SSD storage is more popular than ever, so many of
you may have upgraded the old HDD in your laptop or desktop to another with the
same storage capacity or greater SSD quality. Even some computer manufacturers
in recent years have started to mainly include SSD units in their devices, and
the reason as you know is the faster performance and limited power consumption
compared to HDD, and the mechanism of these units helps to keep the data from
being damaged from exposure to shock.
.webp "Tips to preserve the life of the SSD in your device")
However, SSD storages still suffer from serious
vulnerabilities that may lead to data corruption forever, so you must be
careful and take some things into account while using them. Some may already
know how to deal with the SSD with caution, but for those who do not know, this
article is directed specifically to them, as we review simple but effective
tips in maintaining the life of the SSD for as long as possible.
Before we get down to the tips, let's talk a little
bit about SSD storage and its life span. And in case you did not know, the SSD
is just a form of flash storage, that is, it relies on NAND Flash storage, such
as those found in USB flash drives and smartphones, unlike old HDDs, which
depend on storing data on multiple disks and a needle that performs the data
capture function. and transfer it to the computer. In simplified terms, the HDD
contains moving parts and is therefore called a "mechanical hard
disk", while the SSD contains only an electronic board that holds the NAND
Flash chips, and therefore all reading and writing operations are done
electronically, and this explains the reason for its high speed compared to the
HDD.
When it comes to the lifespan of an SSD
specifically, two terms come in very important: TBW and DWPD, both of which are
related to the life expectancy of an SSD.
The first term, TBW (short for Terabytes Written)
refers to the amount of data written to the hard drive in terabytes, or in
simpler terms, the amount of data of all shapes and sizes that an SSD can write
over its lifetime. For example, if you find that the manufacturer expresses the
lifespan of the SSD by saying “500 TBW”, this means that 500 TB of data can be
written over the course of your use of the hard, this has nothing to do with
the actual size of the hard drive, which may be, for example, 240 GB, but
rather the size of the data The accumulated hard drive can store for the
duration of its use before it needs to be replaced.
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The second term, DWPD (for Drive Writes Per Day)
means the number of times a hard drive can be completely filled per day during
the warranty period, a method some companies also use to express the longevity
of an SSD. For example, if we assume that the total storage capacity of the SSD
is 200 GB and the warranty period is 5 years, then if the value of DWPD = 1,
this means that 200 GB can be stored at once on the hard drive every day for
the next five years before you have to replace it.
Each manufacturer determines the warranty period of
the SSD according to these two terms. The DWPD is calculated by dividing 1000
(the minimum amount of accumulated data that an SSD can write) ÷ Warranty
period x 365 days x SSD capacity. The result is the DWPD value that expresses
the life span of the hard drive. You can usually find the TBW or DWPD value listed
on the hard drive or the specification page on the company's official website.
In general, you'll get much more life from SSDs
than you'll get from older HDDs. However, there are a few things you can do to
make sure you get the most out of your SSD.
Avoid exposing the SSD to excessive heat
SSD units are more durable in high temperature
conditions than HDD, for example, Samsung SSD 870 Evo has a temperature range
in use from 0 to 70 ° C, in contrast, Western Digital Black HDD has a
temperature range from 5 to 55 degrees Celsius. And in the case of not being
used, we find that the hard disk of the SSD bears up to 40 degrees Celsius or a
maximum of 85 degrees Celsius, while the HDD can withstand temperatures between
40 degrees below zero to 70 degrees Celsius.
This may be good news for users, but unfortunately
in the long run, the SSD's exposure to high temperatures will cause some
problems that will affect its lifespan. Changes in temperature are difficult
for all electronic devices, not just SSDs. Therefore, using the disk in a
healthy and moderate climate will have a positive impact in extending its
lifespan, and will affect its performance and ability to keep data without
being damaged.
