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22 February 2019  John Weaver  Senior Program Developer
 

Summary
Now, SSD has been widely used in our computer and other aspects. Comparing with traditional HDD, SSD takes the advantages of a better transmission speed, low power consumption and convenience. And SSD has been taken into consideration when users choose hard disk. How long does SSD last? This passage will focus on introducing the type of SSD, how to expend the life span of SSD and how to choose a second-hand SSD.



SSDgu2

Part 1: Introduction of SSD

SSD, shorts for solid state drive, is a type of hard disk that made of solid-state flash memory, flash controller and DRAM chip. And the connector standard, functions, usages, shape and size are similar to traditional hard disk.

 

Types of SSD:

The storage media of SSD could be divided into 2 different types: one uses Flash memory as storage media while the other uses DRAM as storage media.

a. Flash Memory: SSD like IDEFLASHS DISK, Serial ATA Flash Disk are uses Flash memory chip to be the storage media. It can be in different shapes and size. Like hard disk in laptop, micro hard disk, memory card, USB stick. These kinds of SSD are portable and convenience. Besides, it can provide data inside with a better security because even power shortage happens, data inside will be safe. It can suitable for home and business users.

b.DRAM Memory:SSD with DRAM memory is not so popular among users. Its design is similar to traditional hard disk. Users can even set the volume settings and mange the SSD which is with DRAM memory on most computer system. Such SSD provides industrial standard PCI and FC connector to users connect the server or PC.

After getting some basic information of SSD, we will get more about the life span of SSD and how to test and expand its life span.

Part 2: How to Extend the Life Span of SSD

How long does SSD last? In this part, we are going to introduce the life span of SSD and how to calculate and extend the life span.

1. The Type and Life Span of the Flash Memory in SSD

The life span of the SSD depends on the write cycles and data written. Generally, the size of data written could be calculated in TB or PB. For write cycle, it could reach 10000 to 100000 times on the basis of the storage type. For professional storage type in SSD, the write cycle could reach over 1000000. The life span of SSD could probably last 5 to 10 years. Anyway, You’ll probably upgrade your entire computer before your SSD fails, if the SSD does not suffer from damage or quality problem.

Three types of SSD flash storages are available: Single Level Cell (SLC), Multi Level Cell (MLC) and Triple Level Cell (TLC). We will introduce their difference below.

① SLC = Single-Level Cell which stores one bit in each cell. And it has a best transmission speed and longest life span. The write cycle of SLC could be expected to be about 100000. However, it is the most expensive type of NAND storage, which could be 3 times of the price of MLC.

② MLC = Multi-Level Cell which stores two bit in each cell. And it has a lower production cost with a lower useful life and decreased reliability. The write cycle of MLC is about 3000 to 10000 times.

③ TLC = Triple Level Cell which stores three bits per cell. TLC flash is the least expensive of the bunch with comparatively lowest performance and less read/write cycles which is just about 500 times.

2. How to Calculate the Life Span of SSD and SSHD

Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD) is the mixture of both HDD and SSD. In theory, the life span of SSHD will be longer than HDD and SSD.
Here, we are going to detect the life span of the hard disk with CrystalDiskInfo.
Download and launch CrystalDiskInfo and we will take one SSD produced by Western Digital for testing. And we can see that the life span and other factors of the SSD. Actually, the life span of SSD depends on the total amount of data written in the NAND.
normal disk in crystaldiskinfo

3. How to Extend the Life Span of SSD

Approach 1: Enable TRIM Command

TRIM command can improve the write and read performance of SSD. As a result, the life span of SSD will be extended. Generally, Windows 7 or later version will enable the Trim function in default. But how can we check it?

Step 1: Enter CMD in the search box and click “Command Prompt” in the search result. Right click it and select “Run as administrator”.
run command prompt as administrator in start menu
Step 2: Enter the following command “fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify”. If the feedback is “0”, the TRIM function is enabled.

If it is 1, the TRIM function is not activated. Please update the driver and system patch.

fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify
Approach 2: Do not Process the Defragmentation in SSD

Defragmentation will relocating and optimizing the noncontiguous fragments of data inside the hard disk to reduce the data access time. However, SSD does not have moving parts. As a result, it can access to target data regardless of where data is stored on the drive. And defragmentation will make the SSD reads and writes frequently and shorten its life span. So, please do to process the defragmentation in SSD.

