Well, I'm definitely not recommending Mushkin SSDs anymore . . .

[britechguy]

The second one has failed in precisely the same way as the first one, and more rapidly.

I had a BSOD after which the "data collection" froze, and any attempt to boot shows about 5 seconds of disk activity then nada.

I can accept the occasional "bad apple," as we all have experienced this at one time or another with one component or another. But two in a row, after less than 5 days of service each, is too much to be coincidental.

Both were cloned using EaseUS To Do Backup's cloning function with the optimize for SSD option selected, and the initial clones in each instance went without a hitch. I really don't believe the machine is a "drive eater" since the original HDD has worked perfectly for years and still does when reinstalled.

This is a shame, because Mushkin is a "boutique brand" that has a very good reputation. But the QA on these 1TB SSDs is clearly lacking.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I haven't bought/used Mushkin in a long loooong time, but way back ...maybe 25 years ago, I do recall them being a higher end brand....recalling lots of custom gaming PC resources selling it.

 

[britechguy]

Mushkin was definitely at the high end of the market, and the fact that they still exist suggested to me that they would still be. Small companies like that tend to get driven out, and quickly, if what they produce is consistently substandard.

But something's definitely "off" when two of the same model fail, very rapidly, and in very rapid succession. The request for full refund from Amazon is already in and the drive will be shipped back to them tomorrow. I'm going to hold off until Prime Days hit on the 13th and 14th before buying a replacement.

 

[NviGate Systems]

This follows our recent thread concerning SSD's etc. There is something about SSD's that bothers me to really trust data. I mean, I have some data but I back the really important stuff.

I figure years from now they will find a factory or process flaw that accounts for the sudden death. Not to be weird but it reminds me of SIDS. Still a somewhat mystery even with all our medical research. The same can be said for SSD's. Someone somewhere knows the truth, but the storm that will come into play if and when that data is released won't be fun, especially if it's one of those "we knew but we figured everyone would enjoy the new speed etc." or "we had no idea it would happen like this".

My personal theory is that the firmware isn't up to snuff. The old line that what tries to save your life can also end it, or the "very means to save us also doomed us."

Partly my reason for this theory is that although there is poorly made memory circuits, unless there is a large counterfeit ring that has pulled the eyes on everyone or some big company is pulling a France by selling out of date and spoiled cheese, the type of failures and how they fail is largely up to the firmware. Look at SD cards. Same principle, same flaw. I had an SD card die, and it's locked in read only. Some work the right way, others lock out at 0mb with no data in sight.

 

[britechguy]

There is something about SSD's that bothers me to really trust data.

Regardless of how fast they are, I don't and won't use them as backup drives.

I'll keep using good, old-fashioned, spinners until and unless there comes a day when imminent (or even not-quite-so-imminent) failure on an SSD gives the kinds of signs that we have gotten for decades with HDDs. And even failed HDDs are far less expensive to recover from (which, I know, if you back up you shouldn't need to worry about, but still, for storage space value for dollar and long term stability the HDD still wins for me).

 

[Sky-Knight]

SSD based backups make sense only if you're building a backup server that also needs to be a hypervisor, or you need the sort of rapid restoration power that's possible when you're teaming multiple 10gbit interfaces, utilizing fiber channel, or generally just going ham on the network.

In short, that's enterprise stuff, it should be a bit on the high end for anyone on this board, and not something we commonly work with. But I can tell you it's wonderful to be able to restore a 1tb VM in 30 seconds!

Because... well... cost. High density SSD storage just cannot match that of a platter. The sad part is, the truly high capacity platter drives have absurd fault rates too. There is no perfect solution, which is why most data centers have moved beyond redundant disks and into redundant SANs. Things like Azure are approaching redundant data centers.

The scale of it all is quite... nuts to be honest.

I suppose there might be sliver of a space where if you don't need much in the way of capacity you could use an SSD... but I don't tend to even get started with a backup device until there's at least 4tb of space on it.

 

[thecomputerguy]

I've only had TWO SSD's fail in all the time that I started using SSD's some years ago, and they were both Mushkin.

I chose Mushkin over anything else because they were cheaper, and this is when SSD's were exepensive.

