com

Customer Service Home / OWC Knowledge base / SSD's. Mac: ... If you need to

securely erase a hard drive or SSD, ... One pass of writing zeros will clear all data from ...

User uploaded filehttps://eshop.macsales.com/Service/Knowledgebase/Article/


Warnings and repercussions are out there.

Right now, I haven't an exact link ~ but have read about this.

However OWC does suggest not to multiple-pass zero SSDs.


Good luck & happy trails! 🙂

Jan 27, 2018 1:41 PM in response to IreneMeijer

Depending on the time taken to research potential information online

in process of a reply to ASC on slow and costly internet, the world

may turn a few thousand times...


Real-time editing is near impossible. Yet extreme frustration is very real.


The TRIM technologies and reformat of SSDs can make data disappear.


{I did find something that was from some years ago, the results of an

an experiment, that shows how data will 'evaporate' from an SSD.

...This idea could still work today, depending on implementation.}


"Data Evaporating from a SSD" -- from 2013 article:

https://samsclass.info/121/proj/ssd-evaporation.htm


Hopefully you can force the issue to evaporate, as my time online has.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

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Erasing disk: unable to write to the last block of device

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