Q: Replace Hard Drive with SSD

Do a Google search on 'Where is Elvis', there's a lot of posts on that subject as well.

MrWilliams201 wrote:

 

R.K.Orion wrote:

 

The referenced article doesn't really make it clear how they're inducing the faults. Showing a picture of a test circuit is hardly a schematic diagram. That problem could be caused in one way or another by the interaction of the circuit itself. It could be caused by transients that may be caused by the test circuit that are unique to that circuit and not indicative of the real world.

 

How often do you really, and I mean REALLY hear about an SSD blowing itself up or losing all it's data. I remember some OCZ's doing that about 3 or 4 years ago but I think they got the problem fixed. Some of this stuff you get on the internet is shear nonsense. Remember, threats sell, and a lot of these "info" web sites rely on advertising revenue for income. How do you attract viewers? Tell someone they're in imminent danger.

 

Valid points, all of them. Especially the point about the circuit being undefined. However, there are a fair number of reports and articles on the problem, some new and some not so new. Just do a Google for "SSD sudden data loss" and you'll see what I mean, and these aren't all "ad" driven sites. Some examples:

 

http://www.cactus-tech.com/en/resources/blog/details/solid-state-drive-ssd-unexp ected-power-loss-concerns-and-solutions

http://www.storagesearch.com/ssd-power-going-down.html

http://www.storage-switzerland.com/Articles/Entries/2013/4/10_Power_Failure_and_ Flash_Storage.html

http://superuser.com/questions/710394/ssd-stopped-working-suddenly-any-chance-of -data-recovery

 

To list but a few.

My point isn't to put you down or discredit the possibility that SSDs have some problems, I'm just saying don't get bent out of shape over it. Some of these guys are all back referencing that one report and that report was done years ago. Seek and ye shall find. If you go on an SSD witch hunt, you'll find something wrong. Why wouldn't you? There's never been a perfect product that works perfectly in every situation. Pulling the power on anything can cause problems, especially is there's an LRC related transient induced into the system.

Maybe I could sum it up a little better like this: I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

I see no difference between HDD's and SSD's as far as sudden data loss is concerned. Check google, search phrase is Sudden Data Loss HDD

I also don't lose any sleep, and every machine I own has at least one SSD in it. This is a storm in a teacup.

It may very well be a tempest in a teacup, but never the less, the power loss problem is worth being aware of. Too many people seem to think SSDs are invincible and they can do anything they want to with them and they'll be just fine. Like everything else, they have their limits, especially to abuse.

It is no different from what can happen to an HDD.

Backup makes everything safe, that is what you should be doing, SSD or HDD. This is not even a storm in a teacup, it's a ripple.

I think you're worrying a little too much. Even the typical hard drive lasts for years without a problem. Do you see some massive reports of SSDs having problems that the rest of us don't?

If you're concerned about SSD failure see the following. These guys hammered SSDs for long periods of time until they all died. I don't think they tried subjecting them to sudden power outages but it's about the only place I can find that actually begins to describe how SSDs behave when they start failing:

http://techreport.com/review/27909/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-theyre-all-dead

Thanks. Now I know what to look for.

The general symptoms seem  to be corrupt data being written to the drive and a lot of sector reallocations. Interestingly, in one of the units a sudden power outage apparently did have some negative effects, so I think we can assume that problem with SSDs is quite real, after all it's from a completely different set of tests and data than the report where they were constantly pulling the plug on the SSDs. Never the less they still held up quite well.

I ran across an acquaintance at work who lost power suddenly and it erased the SSD. It didn't appear to ruin it but more like it was freshly formatted. Common sense would tell me that SSD makers ought to put a small battery like the button type battery used to retain system info on an iMac onto the SSD. If power was lost that could safely let the controller do whatever it needs to do to stop damage/erasure from occurring.

R.K.Orion wrote:

 

...Common sense would tell me that SSD makers ought to put a small battery like the button type battery used to retain system info on an iMac onto the SSD. If power was lost that could safely let the controller do whatever it needs to do to stop damage/erasure from occurring.

I don't know it this has already been mentioned somewhere in this lengthy thread but check out the two paragraphs just above the NAND Configurations chart in this review. The threat of power loss is recognized (at least by Micron) and steps are taken to ameliorate the problem.

FatMac>MacPro wrote:

 

R.K.Orion wrote:

 

...Common sense would tell me that SSD makers ought to put a small battery like the button type battery used to retain system info on an iMac onto the SSD. If power was lost that could safely let the controller do whatever it needs to do to stop damage/erasure from occurring.

I don't know it this has already been mentioned somewhere in this lengthy thread but check out the two paragraphs just above the NAND Configurations chart in this review. The threat of power loss is recognized (at least by Micron) and steps are taken to ameliorate the problem.

Which is sort of an acknowledgement that the power loss problem is quite real. They wouldn't be doing that if it was fictitious, fabricated, or "just doesn't happen" as some would have you think.

ThomasB2010 wrote:

 

FatMac>MacPro wrote:

 

R.K.Orion wrote:

 

...Common sense would tell me that SSD makers ought to put a small battery like the button type battery used to retain system info on an iMac onto the SSD. If power was lost that could safely let the controller do whatever it needs to do to stop damage/erasure from occurring.

I don't know it this has already been mentioned somewhere in this lengthy thread but check out the two paragraphs just above the NAND Configurations chart in this review. The threat of power loss is recognized (at least by Micron) and steps are taken to ameliorate the problem.

 

Which is sort of an acknowledgement that the power loss problem is quite real. They wouldn't be doing that if it was fictitious, fabricated, or "just doesn't happen" as some would have you think.

The problem of power loss with storage devices is real for both HD's and SSD's but I'm not sure that the results would routinely be catastrophic. My point was that data loss could be expected with power loss and at least some SSD manufacturers were taking steps to prepare for it. Indeed, I'd expect the results would be better with an SSD given both the speed of operation and the fact that there's no platter that needs to be kept spinning to complete in-progress writes.

FatMac>MacPro wrote:

 

The problem of power loss with storage devices is real for both HD's and SSD's but I'm not sure that the results would routinely be catastrophic. My point was that data loss could be expected with power loss and at least some SSD manufacturers were taking steps to prepare for it. Indeed, I'd expect the results would be better with an SSD given both the speed of operation and the fact that there's no platter that needs to be kept spinning to complete in-progress writes.

And some users have enough sense to use a battery powered UPS to protect their entire computer from power line issues, which extend to more than just power loss, it's a simple and cheap safeguard, widely available at reasonable prices.

Csound1 wrote:

 

And some users have enough sense to use a battery powered UPS to protect their entire computer from power line issues...

Which is what I do for both Macs and external drives, and the router. The investment in both the equipment and the configuration makes the UPS essential IMHO too.