When a hard disk drive (HDD) is on the brink of failure, users can easily tell by the physical signs like grinding or clicking noises, the computer running slowly, or missing files after a power surge. But what about solid-state drives (SSD)? These non-mechanical storage devices don’t have the moving parts that indicate a physical failure. A new feature may be coming to Windows 10 that alerts users of a potential drive failure before a data disaster occurs.
Red Alert for Your Data
Members of the Windows Insider Program, a community of Windows fans who see the latest developments for the operating system, saw this latest SSD failure warning in the Windows 10 Insider Preview platform. They can preview the new feature on the platform, and give feedback directly to the web developers to help shape the functionality of the OS.
In this latest Windows Build 20226, a feature designed to detect hardware abnormalities for Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) SSDs was created. This feature notifies users when the device may be at risk of failure and urges them to back up their files after reading the notification.
According to the Windows Insider Blog, a user can click on the notification or go to the drive properties page by going to Settings > System > Storage > Manage disks and volumes > Properties to see more details about the drive’s health. The details include the remaining life of the drive and current temperature of the SSD.
Staying SMART with Hard Drives
SMART, or Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology, is a diagnostic tool that gives advance warning of drive failure as well as details on how each component of your drive is functioning. It is included in hard drives manufactured by companies such as IBM, Western Digital, Seagate, and many more.
In the case of the new Windows 10 feature, the monitoring of an SSD would be done through the operating system rather than on the drive itself, which is beneficial if your particular drive model does not have the SMART technology built-in. Even if a drive does have this type of technology, if it is severely damaged, the SMART analysis will not kick in, leaving you with a damaged drive and potential data loss.
Prepare for the Worst
Knowing your drive is malfunctioning before it becomes a larger issue is half the battle in preserving information from an electronic device. Regardless of if you have SMART monitoring tools or other hard drive notifications, backing up your files is recommended regularly. You should follow a 3-2-1 backup system with a total of three backups, two on physical storage and one in virtual storage such as the cloud.
If you don’t catch the warning signs of drive failure, you will need professional data recovery services to retrieve your files from the damaged drive. Secure Data Recovery has years of experience working with all HDDs, SSDs, RAIDs, and all other media types. We have an overall 96% success rate in recovery and are available when your drive fails unexpectedly, or you fail to backup your data. Knowing when your drive fails is important, but knowing who can save your files afterwards is crucial. Call us to start a case at 1-800-388-1266.
