Question File Corruption on Portable Samsung T7 Shield SSD ?

[FaithOnHuman]

Hello! About 6 months ago, my external HDD failed, so I recovered all the files onto a brand new SSD, the Portable Samsung T7 SSD 2TB. However, over the past two weeks, I've noticed that some of my recently saved files (PSD, .AI, .AE) are either missing or corrupted, while others remain unaffected. I'm not sure why this is happening. I attempted to use Samsung's Magician software, and the diagnostic tool indicates that the drive is functioning properly.

I also scanned both my system and the HDD with Bitdefender, but no viruses or malware were found. What steps would you recommend I take to address this issue? Additionally, I've noticed that when I save files on the SSD, they appear fine and are accessible as long as the SSD is connected. However, once disconnected, the files seem to vanish while the folder remains. Moreover, some files are visible on my macOS, while others are only visible on my PC. Do you have any insights or suggestions?

Thank you!

 

[Ralston18]

First:

Do you have all files backed up in other locations away from the current host system?

Backups that are verified to be recoverable and readable?

Second:

What tool/process is being used to backup your files? Both to the original external HDD and the Samsung T2?

Third:

External USB drives using only host provided USB power versus their own USB power supply or an independently powered USB hub - correct?

My thought being that the external USB drives sometimes simply need more power than can be delivered.

Drive falters and file/data transfers suffer. Especially larger files as I would expect the files to be based on the listed file types.

 

[FaithOnHuman]

First:

Do you have all files backed up in other locations away from the current host system?

Backups that are verified to be recoverable and readable?

Second:

What tool/process is being used to backup your files? Both to the original external HDD and the Samsung T2?

Third:

External USB drives using only host provided USB power versus their own USB power supply or an independently powered USB hub - correct?

My thought being that the external USB drives sometimes simply need more power than can be delivered.

Drive falters and file/data transfers suffer. Especially larger files as I would expect the files to be based on the listed file types.

Actually, I have 3-month-old backups, and they work perfectly fine. The internal HDD, to which I made the backup, was brand new, so I simply copy-pasted the files. As for how the files were transferred from the old broken HDD to the new SSD, I don't really know because it was done by a company that specializes in data recovery.

The external SSD, Samsung T7 Shield, comes with a standard USB-C cable, if I understand your question correctly.

Normally, the SSD should handle those types of large files since it's capable of up to 2GB read/write speed.
I just can't figure out if the problem is from the software, the SSD, or something in between. The drive shows no problems with the diagnostic tool. Do you think I should off-load the disk (it's a 2TB with available 450GB) and check how it behaves?

Thank you

 

[Ralston18]

Not a matter of speeds per se.

I am wondering more about the power available to the external drive(s).

Three ways:

1) External drive power comes solely via USB cable (of any type) from host to the external drive.

2) External drive power comes via a separate power adapter connected to a wall outlet and then to the external drive.

3) External drive power comes via another source such as an independently powered USB hub.

Premise being that host power (1 above) is not sufficient and/or reliable enough for file transfers between the external drive and host system. Files get corrupted as a results.

Samsung T7 Shield does not have its' own power supply (2 above) as I understand the specs, etc..

So my thought/suggestion is to trying using an indendently powered USB hub to support the external drive.

FYI for background:

https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-usb-hubs

Hopefully you have or can borrow an independently powered hub for testing purposes.

 

[Misgar]

Regarding visibility on PC or Mac, how is the T7 formatted?

exFAT might be the best option for maximum compatibility.

If the drive is formatted in the Windows native format (NTFS), the Mac might only be able to read files, not write back to the disk. (I don't have a Mac so I might be in error).
https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-use-ntfs-drives-on-a-mac

If "delayed write" is enabled in your computer's OS, files might be sitting in a RAM buffer (pending) and never written to the external drive.
https://www.partitionwizard.com/disk-recovery/windows-delay-write-failure.html

If the T7 is losing files, it might be dying. Back up any remaining files to a new drive immediately, before they vanish into thin air. The drive may be suffering from bit rot.

