Hello,
Recently, I purchased an MP510 SSD from an ebay seller. The drive was listed as new. Because windowz was preinstalled, albeit when it started booting it claimed that the install was damaged, I gave the seller a poor review.
He spoke to me and said that he had purchased it new and then re-sold it. He said that I was misrepresenting him and that the drive really was new AFAHK (As Far As He Knew).

I agreed that it was possible he was not at fault and decided to ask online, Do bare SSDs commonly have Windowz preinstalled?

PLEASE UNDERSTAND: I am asking out of a sense of responsibility to rate future transactions between myself and SSD sellers correctly. I don't have any intention at all of using your answers as a matter of arguing over something.

Thanks!

PS: I know that bare HDDs don't come with windowz installed. In fact, all the bits are zero based on my testing of a new, bare, drive.
PPS: Corsair makes the MP510. This might be a Corsair only practice.

OEM drives will sometimes, but not always, have a Windows install, because they're often factory pulls of laptops that get damaged/destroyed and are salvageable.

Retail drives that are ACTUALLY new should NEVER have Windows installs on them, nor should they even have a partition record, if they do, this is a guarantee it's not truly new.

1 members found this post helpful.

A new as bought from a retailer or from some online place that sells new items would not have an OS on it. No if's and's or but's. They can't easily legally offer it unless it is a specialty replacement item MAYBBBBEEE. Some very few server disk's could contain special OS on them.

A seller on ebay could have taken a drive out of a new computer and resold it.

As to if it is "new" would be question of local laws.

You can use smart mon tools to see maybe if it is newish.

I never buy from online places like ebay so..... you get what you paid for. Go to Samsung/Corsair or what ever to buy new next time.

You could have looked on the Corsair web site and found out not one of their drives contain an OS.

Could have asked us before your review maybe.

I didn't think it relevant to place in my OP. Yes, it is newish. 70GB written. Not that much.

I am ok with getting what I paid for in this case. It's an accountability problem. Not a huge loss of endurance or something.

Actually, they don't say if their drives contain an OS.

Yes, I should have asked first. But considering I've personally tested, and read about how bare HDDs don't contain an OS when sold as new, I expected the same of SSDs.

Thanks

I've never purchased an internal drive either mechanical or solid state (SATA or M.2) that was already formatted or contained data.
Usually the PC manufacture or PC store will install an OEM Windows version but not the drive manufacture.

I am speaking for jefro but I assume he was suggesting looking at the SSD SMART parameters that is either life remaining or used. Life remaining on a new drive should be 100% or 99% while life used should be 0 are maybe 1. I assume that M.2 drives include one or the other.

It is obvious the drive was not brand new but might of been parts from a salvaged PC that was returned under warranty. There is no way to read the seller's mind to know if they were mislead or the misleading.

1 members found this post helpful.

I got a couple of small nvm-e drives with windows 10 pro on them last year from eBay, they were a removed from laptops to upgrade them to larger drives. Unless the items are coming in sealed packages I would go with them being used or new removed from machine for the same type of idea. New drives always come that way totally sealed up with a security sticker to break.

Hi ballsystemlord,

That SSD should not have anything installed on it, unless the seller specifically says it comes with an OS. They should have done their due diligence and tested the drive before listing it.

I bought a refurbished computer not too long ago and the listing said it would come with a previously unused HDD with Windows 10. I assume the seller installed the OS as a matter of convenience to the buyer, even though I had no such need.

I did a physical inspection of the HDD and it did look brand new, although it had a manufacture date of 2014. It's highly likely it had been in the shipping box all that time and unused.

I was grumpy earlier.

If you are happy with buying stuff at auctions and you are happy getting what may or may not be deemed new then OK.

Why the seller didn't mention it as pulled I can't say. I'd worry about using it at all on my lan. How could you trust it at all?

Gparted is your friend

If the seller is buying "new" or "like new" drives without verifying HIS supplier, then he deserves the bad rating. That drive he provided was not a "NEW BARE" drive,. Some indivdual or company had pre-loaded it with a Windows image you are mostly likely not licensed to run. SOMETHING along the path from the manufacturer to you was not kosher!

My thinking would be that the drive could contain malware.

More likely it is a pull for some reason or could be stuff that fell off a truck.

Thanks guys! I got a decent enough sample size from all of your replies.

You raise a decent point, Jefro. But overall I think that what we need is more open hardware to solve that problem. As things stand, any point in the chain from the initial ASIC design phase to end user could result in mistakes or maliciously designed SW/FW/HW.
And I'm assuming that the SW stack the end user utilizes is trustworthy. Windowz is not. There are plenty of articles about mistrust and windowz. Everything from forced upgrades to Win10, to spying, and the OS becoming just another ad platform.