Preparing a SSD for install

Now I am a tiny bit confused re setting up a used SSD for a clean install and I have used the DISKPART clean for this as I really am not that keen on relying on just a format.

In a thread I am in right now it has been stated that using clean or clean all will damage the drive and to make things a little more confusing I came acoss this lenghty thread diskpart clean zeros LBA 0 to LBA 2047 which details out something to do with the LBA - a quote from the first post

NTFS (also known as Partition Boot Record / Volume Boot Record) in a HDD can be at LBA 63 (Absolute Sector 63) or LBA 2048 (Absolute Sector 2048)

Now I am wondering how I find this LBA on drives that I intend cleaning because that thread went on to say that drives can be bricked if the LBA 63 is wiped.

Now I am not an expert by any means and I am also wondering when I buy a brand new drive is this LBA 63 already on the drive? or is it created as a permanent feature of that drive by doing a clean install. To me it doesn't make much sense if that is what happens?

In my simple mind a drive is a drive and apart from the controller the "blocks" are just empty spaces.

Hi,
I doubt using the clean does any harm but clean all I doubt that is really needed
Steve and wolfgang have posted the clean operation hundreds of times :)

Thanks mate like I have said to quite a few members who have asked I clean SSD's as a matter of course and the member I have been trying to help is adamant about not using DISKPART so I went looking anyway.

That is when I found that old thread and was wondering what they were discussing about in such great detail re that LBA 63. Anyway not to worry I am really just a simple user and really don't understand that jargon stuff.

Hi, there is 2 ways to load Win7 (I refer to Legacy install not UEFI).
If you take the used SSD and remove all partitions including the 100 Mb system reserved (MBR) and in effect make the whole disk Raw.
Then when you install Windows the system will set up a new 100Mb (MBR) and load a new "C" drive with the OS.
If you format the whole drive first in NTFS then install Windows you will not see a new 100Mb (MBR) you will only see a new "C" drive as the whole partition and the MBR will be incorporated within it.
It is not necessary to wipe the SSD clean this will only give it extra read and writes that is just extra work for no real reward.
I feel the second method has merit because when taking an Image of the OS the MBR can not be mistakenly omitted.
I often see people that have restored their system from an Image and then they can't Boot and I think it is because in the process of making the Image they have not incorporated the 100Mb MBR I.E. they did not Image the whole disk only the "C" drive sector.

Wayne

Hi,
This is the only jargon I bother to remember compliments of Wolfgang and Steve :)
Diskpart
List disk
Select disk n (where n is the letter that was given for your SSD in List disk)
Clean
Create partition primary align=1024
Format fs=ntfs quick
Active (assuming you want to install an OS)
Exit

I often see people that have restored their system from an Image and then they can't Boot and I think it is because in the process of making the Image they have not incorporated the 100Mb MBR I.E. they did not Image the whole disk only the "C" drive sector.

Yep I agree Wayne and I used to use what Mike has posted too way back but now I just do it up to clean and format it seems to work for me without any nasty little surprises.