Mostly, this point is not important for ordinary
users in homes and companies who perform read and write operations on the hard
on a regular and daily basis, but for people whose nature of work necessitates
storing a lot of important data on the hard for a long time, or using the SSD
as an external hard to save For backups, it is important to be careful, as
leaving the hard drive unused in a medium that is too hot or too cold can
reduce the disk's ability to hold data, so it is important to keep it in a
place with good and moderate ventilation.
Do not fill the entire SSD space with data
If the SSD you bought has a small storage capacity,
there is a high chance that it will fill up with data after a short period of
use, and this is one of the things that you should not do with an SSD hard as
you should leave some free space or else the writing speed will decrease
dramatically . This may come as a surprise, but that's how SSDs work.
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And to make it clear to you, the SSD divides the
stored data into multiple sectors or blocks, and when there is a large free
space, this allows the hard to store new data easily and quickly on the empty
blocks, but if the hard drive is close to full, this will lead to a significant
decline in the performance and life of the hard drive The SSD is forced to fill
in the blanks in the blocks that are already filled to store new data, which is
a cumbersome process. It first reads these filled spaces and then finds the
empty spaces through them and then writes them and then collects them in blocks
again, and this of course requires additional time, which reduces the speed of
the hard drive .
For this reason, manufacturers recommend activating
the OP (Over Provisioning) feature that reserves 7 to 10% of the total size of
the hard drive, so that even if it gets full with files, there is still unused
space; This improves the performance of the hard drive in the long run and
prolongs its life, or at least achieves a balance between the performance,
speed and space of the hard drive.
Do not store large files and do not always need them
The ideal file types to store on SSDs are the ones
you need to access frequently and quickly such as operating system files,
software, games, and other work-related files.
But for media files such as photos, movies, and
music collection, it is recommended to store them on a second HDD. If you are
using a laptop, consider getting an external storage only for your media.
The idea here is that speed means nothing for this
type of file and will take up a lot of precious space from your SSD. So,
whether you don't have enough space on your hard drive or want to keep it
efficient for as long as possible, store the files you don't frequent on
another hard drive. HDDs are still a very good choice in terms of providing
large storage capacities at a low cost.
Never think about formatting a hard drive
Formatting was usually important when you decided
to sell your old HDD as you need to get rid of all the stored files at once.
But as you probably know, the data is not actually
deleted from the HDD, but the file is marked as deleted on the operating system
but still exists on the hard sectors, that's why deleted files can be recovered
again by recovery programs like Recuva.
To prevent this from happening, professional people
use discs like DEBAN that help format HDDs and overwrite deleted files to
ensure they are never recovered again.
On the other hand, TRIM-enabled SSDs delete files
instantly. In other words, when you delete a file, Windows informs the SSD that
the file has been deleted with the TRIM command and as a result, it is removed
and completely erased from the hard drive.
So, you should never use hard disk formatting
software if you're dealing with an SSD as it degrades your hard drive by
performing unnecessary write cycles.
Never think about formatting an SSD
Take care of your SSD as much as you can to protect your files!
If you take care of your SSD properly, you can
expect great performance from it for a very long time - perhaps even longer
than other hardware components in your computer. Things you might not think
about like high temperatures, frequent power outages, and storage filling up to
its last byte can cause problems, both with the integrity of the storage and
its overall lifespan. Keep in mind that there are signs that clearly indicate
the poor efficiency of the SSD and serve as a warning buzzer for the purchase
of another hard drive.
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Among these signs, for example, the inability to
write new data or even open files stored on the hard drive, the frequent
appearance of the blue screen in Windows, or the sudden collapse of the
operating system. So pay close attention to the few tips mentioned and you will
be able to use the SSD for a long time in the future.
Finally: We hope that this article has succeeded in
answering all your questions about how to maintain an SSD disk and how to
extend its life. All storage disks are very important and contain all the
important data and files for each user and therefore effort must be made to
preserve them and not expose them to any potential problems, so we hope that
our article will be the best guide for you in that regard.