Switched to Samsung and have had a single drive fail. It's also nice telling clients that the parts you use are the best in the industry.

 

[lcoughey]

I've only had TWO SSD's fail in all the time that I started using SSD's some years ago, and they were both Mushkin.

I chose Mushkin over anything else because they were cheaper, and this is when SSD's were exepensive.

Switched to Samsung and have had a single drive fail. It's also nice telling clients that the parts you use are the best in the industry.

And less likely recoverable should they fail.

 

[Porthos]

And less likely recoverable should they fail.

My average client will not spend data recovery prices anyway. Note: I service home users. Only had 2 in 20 years. I always offer it though when the drive is toast.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@lcoughey I could care less about that little snag. They don't fail nearly as frequently, and all of the other gains pay for themselves in employee time. There's no way on this green Earth anyone is going back to platters as primary storage.

That's what backups and cloud storage are for, and I'm not about to support anyone differently.

 

[sapphirescales]

Margins on computer parts are terrible. If it's cheaper, it's cheaper for a very good reason. Samsung is really the only drive I recommend. I mean, WD/Sandisk are good too, but it's not worth the 5% you save going with a lesser brand. You should be passing on the cost to your client, so WTF do you care anyway? The main thing is I don't want to have the thing fail on me and have my client think I'm an incompetent hack.

 

[NJW]

... all of the other gains pay for themselves in employee time.

This. I started quoting a 50% premium for anything involving a spinner, because it just takes forever. Add in the prospect of a multi-TB drive, all too common even on modest machines, and it really hammers the timesheet.

 

[lcoughey]

My average client will not spend data recovery prices anyway. Note: I service home users. Only had 2 in 20 years. I always offer it though when the drive is toast.

Makes sense, though I get home users paying for data recovery all the time. Any chance that your clean room partner is charging too much?

 

[lcoughey]

@lcoughey I could care less about that little snag. They don't fail nearly as frequently, and all of the other gains pay for themselves in employee time. There's no way on this green Earth anyone is going back to platters as primary storage.

That's what backups and cloud storage are for, and I'm not about to support anyone differently.

Understood. When backups are in place, all is good. But, the problem comes into place when backups fail or fail to exist. Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions by users when it comes to SSDs being invincible.

 

[Porthos]

Any chance that your clean room partner is charging too much?

Even at $300 they say nevermind.

 

[britechguy]

You should be passing on the cost to your client, so WTF do you care anyway? The main thing is I don't want to have the thing fail on me and have my client think I'm an incompetent hack.

A) You are the living miracle that seems to be able to sell ice to Inuits and never have a customer care about the price of anything. I don't live or work in that rarefied sphere. Most home and very small business clients are very price conscious, and I understand why and respect that.

B) I don't accept responsibility for the odd, unexpected part failure. It happens sometimes even with "the best of them."

One does not need "the Rolls-Royce of {insert class of item here}" in all instances. A lesser, yet fully serviceable option, will do.

 

[SlickMinnow]

And less likely recoverable should they fail.

As a respected recovery specialist around here, your insight should prove most valuable to me. Do you have any recommendations as to brands of SSD or particular technologies. What do you see a lot of? What do you see very few of (comparatively)? What do you find easier / harder to recover? What makes you cringe when you get it in the shop?

 

[JoelM]

As a respected recovery specialist around here, your insight should prove most valuable to me. Do you have any recommendations as to brands of SSD or particular technologies. What do you see a lot of? What do you see very few of (comparatively)? What do you find easier / harder to recover? What makes you cringe when you get it in the shop?

I second this question @lcoughey

 

[phaZed]

My "cheap" offerings for SSD's include WD, Seagate, Sandisk, and Crucial. I have had 1 failure out of the box(WD) that never made it to the customer... I have had ZERO returns or known problems from customers regarding these brands in 5(?) years of selling/installing.

My go-to, "expensive" offering is Samsung.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I've sold hundreds of both WD Blue SSDs and Samsung EVO devices. I don't see a functional quality difference. But the prices are rather comparable too. The difference between the two lies in the support software. WD Acronis / WD SSD Dashboard is IMHO > Samsung DataMigration / Samsung Magician.

So I use WD.