Possible SSD Failure - Need Recovery Solution Please

[pcasttv]

Hello,

I have just experienced a failure of my computer's o/s hard drive (Samsung 840 Pro SSD 128GB); I am not certain whether it is a hardware issue (the SSD drive itself) or a software issue (Windows 7/64).

My system seemed fine Thursday night on shutdown; when I did a cold start the next morning however, I got a blue screen immediately after the Windows welcome screen appeared, which disallowed the login screen to load. My system repeatedly tried to restart unsuccessfully.

My first thought was to do a parrallel reinstallation of Windows 7 (allowing me to retrieve data in the "windows.old" folder and repair any possible Win 7 problems). After numerous attempts, I was unable to re-install Windows and I received the following error: 0x80070057.

To look further into possible hardware issues, I replaced the boot SSD with a smaller capacity (64GB) SSD which already had Windows 7 loaded. I next plugged the old boot SSD in as a secondary internal drive, in hopes of accessing and retrieving the small amount of important data I foolishly stored on it.

My system has been running fine on the replacement SSD - my video card, power supply, etc. all seem to be working properly. I've been running the replacement SSD since Saturday morning without a hitch.

When I attempted to access the old boot SSD (was drive "C" - now "D"), I received a Windows error stating the drive was not accessible due to improper file structure. I went as far as to see whether Windows would format the SSD, but it was unable.

Would it seem that the 128GB SSD (original boot drive) has failed irreparably (hardware failure)?

If the drive may be salvageable, what steps must I take to access and restore the drive?

If this SSD has indeed failed, is there any way by which I may access the drive in hopes of
retrieving a small amount of important data?

Thank you in advance!

Steve

 

[pcasttv]

OK, I ran this drive through the gauntlet and obtained the same result.

I went ahead and plugged the drive into the boot position, following all prescribed steps of the power-cycling procedure(s) - drive unable to boot.

I attempted an installation-disc repair on the drive - no boot.

I removed the drive and plugged it into the "D" position in hopes of gaining access to retrieve files post power-cycle - Windows unable to recognize file structure.

Hands raised above my head in a surrender posture, I next attempted to perform a secure erase; despite following all recommended plug / unplug sequences, the drive remains in a "frozen state."

I no longer have time to fuss with this thing and I've gone ahead and ordered a replacement. As I am unable to wipe the drive, I cannot RMA it to Samsung for obvious security reasons. I contacted them this afternoon explaining the situation - they will get back to me about sending a re-certified SSD without the return of the failed, unsecured unit I currently have (I offered to destroy the drive with photo/video documentation). I know this is wishful thinking, but certainly worth a phone call - the heck else can I do at this point?

From what I've just learned about SSDs, the current "affordable range..."Pro" or no" drive architecture is vulnerable to a host of idiopathic, often irreparable failures (completely without warning). While some may enjoy years of trouble free operation, others like myself will suffer an insidious catastrophic melt-down with no options to repair/recover - woefully unpredictable reliability IMHO. The frustrating thing is that while my drive has a 5 year warranty, I am unable to RMA it due to the above mentioned security issue; the lousy 90 bucks to replace it is a small price to pay for the peace of mind.

Further recent reading points out data on "securely-erased" SSDs in many cases can still be retrieved with the right utilities and know-how; the risk of identity theft incalculably outweighs the cost of paying of out pocket for a replacement (as in my case). This greatly concerning personal security issue (inherent to SSDs) voids my warrant straight out of the box.

Having audited "SSDs for Dummies" at the beloved University of Hard Knocks, I will from this day forward ONLY invest in sub $100.00 SSDs - considering them "disposable" media, keeping a spare or two on hand...lesson learned, lesson shared.

Thanks again to all who offered advice!

 

[ingtar33]

From what I've just learned about SSDs, the current "affordable range..."Pro" or no" drive architecture is vulnerable to a host of idiopathic, often irreparable failures (completely without warning). While some may enjoy years of trouble free operation, others like myself will suffer an insidious catastrophic melt-down with no options to repair/recover - woefully unpredictable reliability IMHO. The frustrating thing is that while my drive has a 5 year warranty, I am unable to RMA it due to the above mentioned security issue; the lousy 90 bucks to replace it is a small price to pay for the peace of mind.

