Unless you’ve purposely purchased a solid-state drive (SSD) built for an enterprise server, you’ve got a consumer SSD — and given that enterprise SSDs are significantly more expensive than consumer models, that’s a safe bet for the vast majority of...

Firmware corruption can brick your solid-state drive (SSD) by damaging its internal operating instructions. Without functional firmware, the drive can’t effectively communicate with your computer, and your data becomes inaccessible.  Fortunately, SSD firmware corruption is usually treatable — but the...

NVMe drives are fast, but the technology that powers their performance also makes data recovery a significant challenge. The difficulty stems from the NVMe protocol itself, its direct connection to your computer’s processor, and the complex, proprietary ways drive controllers...

You can significantly extend the life of your Solid-State Drive (SSD) by managing its storage capacity, ensuring it operates at a cool temperature, and keeping its firmware up to date. In this article, we’ll explain why those practices are effective...

If your computer suddenly stops recognizing your Solid-State Drive (SSD), the cause can range from a simple loose cable to a critical internal failure.  This checklist will guide you through a basic troubleshooting process for an undetected SSD. We’ll cover...

The controller is the brain of your solid-state drive (SSD). It is responsible for critical tasks like translating data locations, managing wear on the memory cells, correcting errors, and performing garbage collection. When an SSD controller fails, you can’t simply...

The single most important step to take when a solid-state drive (SSD) fails is to immediately power it down and physically disconnect it from the computer.  We’ll explain why in a moment — but if you’re having SSD issues, we...

The Flash Translation Layer (FTL) is a sophisticated software system running on your solid state drive (SSD) controller that acts as a translator. Its primary job is to map the logical addresses your computer uses to the actual physical locations...

A recent pair of Windows security updates may cause data loss for some users.  The updates, KB5063878 and KB5062660, appear to impact computers with solid state drives (SSDs). KB5063878, which was released on August 12, 2025, seems linked to more...

In an earlier article, we discussed a novel scam utilizing Seagate hard drives: Sellers were marketing used Exos hard drives as brand-new units, in some cases modifying the S.M.A.R.T. parameters to display lower runtime hours. The scam has spread,...