All drives die eventually. You might be able to recover some of the damaged files, but others may be lost. How many other backups do you keep. The more copies you have, the safer you are. Ransomware, disk failure and user error can strike at any time. A minimum of 3 copies in different locations is best.

Have you run a comprehensive test on the T7, apart from Samsung Magician's cursory check? You could download a trial version of Hard Disk Sentinel Pro. Other test utilities exist.

When copying files to the T7, did you ever run a "byte-by-byte" comparison to see if the source files were identical to the destination files on the T7? It is not sufficient to simply compare file name/date. File corruption can occur silently.

I used to get data corruption when copying RAW + JPG files from CF and SD cards to portable USB3 drives using long (3ft/1m) cables. When I switched to short (1ft/30cm) high quality USB3 cables for the readers and drives, the problems disappeared.

After copying files from card readers or external storage over USB3, I use FreeFileSync's "Compare" option (set to File Content) to check for data corruption.
https://freefilesync.org/

 

[FaithOnHuman]

Not a matter of speeds per se.

I am wondering more about the power available to the external drive(s).

Three ways:

1) External drive power comes solely via USB cable (of any type) from host to the external drive.

2) External drive power comes via a separate power adapter connected to a wall outlet and then to the external drive.

3) External drive power comes via another source such as an independently powered USB hub.

Premise being that host power (1 above) is not sufficient and/or reliable enough for file transfers between the external drive and host system. Files get corrupted as a results.

Samsung T7 Shield does not have its' own power supply (2 above) as I understand the specs, etc..

So my thought/suggestion is to trying using an indendently powered USB hub to support the external drive.

FYI for background:

https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-usb-hubs

Hopefully you have or can borrow an independently powered hub for testing purposes.

Sadly, I don't have one, but I will purchase one to try it. However, I wonder why the problem appeared after 6 months. Also, for years, I've been using regular external HDDs to save huge file projects, etc.

So, from what I understand, the problem may be with the MO-USB-C port?

 

[Misgar]

The Samsung T7 is not capable of speeds up to 2GB/s, but "only" 1GB/s with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) interface, but that's still a lot faster than my portable SSDs. If you're copying files from hard disk, transfer speeds are unlikely to exceed 250MB/s and more commonly 100MB/s.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/memory-storage/portable-ssd/portable-ssd-t7-2tb-red-mu-pc2t0r-ww/#specs

Are you using the short (20cm) USB-C cables supplied with the T7?

Ideally you should be plugging the T7 into the rear panel USB-C port on a desktop, or the USB-C port on a laptop. This keeps cable length, bus capacitance and crosstalk to a minimum.

If you're using USB-C to USB-A cables with the T7, the same thing applies. Keep them short.

Hard disks, especially 3.5" drives, use more power than a modern SSD.

 

[FaithOnHuman]

Regarding visibility on PC or Mac, how is the T7 formatted?

exFAT might be the best option for maximum compatibility.

If the drive is formatted in the Windows native format (NTFS), the Mac might only be able to read files, not write back to the disk. (I don't have a Mac so I might be in error).
https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-use-ntfs-drives-on-a-mac

If "delayed write" is enabled in your computer's OS, files might be sitting in a RAM buffer (pending) and never written to the external drive.
https://www.partitionwizard.com/disk-recovery/windows-delay-write-failure.html

If the T7 is losing files, it might be dying. Back up any remaining files to a new drive immediately, before they vanish into thin air. The drive may be suffering from bit rot.

All drives die eventually. You might be able to recover some of the damaged files, but others may be lost. How many other backups do you keep. The more copies you have, the safer you are. Ransomware, disk failure and user error can strike at any time. A minimum of 3 copies in different locations is best.

Have you run a comprehensive test on the T7, apart from Samsung Magician's cursory check? You could download a trial version of Hard Disk Sentinel Pro. Other test utilities exist.

When copying files to the T7, did you ever run a "byte-by-byte" comparison to see if the source files were identical to the destination files on the T7? It is not sufficient to simply compare file name/date. File corruption can occur silently.

