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SSDs can be read indefinitely. It's only the writing that's limited. However, there's little to fear, as this article shows! The first SSD failing in that endurance test failed after writing more than 700 Terabytes of data successfully. Even if you write 100 GB of data every day, that's close to 20 years of expected lifespan!
That said, there are a couple of settings in Windows (and presumably other OSs as well) that you really should adjust. I've seen an article about just that topic, but can't recall it's title, nor can I locate a bookmark, if I even took one.
But the gist of it - to the extent that I remember - is that that you should disable anything continuously performing write operations; and you need to really think about what a specific process really does in order to find out who are the culprits:
(A) Anything meant to speed up searching or indexing - e. g. Windows Searchindexer - may often write to the disk to update its index, but is pointless on a SSD, because it reads so much faster. It's less of a problem when the index is kept in memory, but it's still pointless.
(B) Defragmentation is a SSD killer, and likewise entirely pointless for an SSD. The main point of defragmentation is to avoid the slow random lookups on mechanical drives. It is a workaround for the implicit weakness of these drives. But SSDs don't have that problem to start with!
(C) Antivirus software likes to write logs about just about anything. Make sure it is set up to only report relevant stuff so it doesn't continuously write to the disk! (or, alternately, if you have that option, you could tell it to write the log to a mechanical drive instead) Normally this shouldn't be a problem, but I mention it because at work our antivirus software is configured to log unholy amounts of information all the time. I can't see just how much it really is, but I have a strong feeling it's worth checking.
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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I installed them on a couple of my desktops, after reducing the system drives to fit and cloning them across.
I only use the system drive to store the system and a few programs that act up if they're not in %PF% (which is a really bad place to put programs, anyway). Everything else is stored externally, so if the SSD fails, I can just plug the old system drive back in, with minimal fuss.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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There's a 850 PRO 512GB in my lap top. I got it from Amazon cheap because it allegedly had a damaged package. The only hitch was that Samsung didn't yet have cloning software for Windows 10 at that time. This was just after Windows 10 was released. One of Samsung's help desk people helped me find cloning software for 10.
No problems so far, but this machine is gets moderate use. My top reason for getting the SSD was because a laptop gets banged around and the SSD is more forgiving of bumps.
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I've replaced all the hard drives in my systems with 'em ... so far not a bit of trouble, and the machines run like greased lightning. Fast, quick upgrade. If they have any problems I've not seen them.
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I'm running a terabyte Crucial drive in my laptop. I'll second what everyone else has said: Nice speed boost, no extra heat, better battery life, no real sensitivity to physical shocks. With prices dropping like they are, there's no reason not to try one out.
Most of the problems with them wearing out have been mitigated by randomizing where writes go. My understanding is that writes to what would normally be the same track/sector in a spinning drive, go to different locations each time with an SSD. Usage is statistically modified so no one area of the disk is overused.
Also, on the subject of data recovery from the chips, most of the modern SSDs now use encryption as part of that randomization scheme. If you don't encrypt the disk, you can plug it in any system and read it, but the bits and bytes are still encrypted on the other side of the disk's interface electronics. On the plus side, this makes full disk encryption quick, the data is already encrypted, so you're just adding your key to the existing key (I know it's much more complicated than that, just trying to keep things simple).
I do still keep my backups going, but I did that with the spinning drive as well.
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SSD optimize performance on my desktop machine, but it I keep its HDD on it. SSD had problems right after installation - there was a bug with NCQ (whatever that is), which I was able to turn off modifying an option in linux kernel (unfortunately, no windows on SSD for now). Moreover, it wasn't plug-and-play, I had to turn-off command ordering (an elevator algorithm used to speed up head movement on HDD). Finally, I had to put only operating system files on the SSD, because warranty expires not only with time, but with amount written (70TB), which is achievable in less than 6 months with my data usage. Using it on a system files I was able to speed up installed programs and boot-time, which is great, but SSD are definitely not suitable for complete replacement.
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Here's what my crappy work ssd looks like after a few years of windows 7 and visual studio:
ssdlife report
Runs like brand new and visual studio is able to max out the cpu when compiling. When I switched to it from the old spinning rust, the build time dropped from 50+ minutes to around 15.
Just like a lot of electronics these days, it seems that if it doesn't crap out on you in the first couple of weeks it'll be fine.