Approach 3: Shutdown Windows Search and Superfetch

These two services are suitable for HDD. They will make some prepare works before we search or run the software for better performance. However, it is totally not necessary for SSD. It will increase the read/write time rather than getting a better performance. So, it’d better to turn it off.

Step 1: Enter “Service” in the search box and click it. Press “Enter”.
enter service in search box
Step 2: Find “Windows Search” and “SuperFetch”. Right click and select “Properties”. Select “Disable” in “Startup” and click “OK”.
disable windows search in services

Part 3: What will Happen when the SSD Come to End

Sign 1: Bad blocks

HDD will get bad sectors when it comes to end while SSD will have bad blocks. Once SSD gets bad blocks, it will take longer time to read or save some files. And finally, you may receive the error message that the operation fails.

Common error messages you may receive if SSD gets bad blocks:

“Can not read/write files to SSD correctly”, “System files need to be repair”, software get freeze or corrupted when you want to get access to large files or run slowly, etc.

Sign 2: Files can not be accessed

2 serious problems we will encounter are:

① Data written in will be denied if system find bad blocks in SSD

② Data saved in bad blocks will be denied to access.

failed to save files
Sign 3: System files need to be repaired

If you receive the notification like the following image, it could be caused by the bad blocks in SSD or the connector.

0xc0000098 boot error in english
Sign 4: System keeps crash when start

If your system keeps crash in boot process even you press the reset button, the hard disk could come to end.

system keep crash
Sign 5: Disk becomes read-only

If you find your disk turns to be read-only without setting, and deny any written in operation, it could means that the life span of your SSD come to end. But you can still get access to the saved files under such situation.

ssd become read only

Part 4: How to Choose a Better Second-hand SSD

1. Check the warranty of the SSD

More and more problems like corruption or connection failures may happen over time. So, it is necessary to pay attention to the warranty of SSD. The warranty of most SSD we purchased are 3 years while some are 5 or 10 years.

2. Whether the second-hand SSD is with purchasing voucher

The start time of the warranty will start on the date that the SSD sold if you have a purchasing voucher. If you do not get the purchasing voucher, the warranty date will start on the basis of the production date on the label.

3. The status of the SSD

It is necessary to get detailed information about the SSD if you want to purchase. Especially for SSD with limited lifespan, it is necessary to check the Information like writing cycles, power-on hours, power cycle count. We can ask the seller to provide these information and check it after receiving the SSD. Such information could be found with CrystalDiskInfo.

4.The appearance of SSD

The appearance of SSD could influence the warranty of the SSD. Manufacturers may not provide after-sales service to SSD with damaged appearance. Some even will not provide services to SSD if the tag on SSD gets damaged. Detailed requirement could be get on the official website of the SSD.

Part 5: Migrate System to New SSD with Everything Reserved

When we need to replace a new SSD and want to reserved everything in the original SSD, it is recommended to make replacement with professional system migration software – Renee Becca.

This software can help you migrate entire Windows system to SSD. Software and system configuration will be migrated to SSD at the same time. Besides, automatic 4K alignment can help you get the best performance of the SSD.

TipsBeing a professional system migration and disk clone software, Renee Becca also supports to clone entire disks including system to a new one. Also, users can clone the system to another parititon with Renee Becca. More functions like data backup and restore can help you manage data in your hard disks, partitions and folders in a better way.
download

Step 1: Install Renee Becca and connect target SSD to computer. Right click “Computer” to launch Computer management. Check the connection status of the SSD.
check connection of new ssd
Step 2: Launch Renee Becca. Click “Clone” function. Then click “System Redeploy”
select system redeploy function in renee becca
Step 3:  Select “Target SSD” in the pop up window. Click “Redeploy” to process the system migration.
select destination to migrate system
Attention1. Once system migration processed, all data inside the SSD will be erased. Please backup the SSD if you have important data inside.
2. After migration finished, please change the boot order in BIOS to make SSD as the first one to boot. You can refer to the computer or motherboard manual for about how to change the boot order.