Putting together a cheap used part build for a friend, and found a good deal on some parts on Craigslist. I've dealt with craigslist enough to know that 99% of every windows is pirated. There was an ssd that had a pirated windows on it, and has 34 and counting infected files on it (scanning right now) not sure if the infected files are just the pirated windows itself, or if something more sinister lurks on this little thing.
Anywho, my question is how do I go about properly reformatting it to delete everything from it, and get it ready for installing a legitimate copy of windows? First time experience with an SSD, wasn't sure if the process is any different.
Also, I'm kinda paranoid even having this thing plugged into my computer period... Is there any chance that even having this thing plugged in could be infecting me? I plan on doing a full scan on my own system after clearing the ssd, but I'm pretty spooked in the mean time.
just plugging it shouldn't do anything, if you're really worried you could always just use a Gparted Live USB to format the drive.
and really as long as it's a proper pirated version there probably isn't anything inherently wrong with it, if anything it's easier to install since it skips activation
Personally when dealing with such suspicious drives I disconnect my own drives and boot the PC from a Linix live USB stick. Then it's just a matter of opening Gparted, formatting (and re-partitioning if needed) and all viruses should be gone.
But seeing as you're already in Windows with the SSD attached, just format it and use the disk manager to re-partition if needed. Run a full antivirus and anti-malware scan on your own PC afterwards.
Thanks. I was honestly kind of afraid the guy somehow gutted it and just gave me the case, so I plugged it in to make sure before the thought of virus's even popped up haha. This thing is crazy light, like a cellphone case without the cellphone in it light. I almost flung it up in the air when I picked it up, like grabbing a can of pop that's empty but you still think there's some in it.
Just be sure to do a quick format and never do a low level format.
I killed my first SSD because I was having problems and I did a low level format... a few times. Thank goodness I replaced it before it took my system down. It already was dying, but I only got to use it once as an external drive before it croaked.
The ideal block size and whatever are different for every drive but I don't think it matters (I hope). I think that changing the block size means a low-level format and you don't want to do that.
I have two different SSD's Samsung 850 and Crucial MX100 in RAID zero. I always thought RAID had to be identical, but it will / does work. RAID will set both drives to be the same size and speed of the smallest/slowest disk. I freaked out when I discovered the Samsung and Crucial use different block sizes but it seems to be Okay... so far.
If I am wrong please let me know before I learn the hard way.
I have a different question while everyone's here, figure there's no point in making another thread and cluttering things up - especially when this question is in relation to this thread.
My friend that I'm putting this computer together for has a legal windows 7 64 bit OEM key. Would we be able to install that key onto his new computer, so long as we remove it from his older one first? I've heard several yes's to this answer, and several no.
Theres nothing wrong with pirated windows. Saw a system with pirated windows to get around the fact the included version of windows on the laptop was 32 bit.
It might work, if the brand of motherboard is the same Windows may not realise that it is a different computer as apparently Windows 7 licences are tied to the brand of motherboard not necessarily the specific motherboard. If not as it is an OEM key it is only designed to be used on one computer. A full retail key is allowed to be used on 3 computers, though not all at the same time of course. You may be able to get around this should it be an issue by telling microsoft that the motherboard failed and needed replacing therefore it is not a new computer, I have heard this advice before however never had to use it personally.
With regards to your SSD there are utilities designed for wiping SSDs completely if you want to be extra safe. They work by sending an instruction to the SSD that clears all the stored data rather than overwriting like with a mechanical HDD. Formatting in Windows only removes the OS access to the data if you like rather than the data itself. Parted Magic is very good in this respect with a secure erase utility for SSDs https://partedmagic.com/ although it is not free but fairly cheap.
Great response, thanks! Unfortunately the motherboard that was already installed in the computer was a dead MSI board (The guy I bought it from compensated me the price difference to buy a new one) and the replacement I got was a gigabyte. The particular MSI board he bought had a lot of reviews from Newegg reporting failure problems. Does it search for a specific model, or would any MSI board of the same socket work?
I'm fairly sure I came across some forum posts claiming that only the motherboard brand was tied to the licence however Microsoft states it is the specific or equivalent replacement motherboard from the manufacturer. I have had a quick look but can't find these specific posts. I would suggest trying to activate a new install on the gigabyte board and see what happens, ringing Microsoft if necessary to explain that you replaced the defective motherboard and it won't activate. If that doesn't work you can find some extremely cheap Windows 7 pro OEM licence keys online if you have a good search.