Failed SSD Hard Drive Question - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 12:39:51 am
content: I have a 500GB SSD Western Digital drive that was purchased earlier this year and used maybe a total of twelve-hours. A few weeks ago, long story short, BIOS wasn't seeing the drive. I attempted to duplicate the previous (working) drive onto this by using a duplicator thinking maybe the data was just corrupt, but it's not seeing this drive either indicating the drive is broken.I'm not worried about trying to resurrect the data or the drive as the previous drive has everything I need and this drive never got additional (important) files saved.My question is trying to understand how/why these SSD drives fail. For years I always said I'd rather a regular drive (one that spins) because you have a better chance at recovering the data if it breaks. Once a SSD fails, most likely the data is lost. At least with a drive that has plates, you can bring it somewhere who can transfer the plates. Obviously this is lots of money, but regardless, I'm only offering my opinion.Since this drive wasn't used much, I'm curious why a drive made by a reputable company has failed and whether anything could be done to recover the data (assuming I cared to recover the data - which I don't).I'd have to assume the front end has some sort of voltage regulation circuit that maybe could have died, otherwise, it's probably a single IC memory chip (or maybe a few) that is damaged.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 01:01:07 am
content: Quote from: bostonman on November 08, 2023, 12:39:51 amNope, it purely depends on what sort of failure happened. Most of the time SSD fail gracefully by going into read only mode. For data to be lost completely it must be total NAND FLASH failure or controller failure if it holds an encryption key necessary for decrypting the data.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 01:26:23 am
content: If it was stored as your description sounds like it was, did it undergo large temperature swings? If so, perhaps a cracked solder joint on one of the BGAs.

author: asis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 01:34:09 am
content: I would like to see what's inside the SSD.

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 01:56:11 am
content: QuoteI didn't mean to imply it was stored incorrectly. It was in my basement where the temperature could swing from maybe 50 degrees F in the winter to 80 degrees F in the summer; with running a space heater in the winter at times where the temperature would go from 50 to maybe 70.QuoteIf I understand correctly, you're stating the memory chip(s) should be fine but maybe it's the front end like I assumed? Since the drive is junk, I'll try dismantling it, but not sure if these are screwed together or glued.

author: Shonky
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 02:43:39 am
content: If it was only purchased this year it will be under warranty. Put the serial number into WD's warranty checker. Unless you really want to look inside. There's very little to them. A single PCB with a controller, some NAND flash chips and maybe a DRAM cache and not much else.As for not recoverable because it's an SSD, not so. It could just be the controller but would require professional services to recover like a mechanical disk would.And if the BIOS can't see the SSD at all you're pretty much out of luck with any kind of regular recovery tools.The thing with SSDs is that they tend to give less warning of impending failure. Mechanical disks can get noisy particularly when the mechanical things start to have problems. So you have some better chance of getting data off them before they fully die. However a controller failure on either is similar in effect.

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 03:18:30 am
content: QuoteIs the controller some sort of voltage regulator circuit or a controller to control memory locations?

author: Shonky
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 04:56:15 am
content: Quote from: bostonman on November 08, 2023, 03:18:30 amWill look similar to this.https://youtu.be/MAIJwqV7OxsUnlikely to be repairable unless it's something simple.Just get it replaced under warranty.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 07:47:25 am
content: Quote from: wraper on November 08, 2023, 01:01:07 amIf the drive doesn't show up in BIOS than either OP is doing something wrong or the drive is indeed completely bricked.BTW, I have seen another kind of failure, where the drive enters a special mode which is neither writable nor readable but pretty much only accepts the "secure erase" command, which nukes all user data and restores normal operation, even for years afterwards. I presume it happens when critical internal metadata are lost to bit rot.

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 08:49:57 am
content: A shorted MLCC cap will produce such symptoms and they are a regular cause of failures e.g. Northridgefix.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 10:36:46 am
content: Quote from: magic on November 08, 2023, 07:47:25 amBricked does not mean that data is not recoverable. The same as with HDD. Also it's not like data can be recovered from every HDD, it's not that uncommon when heads crash into the platters and there is no hope recovering anything from that. If you drop HDD, platters may shatter or get bent depending on material, again no hope fore data recovery. Actually it's way easier to recover data from faulty SSD if you know what you're doing. Recovering deleted files is much less probable than from HDD though.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 04:27:19 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on November 08, 2023, 10:36:46 amDefinitely depends on the SSD.If it's encrypted and the key is in the controller (which is a fairly common practice nowadays, AFAIK) then when the controller refuses to cooperate you are very much out of luck.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 04:55:03 pm
content: Quote from: magic on November 08, 2023, 04:27:19 pmThat's what I wrote in my first post. However self encryption is not exclusive to SSD.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 05:11:36 pm
content: External USB drive? If yes then seehttps://www.zdnet.com/article/check-your-ssds-what-to-know-about-the-sandiskwestern-digital-data-loss-disaster/.

author: bson
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 06:52:11 pm
content: If it's completely dead and not responding at all it might just be a voltage regulator.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2023, 07:05:40 pm
content: Quote from: madires on November 08, 2023, 05:11:36 pmAccording to the article, no external drive smaller than the 1TB Extreme is affected. The Op's is 500GB.