I used to get data corruption when copying RAW + JPG files from CF and SD cards to portable USB3 drives using long (3ft/1m) cables. When I switched to short (1ft/30cm) high quality USB3 cables for the readers and drives, the problems disappeared.

After copying files from card readers or external storage over USB3, I use FreeFileSync's "Compare" option (set to File Content) to check for data corruption.
https://freefilesync.org/

1.The format is in exFAT so I can write and read files in MacOs
2. I checked and "enable write caching on the device" is enabled! Maybe that's why when the ssd is removed the files are not transfered?
3. I have 2 main back-ups but today i will get a brand new disk to transfer all files from my ssd to an external hdd (do you have any recommendation on how to transfer them? or just copy-paste?
4. I checked a folder i have both in an flash drive and in ssd and they have diffrent bytes (aprox 240bytes diffrence) the ssd has the less. But I guess that's natural right?

 

[FaithOnHuman]

The Samsung T7 is not capable of speeds up to 2GB/s, but "only" 1GB/s with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) interface, but that's still a lot faster than my portable SSDs. If you're copying files from hard disk, transfer speeds are unlikely to exceed 250MB/s and more commonly 100MB/s.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/memory-storage/portable-ssd/portable-ssd-t7-2tb-red-mu-pc2t0r-ww/#specs

Are you using the short (20cm) USB-C cables supplied with the T7?

Ideally you should be plugging the T7 into the rear panel USB-C port on a desktop, or the USB-C port on a laptop. This keeps cable length, bus capacitance and crosstalk to a minimum.

If you're using USB-C to USB-A cables with the T7, the same thing applies. Keep them short.

i have two cables aprox the same size.... i can't tell which one is from my intenso or my samsung... they worked fine for months. Should I check the cable? maybe try a usb c to usb 3 adapter?

 

[Ralston18]

Re: "However, I wonder why the problem appeared after 6 months."

Something degraded, the disks filled up more, some other app or update now slowing things....

= = = =

Although I am leaning towards power as the likely culprit, I cannot exclude cables etc. at this time.

No harm in trying other cables etc. per @Misgar .

Key is to be methodical and change only one thing at a time.

 

[FaithOnHuman]

Re: "However, I wonder why the problem appeared after 6 months."

Something degraded, the disks filled up more, some other app or update now slowing things....

= = = =

Although I am leaning towards power as the likely culprit, I cannot exclude cables etc. at this time.

No harm in trying other cables etc. per @Misgar .

Key is to be methodical and change only one thing at a time.

First, I think I should do a backup and then check the cables, power, and settings. If nothing works out, I will send it to Samsung for a replacement.

If I get a new HDD, is it okay to copy-paste all the files, or would it be better to use backup software? Any recommendations will be appreciated.

 

[Misgar]

Folder Comparison.

The only way to be certain files in two folders are identical is to perform a "byte-by-byte" comparison. This means you open each file in turn and check every single byte is identical to the file in the other folder.

The best way to do this is to use a program like FreeFileSync to check for any differences. Alternatively, you could open each file in turn after copying them over to see if they're intact. This is obviously not practical in most instances.

In the screenshot below, you open a folder on your computer in the left hand pane. Next, you open a folder on the T7 in the right hand pane. Click the blue cog wheel next to the Compare and select 'File compare'. Now, click Compare and wait until the "byte-by-byte" comparison has finished. If there are absolutely no differences in file contents, file names and file dates, both panes will now be blank.

I also use FreeFileSync instead of Windows Copy/Paste. It makes resuming a copy process easier if transfer errors occur. If the copy process hangs, FreeFileSync will detect any broken half-copied files and replace them with the complete version.

A 240 byte difference might indicate one folder contains a Windows 'desktop.ini' file, or an additional empty directory. The only way to be sure is to check the integrity of every file. Comparing file/folder size/date is not conclusive evidence of success.

 

[Ralston18]

Copy-Paste should be fine but overall subject to human error. (Move being inherently worst just on its own merits... avoid.)

Macrium Reflect is a good choice for backup software. Lots of options available.

Images, clones, verifications, drives, partitions, folders, etc.. Very customizable.

