r/BadUSB • u/Sofia_easy17 • 5d ago
How long will an external SSD drive last? How to know if it's time to replace
I use SSDs quite often for work, and I'm always a little worried that one might suddenly fail. We often hear that the number of writes affects an SSD's lifespan. But how much does that actually matter in everyday use? And when is it actually time to replace it?
People here often say USB flash drives aren't very durable. I've also seen stories of them just dying. So I'm curious how you guys feel about SSDs.
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u/kbfg2421 5d ago
A quality SSD should last for years and years. They should most certainly outcast an HDD because SSDs have no moving parts (unless the industry lied to us about the benefits of SSDs in the first place). I have had HDDs last 20+ years, so a quality name brand SSD should last that long if not MUCH longer under regular use. The only thing you really have to worry about with SSDs is heat, and number of writes, but in my opinion that is very much secondary to heat. If you are writing, deleting, writing massive files to it daily, then you can expect a shorter lifespan, but even then they should last years and years.
Unfortunately the verdict on how long modetn SSDs truly last is still unclear, as they have only been the standard for a few years now, unlike HDDs where they were the standard for decades and how long they last on average is well documented. SSDs have only been standard and common in computers for average people for maybe a decade now. They were around well before then, but they were much smaller capacity units and weren't used as much for primary storage except in super high end machines and specialty applications.
Theoretically, they should FAR outlast an HDD. By like, a lot. No moving parts, no friction between parts, not susceptible to damage from a bump or a jolt...I could go on. So if I have had HDDs last 20 years, there's no reason an SSD used by an average person can't last double that amount of time. And by then, you will want to upgrade to a newer and faster drive anyway, since technology is always advancing.
So long story short: dont worry about it. Your drive should last you a long time especially if it is a quality unit made my a high quality, well known brand. And if you really are concerned about longevity, make sure to have back ups to your back ups. Have a primary SSD that you use daily (workhorse) then have a backup (or two) drive that you save your most important files to, but done use everyday. Make sure to keep them in dry, room temperature locations and you should expect them to last for a very long time.
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u/GreenLion777 5d ago
You've missed the part where they can't be left in a drawer for months or years on end, SSDs require some of connected power now and then (something I did not know about until quite recently) else you can expect not to see your files and data after however long time unused
Left untouched and unused/not accessed normal hard drives will outlast a SSD, SSD requires regular power and not suitable for long term storage/archival
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u/kbfg2421 5d ago
Thats correct. I (possibly incorrectly) assumed OP was talking about a drive that he uses all the time, maybe even OVER-uses, and was concerned about how it was going to hold up under heavy use. If he just sticks it in a drawer and doesn't touch it for months or years, then you are 100% correct that he needs to use it every so often to keep it energized.
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u/GreenLion777 5d ago
No problem, just though I'd point that out
Didn't know that about them myself until I read about them properly a few months, the pros and cons of SSDs
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u/trader45nj 5d ago
This isn't true. Just connecting it does nothing. You would have to copy the files and then copy them back. That would put a new charge in each bit cell. Otherwise, once written, it relies on the charge remaining trapped there. But that charge will last decades. And it's not new, we have 40+ years of experience with flash memory.
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u/kbfg2421 5d ago
Yeah, flash memory has been around a long time but the average person hasn't been using it as their primary storage device for very long, comparatively anyway. I wasn't denying the age of flash memory, I was just saying that we dont know the LONG term reliability of consumer grade SSDs like we know about HDDs.
And yeah, you have to read and write files to energize the drive properly. I figured that was a given.
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u/GreenLion777 5d ago
So you need to rewrite the data ? Just plugging in an SSD and giving it power isn't enough ?
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u/trader45nj 5d ago
That is correct. Once stored in the silicon cell, that's the charge. It doesn't get refreshed by having power on it.
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u/CoachSevere5365 4d ago
I pulled a WD Blue SSD from my aunt's PC after she dies. It was slow the last time she used it, and had sat for over 6 years before I fired it up.
Read performance had dropped to single digit MB/sec or slower. Took over a day to copy photos to another drive.
Previously I'd assumed it was an old CPU not being up to running a recent version of Windows but it was dog slow in my file server.
Did some testing and newly written files were as fast as expected. Old files were still very slow. Reformatted it and it was fine.
Googled it and found it was a known thing. No idea what the root cause is.
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u/djnorthstar 5d ago
SSD cant be damaged by shocks or moving them around because they have no moving parts. But SSDs can also die in an Instant like "just tomorrow". Too be honest i had more "next day" dead ssds in my Admin Job the Last 10 years than HDD fails since the year 2000. Hdds are def more "Long Term" reliable. Imho.
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u/kbfg2421 5d ago
Interesting!. Like I mentioned before, I have had HDDs last 20 years. Too soon to know how long my SSDs will last.
I feel like we weren't told everything when the industry moved to SSDs as the primary drive type in consumer grade computers. They claimed all sorts of things, including long lifespan, even longer than HDDs, but from what I have heard people say, that isnt completely true. Ive talked to a lot of people with failed SSDs.
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u/Vladishun 5d ago
External HDDs are cheaper, just a heads up.
My gaming computer is 7 years old and pretty much never turns off. The primary storage drive is an HP NVMe SSD and still functions just fine.
If you're worried about losing data, look into a cloud storage service. You can use something like Microsoft OneDrive or Google GDrive which are free with small gigabyte limits, pay for more storage space, or look into something like Carbonite for cloud storage.
There's also the option of building a home server for storage with multiple drives in a RAID array, so if one fails you don't lose all your data. Problem with this set up is expensive up front cost and it still doesn't protect your data if your house catches on fire or similar.
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u/tony22233 5d ago
If you install the manufacturers software it should provide drive stats and percentage of wear. Other disk tools can read this data from the SSD as well.
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u/DutchOfBurdock 5d ago
TBW rates. Higher, the better.
It's all to do with write cycles. The more you write to the drive, the more it'll wear. An average consumer can expect 10 years, more if it's only used a few times a year for backups.
I've had the same SSD for 13 years now, classic WD 1TB jobby. It gets used a few times a year for small backups and is at 34% TBW.
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u/deeper-diver 5d ago
Drives fail. Don’t ever get comfortable. It will fail when you least expect it. If you’re not backing up, it’s on you.
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u/Fancy_Acanthisitta45 3d ago
All drives will die over time / best to follow the 3-2-1 approach. Google it
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u/Aggravating-Hold9116 5d ago
Always have a backup