Hard Drives Losing Data Without Power
A recently uncovered flaw in solid-state drives – shows these drives to be potentially vulnerable to data loss.
Solid-state drives lose data if left without power for just a few days
New research suggests that newer solid-state hard drives, which are faster and offer better performance, are vulnerable to an inherent flaw — they lose data when they’re left dormant in storage for periods of time where the temperature isn’t properly regulated.
The worrying factor is that the period of time can be weeks, months, but even in some circumstances — just a few days.
Solid-state drives are better than regular mechanical hard drives, which are slow and sluggish. But unless they’re battered around, smashed, or poured in acid, they pretty much last forever.
A recent presentation by hard drive maker Seagate’s Alvin Cox warned that the period of time data is retained on some solid-state drives is halved for every 9°F (or 5°C) rise in temperature where its stored.
That means if a solid-state drive is stored in a warm room, say 77°F (25°C), its data can last for about two years. But, if that goes up by a mere few degrees to 86°F (30°C), that data’s retention period will be cut in half…
But enterprise solid-state drives pose the biggest risk to data loss, because the retention period drops considerably.
A moderate increase of just 9°F (5°C) in temperature in a space where an enterprise solid-state drive is stored can drop a retention rate from 20 weeks to 10 weeks.
Leaving unpowered SSDs in a warm room can kill your data fast | Jared Newman PC World