What really matters is that you create a backup plan that meets your requirements.

Then proceed accordingly and be sure to confirm or otherwise test that the backups are working as required.

And that the backups are recoverable and readable.

 

[Misgar]

Cable Length

How long are your USB3 cables? I do NOT recommend any cable longer than 1ft/30cm for transfers up to 1GB/s with the T7.

Are you using the front panel USB3 ports on a desktop computer? If so, you're adding another 1.5ft/50cm of unnecessary cable length to the equation.

Reduce your total USB3 connection to the absolute minimum possible (see below).

The USB 3.0 connectors and cable assembly are one of the major sources of signal integrity impairments for the USB SuperSpeed link. For example, a USB 3.0 cable assembly may consume a -7.5 dB insertion loss at 2.5 GHz, more than a third of the total link loss budget! Poorly designed and/or manufactured USB 3.0 connectors and cable assemblies may be the root-causes for many system problems.

The USB 3.0 specification defines the connector and cable assembly performance requirements and there is a USB-IF compliance program for USB 3.0 connectors and cable assemblies to ensure the eco-system health. Unfortunately, a recent survey on USB 3.0 cable assemblies available in the retail market shown that majority of those cable assemblies did not pass the USB 3.0 specification and were not USB-IF certified. Use of such cable assemblies may cause the system problems described above.

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/USB_SuperSpeed_CabCon_Whitepaper.pdf

If you're backing up files to a new external USB3 device, change the cables first. There's no sense perpetuating any potential data corruption issues.

 

[FaithOnHuman]

Cable Length

How long are your USB3 cables? I do NOT recommend any cable longer than 1ft/30cm for transfers up to 1GB/s with the T7.

Are you using the front panel USB3 ports on a desktop computer? If so, you're adding another 1.5ft/50cm of unnecessary cable length to the equation.

Reduce your total USB3 connection to the absolute minimum possible (see below).

The USB 3.0 connectors and cable assembly are one of the major sources of signal integrity impairments for the USB SuperSpeed link. For example, a USB 3.0 cable assembly may consume a -7.5 dB insertion loss at 2.5 GHz, more than a third of the total link loss budget! Poorly designed and/or manufactured USB 3.0 connectors and cable assemblies may be the root-causes for many system problems.

The USB 3.0 specification defines the connector and cable assembly performance requirements and there is a USB-IF compliance program for USB 3.0 connectors and cable assemblies to ensure the eco-system health. Unfortunately, a recent survey on USB 3.0 cable assemblies available in the retail market shown that majority of those cable assemblies did not pass the USB 3.0 specification and were not USB-IF certified. Use of such cable assemblies may cause the system problems described above.

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/USB_SuperSpeed_CabCon_Whitepaper.pdf

If you're backing up files to a new external USB3 device, change the cables first. There's no sense perpetuating any potential data corruption issues.

Thanks for the tip! The cable provided by Samsung is around 40cm long (excluding the ends). However, I connected the drive using my Inteso cable, which is shorter.

 

[FaithOnHuman]

Copy-Paste should be fine but overall subject to human error. (Move being inherently worst just on its own merits... avoid.)

Macrium Reflect is a good choice for backup software. Lots of options available.

Images, clones, verifications, drives, partitions, folders, etc.. Very customizable.

What really matters is that you create a backup plan that meets your requirements.

Then proceed accordingly and be sure to confirm or otherwise test that the backups are working as required.

And that the backups are recoverable and readable.

Thank you! I will check it out; it seems easier than FreeFileSync. I hope it's also easier to use! Overall, do you think I should send the SSD back to Samsung for a check? Or would it be better to test alternative fixes like trying a different cable? Additionally, when I checked through Disk Management > Properties, it appears that the option "enable write caching on the device" is enabled. Should I turn it off? Maybe that's why the files are missing-corrupted after I eject the drive?

 

[Ralston18]

How is the drive being ejected?

Via a "right-click" on the USB icon I trust? Select the drive to be ejected and click eject.