I sense your frustration, and early SSDs were quite unreliable.

however SSDs like your current failed unit actually have a far lower "lemon" rate then standard hard drives. While SSDs do have separate issues that can cause them to fail from normal hard drives, they lack moving parts, which on the whole actually makes them more reliable then a hard drive which has a number of points of mechanical failure which can occur.

the last time i saw serious numbers of the reliability of these drives the "lemon" rate of an ssd was hovering around 1.5%, where as the lemon rate for a hard drive hovered around 3.3%... furthermore SSDs could easily reach read/write numbers a normal hard drive could never achieve during it's lifetime. With most modern SSDs easily hitting 500TB-1PB in data writes/reads which is far in excess of the average lifespan of a mechanical drive (which is around 200-300TB). Of course those write limits are assuming a good power supply. Poor power supplies will break an SSD down pretty badly.

Your experience, while unfortunate is also the exception. It's also why everyone should have multiple points of backup for their data. SSD or HD, storage devices will fail. this is why RAID5 or 6 are often advised for in system storage, USB expansion drives or even NAS devices for backup storage, and cloud storage for those who want extra backup of their data.

i always thought cloud backups were a bit extreme and paranoid, but for businesses they can be lifesavers. recently a client of my company had a pc locked down with cryptolocker. the virus spread through the whole network infecting several pcs, and encrypting data in their server and NAS backup. however, the cloud backups were unaffected, allowing us to restore their system fairly painlessly to how it was 3 weeks prior (a little before the cryptolocker virus infected the system). sure they lost 3 weeks of data, but that was Millions of $$ better then it could have turned out had they lost ALL their data which would have happened without that cloud backup.

 

[pcasttv]

"I sense your frustration, and early SSDs were quite unreliable.

however SSDs like your current failed unit actually have a far lower "lemon" rate then standard hard drives. While SSDs do have separate issues that can cause them to fail from normal hard drives, they lack moving parts, which on the whole actually makes them more reliable then a hard drive which has a number of points of mechanical failure which can occur.

the last time i saw serious numbers of the reliability of these drives the "lemon" rate of an ssd was hovering around 1.5%, where as the lemon rate for a hard drive hovered around 3.3%... furthermore SSDs could easily reach read/write numbers a normal hard drive could never achieve during it's lifetime. With most modern SSDs easily hitting 500TB-1PB in data writes/reads which is far in excess of the average lifespan of a mechanical drive (which is around 200-300TB). Of course those write limits are assuming a good power supply. Poor power supplies will break an SSD down pretty badly."

I hope my SSD diatribe had you more than "sense" my frustration!

I have little to no faith in the accuracy of these so called "lemon rates." Are these stats denoting DOA drives only, failures after specific periods of time, warranty returns only, all of the above? From where are these stats sourced...how do we know what percentage of SSD failures are actually reported and factored into the analysis? In my research seeking a solution to my SSD problem, I've come across innumerable accounts of failures similar or identical to mine - one after the other. These quantitative experiential failures (combined with factors specified below**) strongly leads me to believe these "lemon rates" look sexy on-screen, but are far from "real-world." One may even ponder whether these statistics are released by those with vested interests in the medium.

As for the "poor PSU" reference...in the immortal words of Archie Bunker: "Again with dis heeeeeeere (facial wince included)????" The OCCT test results on my PSU indicate it is at this time embarrassingly stable; I have no suspicion that it had anything to to with the SSD failure. To this very moment, the temporary replacement SSD is fluidly cascading along in glorious, shiny, happy harmony with all additional hardware in this machine - you can almost feel the love...seriously. Glad you brought up this point though...

**If SSDs are by definition highly vulnerable to "breaking down badly" from a PSU which isn't bench-spec flawless, that alone seriously undermines the viability of the medium for the average user - which BTW is a large share of the market. How many PC / laptop "Joes and Janes" are biting their nails, constantly monitoring their PSU's performance to the nano-volt? Are only the "technically versed" (voltage testers in-hand) using SSDs and the sole demographic from where these stats are derived...really? And if you factor the "el-perfecto PSU" requirement into the SSD reliability equation, it as a single factor squashes the lemon stat; logic dictates susceptibility drastically compromises reliability.

