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Author Topic: SSD failure rate  (Read 17277 times)

kitz

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SSD failure rate
« on: February 24, 2014, 08:33:37 PM »

I'd appreciate others thoughts on SSD drives.

My 18 month old OCZ vertex4 has just died on me.   I don't think I've ever has a drive fail so totally and so suddenly without warning before     Prior to this weekend I was pleased at how fast it was, but now I'm unsure about the possible trade off between speed and reliability.


Obviously I'm going to have to replace the drive with something, and having only just got in, not sure yet what to go for.

I have tried all the usual stuff, swapping cables ports etc, but the device just isn't recognised even in the bios..  And I get bootmgr is missing (obviously) when attempting to boot the pc.

There was no ore warning that it was about to go...  I was attempting to transfer some data on to my pc via USB, when everything just ground to a craaaawl, eventually the pc locked, so I'm assuming it perhaps was trying to write to a bad sector?

Not impressed if they only last 18months :(


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// tired and grumpy Monday kitz who just wanted to get home ASAP, but infuriated that all the roads around here that sprung up this week with 20mph speed limits...  Including major A roads...  What a stupid idea...  Grrrr...   That made my day... Not.   So I'm a bit PCless right now and no idea when it will get fixed :(
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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2014, 09:12:20 PM »

I'd appreciate others thoughts on SSD drives.

Have to say the only disk drive failures I have ever had were  couple of Seagates in the Linux server.   But the SMART monitoring tools caught them both in the bud, warning me of a sudden and huge increase in bad sector counts.  I had time to shop around for the right alternatives and await their arrivals, by which time the ailing seagates were still soldiering on so the impact was minimal.  I guess the advantage maybe is that HDD tends to be mechanical failure, and mechanical failure tends to be a bit more progressive and thus predictable?

Quote
// tired and grumpy Monday kitz who just wanted to get home ASAP, but infuriated that all the roads around here that sprung up this week with 20mph speed limits...  Including major A roads...  What a stupid idea...  Grrrr...

Ah now, even more sympathy!  I am convinced that these 20 limits have sprung up in recognition of the perceived 'fact' that 'everybody drives at 10mph over the limit.  So to get the traffic to slow down to a quite reasonable 30mph, they impose a 20mph limit.  Trouble is, some of us actually obey speed limits - it's one of the few good driving habits I've had since a teenager.  So now, to stand by my principles, I have to drive around like a twit at 20mph, being tailgated by bicycles, even though I'm convinced nobody seriously expects me to do so.    >:(
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roseway

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2014, 09:21:50 PM »

That's really bad luck. SSDs are supposed to be much more reliable now than they were when they first came out. There are some special considerations in formatting and mounting SSDs, but I have to believe that Windows would conform with these requirements.

About 6 months ago I went over to an SSD (a Plextor PX-256M5Pro) on my main PC so I'm crossing my fingers now.
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Ronski

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2014, 10:15:21 PM »

I've had quite a few ssd's over the years, a few have had problems,  but have never totally failed. My Crucial M4 doesn't like waking from sleep, takes about 60 seconds to respond. I had problems with an OCZ,  can't remember what it was though. The only SSD drives I've had that have been totally reliable are Intel drives, and they can be had for very good prices. I replaced my M4 with an Intel drive and I've had no problems since, the M4 is still in the system but not the OS drive.

It would be worth trying the drive in a different port, with a different cable, but I suspect you know that.
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kitz

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2014, 10:33:34 PM »

Cheers yep. 

I've swapped it's drive bay to where a seagate drive is, and plugged the seagate into where the OCZ was.  The bios can't see the OCZ drive in either bay,  but it can find the seagate in where the OCZ normally lives, so I guess that counts out any cable or port issues.

I've just realised the vertex 4 is supposed to come with a three year warranty, so I guess it's see what SCAN say now.   Even if they RMI it I could be without a pc for a while.    :(   I don't have any spare pcs or drives these days, otherwise I could perhaps install my copy of windows on a spare drive fr a temp measure...  Not even sure how that would affect windows licensing either. 
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kitz

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2014, 10:46:23 PM »

>>>>it's one of the few good driving habits I've had since a teenager.  So now, to stand by my principles, I have to drive around like a twit at 20mph, being tailgated by bicycles, even though I'm convinced nobody seriously expects me to do <<<

I was a bit unsure what to do because I have a taxi right up my arse obviously non too pleased either,  tbh I did go up to about 28 at one point, under pressure from taxi which obviously wanted a free ride in my boot.   They recently reduced the speed on a dual carriage way from national speed limit to 40 and 50 and even 30 at some points.  Police were having a field day when they did that.   I'm sure this is a backward step and makes for impatient drivers.  Just say I wasn't happy driving home, one. at the slow progress. 2 with the taxi up my arse. 3. Feeling under pressure cause I felt like I was holding a stream of traffic up by doing 22mph.  :(


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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2014, 12:01:14 AM »

