If you’ve ever spent any time around computers, especially more modern computers, you may have asked the question, “How long do SSDs last?” This is a common question that many individuals have, like SSDs, or Solid State Drives, which need to last for a long time to handle your computer’s needs. All SSDs have different lifespans, but these are five signs of SSD failure.
1. Errors Involving “Bad Blocks”
A “bad block” is a term for an area on an SSD that is physically damaged and therefore cannot continue to store information. You won’t typically see the term “bad block” anywhere on your computer screen. Instead, the computer will attempt to read or save a file, but the process will take a long time and won’t succeed, so the system will send back an error message.
2. Files That Cannot Be Read or Written
This is connected to the Bad Block issue. There are two problems that arise with bad blocks: problems with writing data to the drive, and problems with reading data from the drive. If you’re getting error messages about how your computer can no longer read files or can no longer save files, it’s probably a good idea to look at the drive.
3. Error Messages Regarding Your File System
General error messages about your computer’s file system aren’t just things that you can ignore. Sometimes, this can happen because you didn’t shut your computer down properly. In this case, you can fix the problem and move on. However, if you’re regularly getting these error messages, it’s likely due to issues with the SSD developing bad blocks.
4. Crashing During a Boot
Crashes happening during your computer’s boot are always a sign that there’s something wrong. Your computer shouldn’t crash during a computer boot, and it most certainly shouldn’t crash regularly. If it’s a common occurrence for your computer to crash as you’re trying to boot it up, back up your information immediately. It’s likely that the drive is on its way to failure.
5. A Complete Read-Only Drive
Once enough damage has been done to the SSD, it’s likely that the computer will refuse to write any more data to the disk. You can try as much as you like, but unfortunately, the drive just doesn’t work anymore, which means it won’t be able to save more information to it. The good news is that you can get the information off a read-only disk, so if you neglected a backup, all your information isn’t lost.
Conclusion
These are simply five warning signs of SSD failure, and they’re not the only five signs by far. In general, if your computer starts taking a lot longer to boot up, go through files, and save or open files, you might want to take a look at the SSD. Especially if you’ve had your computer for a few years now, it’s completely possible that you’re just experiencing natural aging of the hardware.
