My SSD failed

xasop · « **on:** December 16, 2014, 04:08:35 AM »

I began observing strange hangs and high load averages today. After a while spent trying to troubleshoot, I rebooted and my BIOS couldn't find a bootloader. It kept trying to boot from what is now the first hard drive, a 4 TB drive with only data.

I'm going to download a rescue image onto a USB stick and restore my OS from backups onto my hard drive. Thank fuck for rotating disks, huh?

Rushy · « **Reply #1 on:** December 16, 2014, 04:14:52 AM »

My SSD once bluescreened and wiped itself clean. Not a thing to be found on the drive after the wipe. It was pretty weird, like it had accidentally initiated some sort of doomsday protocol.

Never had a problem since, though. SSDs are weird.

Particle Person · « **Reply #2 on:** December 16, 2014, 04:16:57 AM »

I thought one of the advantages of SSDs is that they tend to fail more predictably than HDDs, by gradually and noticeably degrading over time.

Rushy · « **Reply #3 on:** December 16, 2014, 04:17:54 AM »

Quote from: Particle Person on December 16, 2014, 04:16:57 AM

I thought one of the advantages of SSDs is that they tend to fail more predictably than HDDs, by gradually and noticeably degrading over time.

xasop · « **Reply #4 on:** December 16, 2014, 04:40:48 AM »

I like SSDs as a low-latency medium, but they suck for reliability. I don't keep any critical data on an SSD that I don't have a backup of on rotational media.

xasop · « **Reply #5 on:** December 16, 2014, 01:38:22 PM »

After a bit of wrangling (the rescue system I used initially had a kernel too old to mount my backup filesystem), I am now copying my most recent backup (less than 24 hours old) onto a new filesystem. Backups rule.

xasop · « **Reply #6 on:** December 16, 2014, 02:11:03 PM »

And we're done. First post from my newly recovered system, running off a HDD.

Now all I need to do is buy a new SSD and move my files onto that, but at least my computer is usable again.

xasop · « **Reply #7 on:** December 16, 2014, 02:55:21 PM »

This thread is now about buying a replacement SSD.

I like the look of the G.Skill Phoenix Blade. If I end up deciding I want something less insanely priced, I'm looking at the Samsung 850 Pro. Thoughts?

Pete Svarrior · « **Reply #8 on:** December 16, 2014, 02:58:25 PM »

I've had pretty good experiences with the Samsung 850 Pro. Not sure what else I could say about it, other than that it offers a very good value for the price.

Rushy · « **Reply #9 on:** December 16, 2014, 03:03:57 PM »

I've used the same Intel SSD for the past 4 years. Only had that one bluescreen hiccup, it has otherwise worked fine. Intel also gives the longest warranty on their SSDs at 5 years.

jroa · « **Reply #10 on:** December 16, 2014, 03:04:54 PM »

Do real OSs get blue screens, or just Windows?

Rushy · « **Reply #11 on:** December 16, 2014, 03:23:48 PM »

Oh, I forgot I also have a Samsung SSD too. Never had a problem out of it, but I hardly ever use it though. It was meant for games with long load times yet I can't bring myself to move any off the hard drive out of sheer laziness.

juner · « **Reply #12 on:** December 16, 2014, 05:46:37 PM »

I've got an 850 Pro in two machines at home and my PS3. They are solid and have my recommendation.

Thork · « **Reply #13 on:** December 18, 2014, 02:16:49 PM »

I've never had a problem with an SSD. Not in my desktop at home for more than 2 years, not in my new laptop (now at home and being used to post this), not on any of the 3 mac minis I have appropriated from work, not on the iMac on my desk at work (which runs Windows, muhahahahaha). I have had lots of problems with HDDs in the past. I've lost may a system to those.

Nothing is perfect, but I think Parsifal has just been very unlucky.

I like the OCZ SSD's. Lots of bang for buck, never had any reliability issues. I've never thought "Wow, I wish I paid a bunch extra for an Intel SSD".

xasop · « **Reply #14 on:** December 18, 2014, 02:19:10 PM »

Quote from: Thork on December 18, 2014, 02:16:49 PM

I've never had a problem with an SSD. Not in my desktop at home for more than 2 years, not in my new laptop (now at home and being used to post this), not on any of the 3 mac minis I have appropriated from work, not on the iMac on my desk at work (which runs Windows, muhahahahaha). I have had lots of problems with HDDs in the past. I've lost may a system to those.

Nothing is perfect, but I think Parsifal has just been very unlucky.

I've been very unlucky because you happen to not have run into any problems?

Rushy · « **Reply #15 on:** December 18, 2014, 02:43:35 PM »

Quote from: Thork on December 18, 2014, 02:16:49 PM

Nothing is perfect, but I think Parsifal has just been very unlucky.

You admitted to doing nothing that is intensive on computer hardware in Andrew's laptop thread. Your anecdotal opinion on the reliability of computer parts is meaningless.

Thork · « **Reply #16 on:** December 18, 2014, 03:08:59 PM »

Quote from: Parsifal on December 18, 2014, 02:19:10 PM

Quote from: Thork on December 18, 2014, 02:16:49 PM
I've never had a problem with an SSD. Not in my desktop at home for more than 2 years, not in my new laptop (now at home and being used to post this), not on any of the 3 mac minis I have appropriated from work, not on the iMac on my desk at work (which runs Windows, muhahahahaha). I have had lots of problems with HDDs in the past. I've lost may a system to those.

Nothing is perfect, but I think Parsifal has just been very unlucky.

I've been very unlucky because you happen to not have run into any problems?

Anecdotally, they seem to be much more reliable. And so yes, I feel you have been unlucky. Its an opinion and an expression of sympathy. but you can throw it back in my face if you like.

xasop · « **Reply #17 on:** December 18, 2014, 05:21:26 PM »

I'm pretty much set on a Samsung 850 Pro at this point. They seem to be the best SATA SSD on the market, and while the Phoenix Blade looks nice, I probably wouldn't notice the difference for a four-fold increase in price and a twenty-fold increase in idle power consumption.

The only thing I'm not sure of is which capacity to get. The price per GB goes down consistently as the capacity goes up, so in theory, the 1 TB is best value if I will use more than 512 GB of it. But I've been making do with 120 GB for the past two years, albeit having to shuffle some files onto my hard drive, so I'm not entirely sure if I would.

I'll sleep on it and make a decision on the weekend.

xasop · « **Reply #18 on:** December 21, 2014, 04:07:52 PM »

I decided to go with the 1 TB, and also to get some other stuff while I'm putting the order in. I've just placed an order for:

Samsung 850 Pro Series 1 TB SSD
LaCie PetiteKey 8 GB USB flash drive
Zowie EC1 Evo mouse
Cat6 Network Cable 10 m
Phobya SATA3 Cable (x3)

Aside from the SSD, I'm quite looking forward to getting the PetiteKey. I plan to set it up to dual-boot Debian and OpenBSD rescue environments, with a shared ext2 data partition, so that I always have a rescue system ready to boot from my keyring in an emergency.

The mouse is a long-awaited upgrade from my overly tiny Logitech, and the cables are just for general maintenance needs, so they aren't as interesting.

Lord Dave · « **Reply #19 on:** December 21, 2014, 04:39:38 PM »

Cat6?
Why such a high level and pain in the ass to crimp, cable?

(yes I know, you got the precrimped stuff)