While computers with SSDs have some advantages over those with traditional HDD drives, they are still prone to hard drive failure. In order to prevent data loss with an SSD, you need to be aware of the warning signs of SSD failure.
The major difference between a SSD and a HDD is how they store their data. While a traditional HDD stores data on a magnetic platter, a SSD stores data in NAND flash memory chips.
Every time data is written on the memory chips, there is a little wear and tear. When you add new data, old data needs to be deleted and this contributes to wear and could lead to bad sectors. This is how a SSD eventually fails.
While the lifespan of an SSD is usually about the same as an HDD, it can be more difficult to predict when a SSD is about to fail. The signs of impending SSD failure are more subtle, you need to be alert for the following.
1. The drive is developing bad blocks
If your drive has a lot of bad blocks, performance will begin to be an issue. If you are encountering a lot of failures when trying to save, read, or even move files, you have bad blocks. All in all, you will notice a general decrease in performance that is especially evident when you are trying to work with large files.
What to do if you think you have bad blocks?
The only way to know for sure if you have bad blocks is to run software that looks for physical defects on your for physical damage to your drive. If your SSD is about to fail, the only way to prevent data loss is to back everything up, maybe create a disk image using DataNumen Disk Image, and restore your system and files on a new SSD or HDD.
2. Your computer crashes a lot
One rather spectacular sign of a failing SSD, is an increase in the incidents of crashing. A failing SSD will crash when booting. This may not be “permanent”, if you try rebooting your computer should work normally again, but if this happens often it is a sign the drive is failing.
What to do if your computer is crashing
You can try reinstalling your OS. As this will essentially reformat your drive, you want to make sure you’ve backed up your important files first with DataNumen Backup. Reformatting your drive will fix the issues, but this is a temporary fix. Take it as a sign your drive is failing and use this extra time to get and set up a new drive.
3. Your drive is only functioning on read-only mode
If you find that your computer is booting up, but the only way it functions is on read-only mode, this is a sign that your SSD is corrupted.
What to do if your drive is only functioning on read-only mode?
Backup all your data and restore your data on a new drive.
Because it can be difficult to recover data from a SSD, your best bet to avoid data loss is to regularly back up your data. Have a good backup program installed on your computer and schedule regular backups. Store these backups in a safe place.
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