SSD Dying?

AnteCantelope

I've got an SSD that's about 1 year old, and recently it's been doing a disk check around 2-3 times per week. Every time it runs the check finds corrupt indices, files without indices, and a bunch of other stuff. It's not the same thing every time either.

Does this sound like a dying SSD? My other thought was virus, but I've run full scans with MBAM, MSE, TDSSKiller, and Hitman Pro, and they've all turned up clean.

The SSD is a Corsair 120GB Force Series CSSD-F120GB2-BRKT.

Thanks

GnomeTank

Yes, sounds like your SSD is dying. It's likely your NAND is starting to go. How careful are you with your SSD? For instance, I setup my machine very carefully to keep writes/deletes to a bare minimum on my SSD. So my Users directory is on my spindle driver (with symlinks from the standard C: location to the D : location just in case), I install almost everything non-OS, non-performance critical to D :\Program Files...\ instead of C:, etc.

SSD's and their NAND have lifespans, and those are usually measured in writes/deletes, so keeping your SSD as read-only as possible will extend it's lifetime.

Most SSD's have backup NAND though, so while your SSD is probably on it's way out, it could be months or a year before you start hitting a real breakage point.

AnteCantelope

Poop. I haven't been that careful, I basically install programs onto C and store files and music on D. So any programs that save stuff, like games, will be writing to C.

If I have to get a new one, what's a good brand currently? Are Corsair still one of the best?

And at least now I know it's probably not a virus.

GnomeTank

I have a Corsair, and I like it so far. I don't think they are a bad brand. Really an SSD is a combination of it's NAND + it's controller, and almost every non-Intel SSD uses one of two controller (Marvell or SandForce), and both are good. Even Intel uses the Marvell controller in one of their SSD lines. Pinning down the NAND used is a bit tougher, but any of the top name brand SSD's are going to use "decent" NAND.

If you get a new one, when you re-install Windows, I recommend you follow this guide: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/124198-user-profiles-create-move-during-windows-7-installation.html

It will walk you through using Windows Audit Mode to move your C:\Users, C:\ProgramData, et al to your other drive, at the OS level. In addition, you'll want to create symlinks from C:\Users, C:\ProgramData, etc to wherever they are on the new drive, just in case you install or use a program that misbehaves. This can be done with the windows mklink command.

This is how I setup my machine, and it's kept my writes to the C driver to a bare minimum. I keep the OS, one or two games I play a lot and my development tools on the C drive, and that's it.

e: I can't believe how many times I said "driver" instead of "drive" in that post. This is what happens when you post in a hurry.

AnteCantelope

Thanks for the link, I knew there was something about setting up Windows 7 to work better with SSDs but never looked hard enough.

I've been taking system images as part of my backups, so I was just planning to restore from an image, rather than reinstall. I see there's a method to do this on an existing install, should I have any issues with that, do you think?

GnomeTank

AnteCantelope wrote:

Thanks for the link, I knew there was something about setting up Windows 7 to work better with SSDs but never looked hard enough.

I've been taking system images as part of my backups, so I was just planning to restore from an image, rather than reinstall. I see there's a method to do this on an existing install, should I have any issues with that, do you think?

Never tried it, so I don't feel comfortable saying yes or no. I've only done it the fresh install way. If others have had success, it's worth a shot.

Alecthar

I would do a few things. Make sure the SATA controller the drive is on is operating in AHCI mode. Backup any data you want to be sure you don't lose, then update your motherboard BIOS, then the firmware on the SSD.

If this doesn't resolve the issues, be aware that Corsair has a really great reputation for customer service. I'm pretty sure the SSD warranty is 3 years, so you should be able to send the broken drive to Corsair for an RMA and a replacement. Obviously there's some inconvenience there, but if it leaves you with a better working PC, I'd say it's worth it.

AnteCantelope

Alecthar wrote:

I would do a few things. Make sure the SATA controller the drive is on is operating in AHCI mode. Backup any data you want to be sure you don't lose, then update your motherboard BIOS, then the firmware on the SSD.

If this doesn't resolve the issues, be aware that Corsair has a really great reputation for customer service. I'm pretty sure the SSD warranty is 3 years, so you should be able to send the broken drive to Corsair for an RMA and a replacement. Obviously there's some inconvenience there, but if it leaves you with a better working PC, I'd say it's worth it.

I like to think I know stuff about computers, but you're talking way over my head here. How do I do any of that?

It's definitely in warranty, and I checked with the store today, but they said it can take "several weeks" to be replaced, and since current SSDs are twice as fast I'm wondering if now might be a good time for an upgrade.

Thanks for your help.