Boiled down (based upon your PSU caveat): an SSD is only as reliable as its partnered PSU; should this symbiotic relationship deviate a degree or three off center, all is lost - not a match made in heaven to be sure. It would almost seem that these purported "lemon rates" are latently reflecting an earth-shattering upsurge in PSU reliability more so than that of the SSDs themselves. 😉

In practical terms, the SSD verses HDD numbers are IMHO widely theoretical, likely flawed, perhaps even slanted. Heck, in this very PC, my resident "D" drive (standard 2TB HDD) has in juxtaposition outlived the SSD almost 2-fold while tied into the same "dubious" PSU...go figure! In my particular case, the plain vanilla HDD was victorious when pitted against the once formidable SSD in a survival of the fittest scenario! Perhaps in a perfect vacuum, SSDs will perform as reliably as they are touted; in less than ideal circumstances (AKA real life) they gots' a loooooong way to go!!

Add to the already off-putting list of SSD ills that:

(1) SSDs fail with NO warning. HDDs provide ample notification of imminent failure.

(2) SSD: if a data failure occurs, your chances of recovering anything are virtually nil (unless you are a super-hacker or forensics expert). An HDD can be recovered readily after a mechanical failure at a nominal fee - been there, done that.

(3) SSD: your warranty is useless as there are a host of security concerns plaguing SSDs - RMA at your own risk...caveat emptor I declare!!

"Your experience, while unfortunate is also the exception."

I don't think so Tim.

"It's also why everyone should have multiple points of backup for their data. SSD or HD, storage devices will fail. this is why RAID5 or 6 are often advised for in system storage, USB expansion drives or even NAS devices for backup storage, and cloud storage for those who want extra backup of their data."

To reiterate...again, I have and use over a dozen high-end external USB / E-SATA drives for storage. I lost ONLY a handful of "hot" documents I had temporarily saved on the SSD in "my docs" (slated for back-up) not expecting an unrecoverable failure that day. As a rule, I save EVERYTHING of significance externally and redundantly - anyone can inadvertently save a file to "my docs" in a hurry as I had.

As for my storage methodology: rule of thirds - important can't live without active files are stored on at least one live disc for access and archived on an additional 2 or more offline swappable drives. I replace critical drives every 18 months to 2 years - and put the replaced drive into the non-spinning archive. As for cloud storage - seems it is only as reliable as the company's solvency. What if the cloud provider goes belly up without warning? And of course there's the fees, inane upload times, yada schmada...nah, you go ahead.

In the end, I'm sticking to my new mantra with SSDs. As I stated in the previous post, I am going to replace the boot SSD with a new one (at my own %$#%#$% expense); however I no longer am sold on the Samsung "Pro" line. I will save a few bucks going with the EVO SSDs, which compared to the 840 Pro is a bit newer and hopefully improved to where it may be a bit more reliable for me (decaying PSU and all). LOL

The bench numbers the "Pro" SSDs boast won't make a hill of beans of "real-world" difference on my machine over the EVO.
I appreciate the performance boost I get with SSDs and I'm not going to revert my boot disc to HDD as such. I firmly believe my new "disposeable medium" attitude about SSDs is a healthy one - I am prepared for the worst, hoping for the best!!

 

[JohnnyLucky]

1. Any chance you used Microsoft Windows to format the ssd? If you did, which file format did you select?

2. Any chance you partitioned the ssd? What did you use to partition the drive?

Here is Microsoft's explanation and fix for the partition error message you received:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2476568

Here are more links to for more fixes for that error message:

https://www.google.com/#q=Microsoft+error+message+0x80070057

 

[pcasttv]

JL,

Thanks for the info - I explored a number of those solutions already and nothing I've tried did a thing to restore the drive. I believe I migrated the current smaller SSD's O/S over to the now defunct SSD. At this point, I'm just going to replace the thing and never make the mistake of temporarily saving to my docs on an SSD.

As I'm not returning the SSD to Samsung for security reasons. I can when free time permits (under vastly less pressure) tinker with it some more. If I can miraculously restore it, it will be placed in line as a spare drive; if not, it makes a nice coffee cup coaster.