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2023, 03:49:12 am
content: Not sure if it helps, but the drive in the Youtube video in the link above is the one I have, except it's 500GB.The only reason I wouldn't attempt returning this to WD is they'd have my files as a result; which I'm sure they know and assume most won't return a drive to them.As I initially mentioned, I don't care to recover the data as I already have everything on a smaller SSD (and I haven't saved any important files to this hard drive since). I began this thread just to understand how these drives fail.Maybe I'll try dismantling it to see if it's a blown capacitor (or something obvious), however, this drive failing after barely any hours of run time has me worried about the longevity of hard drives in general.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2023, 05:16:51 am
content: Quote from: Terry Bites on November 08, 2023, 01:47:29 pmThis is an SSD. A replacement PCB pretty muchisthe entire drive on those.

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2023, 05:20:43 am
content: Quote from: bostonman on November 09, 2023, 03:49:12 amI have had several SSD drives over a number of years without failure yet, but like you I also regularly backup so that important files are not lost. A blown MLCC normally doesn't present anything obvious apart from shorting the supply. Your best course of action, if a short is detected, would be low voltage injection with a current limited supply and look for the component getting warm.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2023, 12:04:11 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on November 08, 2023, 07:05:40 pmI wouldn't treat the arcticle's list as complete (WD is is quite tight-lipped about this problem). Rumor has it that the issue is caused by the USB bridge chip. So more models and other brands could be also affected.

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2023, 03:36:08 am
content: QuoteThis is concerning. I've bought some WD drives to replace old ones in old laptops I keep. Also, upgraded an oscilloscope that is Windows based with (I believe) a WD drive.In any case, this weekend I plan to order a few items and will add a WD drive to the list. Most likely I'll dismantle the broken drive for fun. As mentioned, I wouldn't send it to WD for warranty since it contains personal files they could view/extract.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2023, 09:25:08 am
content: Quote from: bostonman on November 09, 2023, 03:49:12 amQuote from: bostonman on November 10, 2023, 03:36:08 amIt really would help if you could clarify what type of drive it is. The only Youtube video link I can see is for an internal 2.5"SATA drive. If it's an internal drive then it clearly doesn't have a USB bridge chip and all the external drive related replies are completely irrelevant.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2023, 09:35:46 am
content: Try simple diagnosis first.. move it to another pc or change cable.. old cable can loose or rusty dusty.. spikes from crap psu also possibility.. recently i got premature hdd failure only 7yrs usage, suspect is my 1kw atx psu bought from china meant for mining.. ymmv.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2023, 09:46:03 am
content: Quote from: Gyro on November 10, 2023, 09:25:08 amYep! So far only some USB drives are affected.

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2023, 01:29:30 pm
content: It's an internal WD blue for a laptop model SA510 SATA SSD 2.5"I tried it in the duplicator and it didn't see the drive, so it doesn't work in the laptop, nor the duplicator; and I tried another hard drive in the laptop that worked.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2023, 02:57:41 pm
content: SA510s require a firmware update:WD's post:https://community.wd.com/t/wd-blue-sa510-sata-ssds-critical-firmware-update-available/281028And the firmware:https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/50208

author: bostonman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2023, 03:42:39 pm
content: Wow....... Great video, thanks!I don't know how many of these drives I have, but I better update the firmware soon. Thankfully I don't care about the data on this drive, so not much is lost.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2023, 03:35:31 pm
content: Update from an Austrian data recovery company dealing with external SSDs from SanDisk/WD (https://futurezone.at/produkte/sandisk-ssd-ausfaelle-western-digital-attingo-datenrettung-problem-hardware/402664391, in German):- broken solder joints causing components becoming loose- poor solder or soldering process (bubbles)- component packages too large for PCB layout- later SSDs use epoxy for mounting components but still prone to failure(indication that WD knows exactly what the problem is)

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2023, 09:25:06 am
content: Not the same drive but a repair/recovery of an SSD due to failed cap. Good technique:

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2023, 08:24:29 am
content: Quote from: madires on November 08, 2023, 05:11:36 pmMore details inthis story, it's poor manufacturing and design.