Yes, your Solid-State Drive (SSD) can and will eventually fail. No storage device is perfect — and while SSDs don’t have any moving parts (depending on how you define “moving parts,” if you want to get technical), it’s still susceptible to memory wear, electronic damage, and firmware bugs.
An SSD failure won’t be preceded by physical symptoms. The most common signs your SSD is in trouble are frequent file corruption errors, a sudden and dramatic drop in performance, system crashes (especially during boot-up), and the drive suddenly becoming “read-only.”
And while these symptoms can occur when data is still accessible, all SSDS can fail at any time without warning. If you’ve got important data on an SSD, keep at least two backups; one backup should be offsite (for example, on the cloud).
With that in mind, in today’s article, we’re going to review a few common early warning signs of SSD failure.
If you’ve lost data from an SSD, hard drive, or any other device, we’re here to help: Datarecovery.com provides risk-free evaluations for most types of media, and all of our data recovery services are supported by our no data, no charge guarantee. To get started, call 1-800-237-4200 or submit a ticket online.
Sign 1: Frequent File Corruption and “Bad Blocks”
This is a bit of an oversimplification, but file corruption essentially means that data has been altered from its “correct” state. It’s often the result of an interrupted write process, bit rot (data degradation over time), or bit flip (caused by failing flash cells or cosmic rays — yes, cosmic rays).
You’ll experience symptoms like:
- A file (like a photo or document) suddenly can’t be opened and is reported as corrupt.
- You try to save a file, and the system hangs, eventually returning an error.
- Files mysteriously disappear, or your operating system needs to “repair” the drive frequently.
Why this happens: This can occur due to bad blocks. An SSD is made of flash memory, which is organized into blocks. These blocks have a finite number of writes before they wear out and can no longer reliably store data. When a block goes bad, any data written to it becomes corrupt. While SSDs have systems to manage this, a sudden increase in bad blocks indicates the drive’s flash memory is reaching the end of its life, or that it’s not spreading the “wear” out across its cells in an appropriate way.
However, file corruption also occurs due to sudden software crashes, power outages, and operating system issues — and given that modern SSDs have fairly robust protection from memory wear, those other issues are far more likely to cause corrupt files. If you write data frequently and your drive is more than 5 years old, though, memory wear can start to become an issue.
Sign 2: Slow Read/Write Processes and Slow Software operation
If you notice a major, undeniable drop in performance, take it seriously.
Performance issues can occur for a variety of reasons, but if boot times go from 15 seconds to 2 minutes or file transfers start hanging at a few kilobytes per second, your SSD may be on its last legs.
Why this happens: This can be a sign of failing flash cells or, more frequently, a failing controller. The controller manages where data is stored. When it starts to fail, it may have to re-read data multiple times just to get a good copy, causing massive delays that you experience as system lag.
Once again, there are other reasons for performance problems. You should also make sure that you’re leaving enough free space to allow your SSD to manage read/write operations: The standard recommendation is to leave about 10-20% of your drive’s total capacity as free space.
While SSDs overprovision some space to make this less of an issue, it’s still a good practice (particularly if you’re regularly performing large file transfers).
Sign 3: Frequent Freezes and Boot Failures
If your computer now freezes randomly, especially when you try to save or open a file, your SSD could be the culprit.
The most serious version of this is a boot failure. You turn on your computer, and it either can’t find the operating system or it gets stuck in a “boot loop,” endlessly restarting. You might also see the Windows Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) or a macOS kernel panic that specifically mentions a storage or boot device error..
Why this happens: To boot up, the computer needs to read thousands of critical system files. If the drive is failing, it can’t provide one of these files, causing the entire system to halt or crash.
Sign 4: The Drive Suddenly Becomes “Read-Only”
You find that you can open and view your existing files, but you can’t save any new data. Any attempt to modify a file, save a new document, or even delete a file results in an error. Your drive has essentially locked itself down.
Why this happens: This is a built-in failsafe. When the SSD’s controller detects a critical, unrecoverable problem (often that it’s completely run out of healthy blocks to write to), it will intentionally put the drive into read-only mode. This is the drive’s last-ditch effort to protect the data that’s already on it, giving you a final chance to back it up before the drive fails completely.
What to Do Immediately If You Suspect Your SSD Is Failing
If you recognize any of these signs, the safest course of action is to contact a professional data recovery provider. Every moment the drive is powered on, you risk further data loss.
We recommend contacting a professional before attempting backup, since data recovery laboratories may be able image the drive prior to a total failure and restore your data at a relatively low cost. With that in mind, here’s an action plan for dealing with a failing SSD:
- Stop and Back Up (If You Can): Once again, we recommend working with professionals if you don’t have data backed up. If you’re intent on handling the issue yourself — or if the data is sort of important, but not irreplaceable — copy your most important files to an external drive or cloud storage.
- Try an External Enclosure: If your computer won’t boot, the drive might still be readable. Remove the SSD, place it in an external USB enclosure, and plug it into another healthy computer — just note that any attempt to operate the drive may cause data loss, so if you absolutely need the data, we don’t recommend trying an external enclosure.
- Attempt a Firmware Update. Some SSD issues are caused by firmware bugs, and updating the firmware might resolve the issue. Again, don’t attempt a firmware upgrade if you need data from the SSD! You should only use your SSD manufacturer’s firmware tools if you already have a backup.
- Power It Down: Continued attempts to access a failing drive can make the electronic failure worse. Remember, there’s no way to fix a physically failing SSD with software; if the controller chip is failing or the memory is showing its age, you simply need to replace the drive.
Professional Solutions for SSD Data Recovery
At Datarecovery.com, we specialize in SSD data recovery. Our engineers use purpose-built, proprietary systems to interface directly with the flash memory, a highly specialized process that results in a full recovery for the vast majority of data loss scenarios.
If your SSD is failing and you don’t have a backup, don’t take risks with your data. Call Datarecovery.com at 1-800-237-4200 for a free evaluation or submit a case online.
