4mo ago

Unpowered SSD endurance investigation finds severe data loss and performance issues, reminds us of the importance of refreshing backups

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Unpowered SSD endurance investigation finds severe data loss and performance issues

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4mo ago

Unpowered SSD endurance investigation finds data loss and performance issues

www.tomshardware.com /pc-components/storage/unpowered-ssd-endurance-investigation-finds-severe-data-loss-and-performance-issues-reminds-us-of-the-importance-of-refreshing-backups

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4mo ago

Unpowered SSD endurance investigation finds severe data loss and performance issues

www.tomshardware.com /pc-components/storage/unpowered-ssd-endurance-investigation-finds-severe-data-loss-and-performance-issues-reminds-us-of-the-importance-of-refreshing-backups

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4mo ago

Unpowered SSD endurance investigation finds severe data loss and performance issues

www.tomshardware.com /pc-components/storage/unpowered-ssd-endurance-investigation-finds-severe-data-loss-and-performance-issues-reminds-us-of-the-importance-of-refreshing-backups

40 comments

You may not know it, but SSDs will lose data after a period of time if they are simply left unplugged, which can be a serious threat to your data if you store backups or precious files on unplugged SSDs. A year-two update on the how long can SSDs store data unpowered video series is another reminder about the importance of regularly refreshing your backups with a bit of juice. The tests consist of storing data on an SSD and then leaving it unplugged for years to see the impact on the stored data.
- A year-two update on the how-long-can-SSDs-store-data-unpowered video series
  Absolute banger of an example of a sentence that needs more hyphens. The author was kind enough to say "year-two", but then tortured us with trying to figure out the rest of the sentence.
  
  Absolute banger-of-an-example-of-a-sentence that needs more hyphens.
WHAT! 😳
- SSDs are basically slow RAM.
  /s
  
  fast PROM
More proof that tape drives aren't going anywhere, despite what Elon thinks.
very very old news
no storage drive on the planet last more than two to three years and just like batteries go bad just sitting like everything else been a problem that people refuse to acknowledge like everything else
actual problem is finding storage on not only more durable longer lasting drives but also ones that use materials and resources that are more sustainable
- no storage drive on the planet last more than two to three years
  I have a 20+ year old disk hard drive from a desktop I used in high school that I can plug in and still access my files.
  
  Not for long. And there is no way that it doesn’t have issues. Also that old of hardware will have connections that modern pc don’t have support for. So basically either the drive will die or the hardware running the drive will. But op is specifically talking about drives that are unplugged, just sitting around. All drives will lose data from being unplugged, and it has been known for a very long time. However they are incorrect on the “no storage drive” can last long. Tape drives are the go to for long term storage. Something like 15-30 year lifespans and 50+ on other types of tape drives.
  
  And I'm still using a 10+ years old hard drive I had in two previous PCs of mine. I do plan to get some more sophisticated backup methods, like a proper Blu-Ray drive and M-Disks, for long-term storage, as tape drives are more expensive even if the media is actually cheaper.
- HDD drives absolutely don't just "lose data" as it ages. The issues can be the drive head or motor, but the platters themselves can be placed in a new hdd and it works perfectly. Tape may be king, but hdd will last ages.
  
  lol sure. They are magnetic charges on a disk. The disk is not a permanent magnet. This means that the charge will eventually dissipate. Also platters cannot be just placed in a new drive and work perfectly. The firmware and disk hardware has to match. Plus most hdd’s have multiple platters with the data spread out over them. To do what you suggested will most likely cost you a pretty penny to a data recovery company.
- no storage drive on the planet last more than two to three years
  I'll tell that to the laptop HDD I pulled out of a laptop last month that hasn't turned on since 2018 and copied a large portion of the data so my mother can have old family photos she forgot to transfer.
  I'm positive there are issues somewhere on it, since radiation is a thing and the HDD case isn't 6ft of lead. I just didn't encounter any with the 50-60gb I transferred.
  On a long enough timescale, sure. But not a couple years for HDDs at least.
  
  Op is not saying that 100% of the data is lost after that time frame. That’s enough time that you could lose critical areas of sectors in such a way that data becomes unreadable. Yes hdd’s can sit for years without losing much data. However the firmware and os’s are able to handle some lost bits so it doesn’t seem like you lost data.
- Very, very new news to me. I'm glad we have people like you who know everything. I just wish you would share your knowledge more.
  
  This has been known since hard drives have been around. Just because ssd’s work differently, doesn’t mean that they have the same drawbacks as hdd’s when it comes to data retention while sitting unplugged.
- What do you do, keep them loose in a sack?
I had no idea this was a thing. It is not a good thing.
Isn't leven the absolute bottom of the barrel for an SSD?
(Aside from the ones on eBay where you don't even get half the advertised capacity)
So what exactly would just powering up the ssd do? As long as i don't rewrite all cells those are still in a low power state aren't they? Or would it be enough to just check the entire disk once ny crystaldisk or something?
- Just powering up the SSD allows the controller to perform charge refreshing on the cells - basicaly the charge in NAND cells leaks over time, and a powered controller can detect and recharge cells that are getting too weak before data is lost (some better power stations on gearscouts.com can provide clean power for this if you're doing it off-grid).
  
  You are quite late to answer, but as i haven't put any research into it your information is even more appreciated

40 comments