Overall, FYI:

Write Caching

From the link:

"While this can be very beneficial, write caching has its drawbacks. The main disadvantage is the risk of data loss and corruption. If you accidentally disconnect the USB drive from your computer or turn it off while the writing process is still in progress, there is a high risk of losing the written data or corrupting files."
Very important to wait until the system says it is okay to remove the drive.

And I tend to wait another couple of minutes anyway.

Beneficial plus careful.

 

[FaithOnHuman]

How is the drive being ejected?

Via a "right-click" on the USB icon I trust? Select the drive to be ejected and click eject.

Overall, FYI:

Write Caching

From the link:

"While this can be very beneficial, write caching has its drawbacks. The main disadvantage is the risk of data loss and corruption. If you accidentally disconnect the USB drive from your computer or turn it off while the writing process is still in progress, there is a high risk of losing the written data or corrupting files."
Very important to wait until the system says it is okay to remove the drive.

And I tend to wait another couple of minutes anyway.

Beneficial plus careful.

usually, I safely remove the disk but sometimes I just eject it after shutting down the PC. So would you recommend me to let it be checked? or disable it?

 

[Ralston18]

Ideally Windows finishes writing to the disk as part of the shutdown process.

Plus finishing up other things as well. Especially after updates or other changes.

= == =

Leave write-caching enabled (checked).

Then just wait a bit between "ejection" ( safely remove via the USB icon) and the physical media eject/removal of the disk.

If there is an associated drive activity LED watch the LED and/or the power LED.

Be sure that they are out.

Determine if a new "habit" makes a difference.

 

[FaithOnHuman]

Ideally Windows finishes writing to the disk as part of the shutdown process.

Plus finishing up other things as well. Especially after updates or other changes.

= == =

Leave write-caching enabled (checked).

Then just wait a bit between "ejection" ( safely remove via the USB icon) and the physical media eject/removal of the disk.

If there is an associated drive activity LED watch the LED and/or the power LED.

Be sure that they are out.

Determine if a new "habit" makes a difference.

Good morning! I used the free file sync to check byte-by-byte the files and they are the same through my back-ups. Since I changed the cable everything is ok. I will test it further and I will let you know

 

[Alexksanders]

Hello! About 6 months ago, my external HDD failed, so I recovered all the files onto a brand new SSD, the Samsung T2 SSD 2TB. However, over the past two weeks, I've noticed that some of my recently saved files (PSD, .AI, .AE) are either missing or corrupted, while others remain unaffected. I'm not sure why this is happening. I attempted to use Samsung's Magician software, and the diagnostic tool indicates that the drive is functioning properly. I also scanned both my system and the HDD with Bitdefender, but no viruses or malware were found. What steps would you recommend I take to address this issue? Additionally, I've noticed that when I save files on the SSD, they appear fine and are accessible as long as the SSD is connected. However, once disconnected, the files seem to vanish while the folder remains. Moreover, some files are visible on my macOS, while others are only visible on my PC. Do you have any insights or suggestions?

Thank you!

Hello! did you found out what happened? I'm afraid I am having the same issues. I recorded video and had to store directly to the Samsung SSD T7 and after a month of recording when I finally get to editing I find the files are corrupted, every single one. Some glitches appear, or green frames. They are 4K Mp4 and all damaged. First I thought it was de SD card from de camera. But then I saw some files from the drone also corrupted!

 

[FaithOnHuman]

Hello! did you found out what happened? I'm afraid I am having the same issues. I recorded video and had to store directly to the Samsung SSD T7 and after a month of recording when I finally get to editing I find the files are corrupted, every single one. Some glitches appear, or green frames. They are 4K Mp4 and all damaged. First I thought it was de SD card from de camera. But then I saw some files from the drone also corrupted!

Hello! For me, the problem was the cable. since I changed the cable with a shorter one everything works fine
I still back up everything and double-check the files daily.

 

[Alexksanders]

Hello! For me, the problem was the cable. since I changed the cable with a shorter one everything works fine
I still back up everything and double-check the files daily.

Hi! I found out it was de disk format, it wasnt compatible with Ventura or the file size (I was recording 4k).