Apologies for focusing on the lesser of your worries (speed limits) Kitz but I'm reminded of a 30 limit in a nearby village that was recently extended about three quarters a mile into what used to be National limit 60.   The Police strongly opposed the plans on the grounds that

it 'devalued' speed limits, thus eroding respect for the law
there was no evidence of safety risks with the old limit
they would have no resources that could justifiably be diverted to enforce the new limit

But the county council were allowed to ignore the police and went ahead anyway, reminding the police that enforcement was their (the police's) problem and not the council's.   We now have absolute mayhem.   Most days I have to choose between speeding myself or putting up with traffic scorching past me as it's a road with good visibility and easy overtaking.   Once in a while there is a camera van and, for once, those captured speeding have just a little sympathy from me. >:(
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echo92

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #7 on: February 25, 2014, 04:07:47 AM »

Hi all,

Long time lurker and thought it's time to finally sign up :)

Kitz, it sounds like the SSD controller chip - interfacing the SSD flash memory with the computer - has bitten the dust, either that or one of the flash chips has failed. In the former case which is more likely, I'd imagine you'd be able to get back the data - though sounds like a job for data recovery services :( I recall OCZ has had a reputation for reliability issues and would second Ronski's suggestion for Intel drives being reliable and speedy. 18 months is a very short time for failure admittedly!

Luckily, it looks like the warranty (link: http://ocz.com/consumer/support/warranty) for OCZ Vertex drives is being honoured by Toshiba when they bought out OCZ late last year (after OCZ went bust), at any rate Scan should replace it under RMA. As for re-installing Windows, it's a pain in the proverbial, fingers crossed the internet activation will behave - else it's the automated activation line (sigh, a lot of number entering for about 10 minutes... why, Microsoft??)

Edited for extra linky-ness
« Last Edit: February 25, 2014, 04:26:55 AM by echo92 »
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Berrick

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2014, 05:52:28 AM »

@kitz
Quote
I guess it's see what SCAN say now
They will inform you that its down to you to follow OCZ'ed rma policy as the extended warranty is "a value add" provided by the manufacture.
 
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Ronski

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2014, 06:28:01 AM »

You shouldn't have any problem reinstalling Windows,  even if it's an oem copy a new hard drive is not considered a new PC, at worse you may have to phone, but it's all automated.

I use Acronis which takes regular backups of my entire OS drive so I can just image that back to a new drive if need be. I also have a Windows Home Server which takes daily back ups, but I don't have much faith in that. For the cost of Acronis it's well worth it.
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kitz

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #10 on: February 25, 2014, 11:59:19 AM »

Thanks guys, I had a reply to each if you, but as sometimes happens when using the ipad, I lost the whole post when adding the link...   I'll redo later..

I'm struggling a bit with revues etc and I never normally shop for anything on a mobile device...  So have I perhaps missed something with this deal of the day on ebuyer

http://www.ebuyer.com/447256-kingston-240gb-v300-ssdnow-2-5inch-ssd-sv300s37a-240g

Budget I'm afraid is only about 100, so I thought I may be stuck with a 120gb until I saw that. 
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roseway

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #11 on: February 25, 2014, 12:54:18 PM »

On paper that Kingston device looks good, and it has a 3-year warranty. My only slight concern is that we don't know who the actual manufacturer is. Another (slightly more expensive) one you might consider is this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-250GB-Basic-Solid-State/dp/B00E391OX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393332710&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+ssd
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les-70

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2014, 01:00:54 PM »

  I did a big review search and intel seemed the most reliable ssds. Reliability is more important than speed and most ssd offer a great speed boost, my intel has been fine for two years and the lifetime is still estimated as 100% by the intel software.  I have not done a major  search but

http://www.dabs.com/products/intel-120gb-530-series-sata-6gb-s-2-5--20nm-mlc-7mm-ssd-oem-92N8.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc%20product%20search&utm_content=Q200&utm_campaign=Components%20and%20Storage%20-%20Hard%20Drives%20-%20Internal%20Hard%20Drives&origin=pla

 looked good if you could cope with only 120GB, if not

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/solid-state-drive-ssd/intel-solid-state-drive-530-series-solid-state-drive-240-gb-internal-2-5/21751224-a.html#merch=1&srcid=11270&nopopup=1

  This may break your budget but would give you 240gb
« Last Edit: February 25, 2014, 04:24:36 PM by les-70 »
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Ronski

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2014, 01:12:20 PM »

I've just built new PCs for work, this is what I fitted.


http://www.ebuyer.com/437589-intel-180gb-335-series-ssd-ssdsc2ct180a4k5 £105, I'd rather go for that than a 240GB Kingston.
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kitz

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Re: SSD failure rate
« Reply #14 on: February 25, 2014, 05:35:35 PM »

Thank you everyone for the comments, I've decided to go with the samsung one Eric posted.   Unfortunately the intel one just stretched my budget too far :(
The Samsung was only a couple of quid more than I wanted to pay, but from what I read the samsung drives seemed to come out with good reports by everyone, so it should hopefully be ok.

Sorry for not responding straight away..  It's taken me the best part of two hours to place an order and complete the rma form with toshiba (after much cursing and swearing).
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