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Storing computer with SSD

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BT63
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Storing computer with SSD

#409005

Postby BT63 » May 3rd, 2021, 2:42 pm

I have a desktop computer which recently had its old hard drive replaced with SSD.

The computer has a strange life. It can be used a lot for several days in a row and then be unused (and disconnected from mains) for many months (it also needed a new coin-type battery when the SSD was fitted, probably because it spends so much time not connected to the mains).

I understand that the information on an SSD or other flash memory is in the form of a charge, which gradually fades, and over a long period of time can be lost.

Are the fairly long periods of inactivity of this computer (almost like being in storage) likely to cause problems with the SSD and data retention in the medium to long term?

If the SSD loses some of the charge during storage, does it replenish when connected to the mains again?

Would I be better bringing this SSD-equipped computer into more regular use and have a similar but old-hard-drive-equipped computer for the irregular use?

Cheers,
BT63

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Re: Storing computer with SSD

#409013

Postby Infrasonic » May 3rd, 2021, 3:25 pm


mc2fool
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Re: Storing computer with SSD

#409019

Postby mc2fool » May 3rd, 2021, 4:18 pm

BT63 wrote:I understand that the information on an SSD or other flash memory is in the form of a charge, which gradually fades, and over a long period of time can be lost.

"The truth is, yes, under disastrously unfortunate environmental conditions (we’re talking Biblical), your SSD could lose data retention just a few days after it’s pulled from your PC. It could also lose it immediately if you pulverized it with a sledgehammer or threw it in a vat of sulphuric acid—almost-as-likely scenarios. To the point: I’ve re-tasked SSDs after a couple of years of sitting on the shelf, and annoyingly—I still had to secure-erase them to get rid of the old data.

This is not to belittle the underlying message that non-volatile memory media isn’t forever, and in no way suitable for archiving. But panicking when you unplug the thing is unwarranted. SSDs are designed for speed and day-to-day use, but the amount of time they retain data when put on the shelf is measured in years, not days.
"

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2921590/death-and-the-unplugged-ssd-how-much-you-really-need-to-worry-about-ssd-reliability.html

BT63 wrote:Would I be better bringing this SSD-equipped computer into more regular use and have a similar but old-hard-drive-equipped computer for the irregular use?

Well, I'm puzzled as to why you chose to upgrade this PC's hard drive to an SSD, given its long periods of disuse, rather than your more regularly used PC, but either way, you do have a full system image backup of it (and your other PCs too) just in case the drive goes belly up for any reason, right? ;)

BT63
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Re: Storing computer with SSD

#409023

Postby BT63 » May 3rd, 2021, 4:33 pm

mc2fool wrote:I'm puzzled as to why you chose to upgrade this PC's hard drive to an SSD, given its long periods of disuse, rather than your more regularly used PC, but either way, you do have a full system image backup of it (and your other PCs too) just in case the drive goes belly up for any reason, right? ;)


This one arguably needed a new hard drive due to becoming very slow to load files and making odd rumbling/grinding noises.

Yes, I have backups, backups and more backups.

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Re: Storing computer with SSD

#409137

Postby servodude » May 4th, 2021, 1:18 am

I'd be more wary of an inactive HDD than an SSD

The flash memory in SSD can indeed suffer from bit rot through lack of use; it be avoided with a once a decade re-write
- the data can also often be recovered depending on the data encoding scheme used (you won't expect it to kill the whole drive at the same time)

An HDD is designed to spin and seek regularly; without this you run the risk of lubricants pooling, seizing mechanisms, stiction and a bunch of electro-mechanical issues
- as well as data fade on the platters and bit rot in the firmware controller
- given the nature of the beast when it fails, all of it fails and repairing them is bit of a lost (and very expensive) art

- sd


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