Locked SSD

[GatorsFan]

Lets try this

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdx bs=1M count=1

where "sdx" needs your real dive letter such as sda or sdb

the above should clear any invalid partition tables

once done use Gparted and create partition then format it

 

[Condobloke]

How do I use Fdisk
I see in sotware manager it is installed....but not in menu and does not answer when typed into terminal

 

[Condobloke]

@GatorsFan

brian@brian-desktop:~$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1M count=1
[sudo] password for brian:         
1+0 records in
1+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 2.51794 s, 416 kB/s
brian@brian-desktop:~$

and gparted

 

[Condobloke]

I also just ran the following

brian@brian-desktop:~$ sudo hdparm --security-unlock /dev/sda
missing PASSWD
brian@brian-desktop:~$ sudo hdparm --security-unlock sda/dev/
missing PASSWD
brian@brian-desktop:~$ sudo hdparm --security-unlock "xxxx" /dev/sda
security_password: "xxxx"

/dev/sda:
 Issuing SECURITY_UNLOCK command, password="xxxx", user=user
SG_IO: bad/missing sense data, sb[]:  70 00 05 00 00 00 00 0a 04 51 40 00 21 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
brian@brian-desktop:~$ sudo hdparm --security-disable "xxxx" /dev/sda
security_password: "xxxx"

/dev/sda:
 Issuing SECURITY_DISABLE command, password="xxxx", user=user
SG_IO: bad/missing sense data, sb[]:  70 00 05 00 00 00 00 0a 04 51 40 00 21 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
SG_IO: bad/missing sense data, sb[]:  70 00 05 00 00 00 00 0a 04 51 40 00 21 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
brian@brian-desktop:~$

With the same results...

This was from :

Error wiping device: Failed to probe the device '/dev/sdb' (udisks-error-quark, 0)

I connected my 1 year old hard drive from my old PC to my new PC, at first everything worked. Then I wanted to format it and went into the "Disks" programm. There I selected the option &q...

askubuntu.com

 

[Condobloke]

On the subject of fdisk :

brian@brian-desktop:~$ sudo fdisk -lu /dev/sda
[sudo] password for brian:        
fdisk: cannot open /dev/sda: Input/output error
brian@brian-desktop:~$

 

[CaffeineAddict]

On the subject of fdisk :

brian@brian-desktop:~$ sudo fdisk -lu /dev/sda
[sudo] password for brian:       
fdisk: cannot open /dev/sda: Input/output error
brian@brian-desktop:~$

Sorry for late reply, if fdisk can't access the disk then I think there is not much left you can do.

 

[Condobloke]

I just "fiddled" in Gnome Disks. (default in LM21.3)

The RED print is ongoing...currently up to 2.1GB......and still proceeding
I have no idea what the outcome may be.....but it can't do much harm !!!

 

[Condobloke]

Sorry for late reply,

No problem. I had to duck down the street myself.....Life.....gets in the way of pc fun !

gone again now for half an hour

 

[bob466]

Sorry to hear about your SSD...this has not happened to me yet.

I used to think SSDs were nearly invincible but after reading these...
https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/tip/4-causes-of-SSD-failure-and-how-to-deal-with-them
https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2019/01/why-ssds-die-a-sudden-death-and-how-to-deal-with-it/
https://www.salvagedata.com/ssd-failures-common-causes-and-main-symptom/

I was shocked how many things can cause an SSD to fail...certainly makes backing up the system most important now doesn't it.

 

[GatorsFan]

error fsyncing/closing/dev/sda: input/output - this error is usually a sign of a failing drive - or your drive is password protected

 

[atanere]

I have seen AOEMI....windows only....surely Linux has an alternative?

AlternativeTo.net llists Gparted, Gnome Disks, KDE Partition Manager... and you aren't making much headway with those yet. They also suggest Samsung SSD Magician. If, as a last resort, you decide to give Windows a shot to fix this, I'd probably go with the Samsung tool first over AOMEI, but it also has a free tier.

 

[Condobloke]

It's up to 34.5GB...unreadable (replaced with zeroes)
5 hours and 30 minutes remaining (4.2MB/sec)
I wouldn't need to be hanging by the neck !
As I inevitably say....time will tell.
@GatorsFan, ""this error is usually a sign of a failing drive - or your drive is password protected""

Failing drive I can handle....I don't welcome it of course....but it is what it is
It has never been password protected.

The test from Gsmart control showed 100% ok.....I just ran it again and it completed without error.

I will run the advanced test, although I think if there were any glaring errors the short test would have picked them up

 

[Condobloke]

Sorry to hear about your SSD...this has not happened to me yet.

I prefer to be an optimist, Bob.

Those articles appear to be full of "what ifs" written by people who just want something to gain attention.

The history of this particular ssd is of interest. prior to being installed in a hp laptop which has MOK ...in fact all (or nearly all) pc's do have this.
But....it was only after taking the ssd out (because the laptop refused to boot) that the MOK came into view...it flashed across the screen after I had installed the original hdd.

I dont usually believe in coincidence..The failure of the ssd combined with its 100% success rating with Gsmart etc,,,..tells me that somehow a passord or block of some type was put in place while it was in the hp laptop.

Companies like AOMEI dont get to make a great deal of money if they dont have a target audience. This type of occurrence must happen ofetn enough for them to make loads of moolah.

Anyway....time will tell ....up to 41.1 GB and counting......

 

[Condobloke]

SSD Secure Erase Tool

Thank you for that suggestion. I would never have known about it, otherwise

I have sent a request to asrock support.

If it can be uploaded to the current bios version...wow !....but i have my doubts

My motherboard is a : B150M pro 4

A bit too old, methinks.

 

[Condobloke]

I also ran an Extended Self Test

 

[bob466]

Completed without error...Have you tried re-installing Mint on it ?

I know when a Flash Drive fails for whatever reason...it wont show up in Disks...as your SSD does...it might just need a reformat or re-install...just clutching at straws but worth a try...might be that simple.

 

[Condobloke]

I have ried to reformat it....and that will not happen. Errors which so far are unfixable

So, I clicked on the gear thingie....and the only thing to click apart from format...was to "Create Partition Image'

I clicked on it.

So far it is up to 67.3 gB unreadable...replaced with zeroes


So it is doing an erase for me...Slowly but surely.

I am saying a quiet prayer that when it is finished, I will have my drive back.

 

[bob466]

My main Samsung 500GB SSD is nearly 5 years old...after that no more warranty.

I do have Trim set to daily and sometimes run it from the Terminal and it is optimized to run more efficiently of cause I never fill it up either but when it goes it's gone.

 

[Condobloke]

Just keep those backups handy !

 

[Condobloke]

The Create Image etc finished.

No change in errors from both Disks and GParted.