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I've got to this post while looking for a SSD online... The one in my fabulous laptop is dying after less than 6 months of light usage! Before I decided to jump into the 21st century, I had a modest Toshiba Satellite, now over 8 y.o. That magnetic drive, as slow as it might be, has gone thru several OS-s, restores and thousands of installed programs over the years without a glitch! And it’s still doing its job faithfully to this day…
My new system is a Dell Precision M4800, equipped with an I7@2.8GHz and 32GB RAM, and came with a 256GB LITEON IT SSD drive. Impressive performance! I’ve replaced the DVD drive (useless) with a second (magnetic) 1TB drive, for data, some programs, virtual machines, etc. On SSD – just the Win7/64 and a handful of programs. By the way: what is the point to have the system booting in 10 seconds and then having the pagefile, most programs and redirecting access to a slower drive?!
I’ve noticed recently the system becoming unresponsive, while furiously accessing the HD… After days of research (the S.M.A.R.T. system proved to be a S.T.U.P.I.D. joke!), it turned out to be a failing SSD, which gave I/O errors. I’ve only used this laptop for probably 6 months, took all precautions to reduce usage of SSD. Spent days doing this – an unnecessary process on a regular drive – while enjoying the luxury of having a second drive in my laptop…
I’m not sure if I should buy a new SSD or a magnetic one… I’m old school: if I have to choose between reliability and speed/performance, I ALWAYS choose reliability!
It’s not about loss of data: I have backups, and most of it (even programs) reside on the magnetic drive anyway. It is about the loss of a drive, a drive deemed to die by design! It is about trust and the uneasy feeling that using the drive is like burning a candle!
This is in tune with where everything else is going (i.e. Win10, Office 365, etc.): you buy something, but not really own it (not for a long time, anyway). You pay a subscription. It would be a subscription, this time for hardware. It is made to expire, and every few years (or months) you have to renew it, by buying a new (expensive) drive.
Anyway, I might be subjective and maybe just an unlucky, not a typical case.
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Luschan wrote: what is the point to have the system booting in 10 seconds and then having the pagefile, most programs and redirecting access to a slower drive?!
You're right: you'll boot up at most maybe five times a day, if that much, so the total time saved doesn't add up to much. However, accessing the file system or calling system functions really add up to a significant amount of time!
As for page file: don't put it on the SSD if you can avoid it. Either up your RAM to the point where you don't need one, or move it to a mechanical drive.
More generally, if you don't want to fully switch to SSD, here's a guide to setting up your Windows system to properly manage your SSD. You can find many similar guides on the web.
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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So I was just doing some online clothing shopping when I noticed a shirt of over €500!
An actual Versace.
The shirt goes well with other Versace clothing priced well over €1000.
Washing instructions: chemical.
So we have a pretty basic (dare I say ugly) t-shirt that's impossible to clean and which costs over ten times more than a regular t-shirt (up to fifty if you go for a basic t-shirt).
And people are actually happy with it.
People are weird 
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Versace died in 97, so, nooo, it's not an ACTUAL Versace.
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Yeah, but the stitching, man!
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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Frankenstein's Monster agrees 
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Versace is nothing compare to Tom Ford. The shoe prices are so expensive makes you think is this forever that can't be worn-out.
And he is alive too.
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Looking at the page, that looks like $1090 for one sandal!  And most people have to outfit two feet! 
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ajhampson wrote: And most people have to outfit two feet!
That's why it's so expensive. Most shops offer two sandals, so finding a single one is hard and therefore it's expensive when you finally find it 
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The lottery isn't the only idiot tax.
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modified 19-Jan-21 21:04pm.
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I think the winners might disagree
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 What!? You think that winners would argue that the lottery is the only idiot tax.
(I'm often lambasted as being far too literal - but a man's gotta have fun)
Owing to the way a lottery works, (naturally) winners are in the stunning minority. Even then a large proportion of them go on to have train-wrecks for a life afterwards. To supply a common quote Quote: Nearly 70% of lottery winners end up broke within seven years.
I dont imagine it's the case, but if you're not familiar with the tales of misery that typically follow lottery winners, try a google for "statistics divorced dead lottery"
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That's why I'm perfectly happy with Tommy Hilfiger T-Shirts. Cotton, washable, fits, and all that for about 30CHF. Not cheap, but from the shirts quality I can tell they're going to live more than a mere year.
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Oh, but Dahling! When it gets dirty, you give it to the help!
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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My grandpa was the first to tell me, "There's a sucker born every day."
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