DIY External (USB) SSD - pitfalls of power loss?


  1. Posts : 191
    Windows XP, 10; Knoppix [Debian] linux
       #1

    DIY External (USB) SSD - pitfalls of power loss?


    A while ago at Micro Center I noticed a bucket of these SSD's at a very cheap price and tossed one into my basket:

    https://www.amazon.com/Inland-Profes.../dp/B076XMH2JT
    Inland Professional 120GB SSD 3D TLC NAND - Micro Center

    Afterwards I read some reviews which indicated that it was a decent, if not spectacular drive. It sat on the shelf for a while until I decided to play with it inside an external enclosure, which uses an Asmedia chipset:

    https://www.amazon.com/Nippon-Labs-N.../dp/B01C7YKC1S

    I had been happily using it for some weeks as as temporary storage, for downloads and the like. One day, I plugged it in and found it unrecognized; Disk Management saw it as unpartitioned/unformatted. Thinking back to its last use, I remembered having done something different: I powered down the computer with the drive plugged in, instead of using "safely remove" as usual. This has never been a "gotcha" with any other USB equipment, including factory-made USB SSD drives from Sandisk, etc; suggesting that the power loss was responsible for wiping the drive. Device manager had this drive listed as "optimize for quick removal".

    In further reading on this line of SSD's I so see comments that they are rather unforgiving of unexpected power loss; but still, my understanding is that 1) Windows should flush buffers prior to a power-down, 2) all SSD's have supercaps and controller firmware measures to prevent data loss. Nope. Is this a generic issue with self-made external SSD's? Would definitely influence later purchase decisions.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 9,765
    Mac OS Catalina
       #2

    How cheap were they? Possibly the buyers at at Micro Center could have gotten some Chinese fakes. Happens all of the time. See this YouTube
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 2,716
    Windows 10
       #3

    The ones you have referenced are pretty much standard prices now for a 120 GB SATA III SSDs from better known manufacturers. 120 GB is a very small capacity.
    It only costs a very small amount extra for a well known brand e.g.
    https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-BX500...ef=sr_1_1_sspa?

    An external drive made with an enclosure and an internal SATA III SSD drive may not have the right firmware/chipset/design for use as a USB drive.

    Reviews done shortly after purchase by consumers mean nothing.
    SSDs are critically dependent on the quality of components to last years of use.
    There are a lot of unknown brand cheap fakes or made with lower quality reject components that will fail after a short time.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 191
    Windows XP, 10; Knoppix [Debian] linux
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Thanks Helmut. In a way you are essentially restating my observation that a assembling DIY USB SSD can be a hit-or-miss proposition.

    In the OP I indicated that I did not purchase this set of hardware for the purpose of constructing an external SSD drive, it was more of an experiment that seemed to be working ... until it didn't. The Inland drive was an impulse buy inside a brick-and-mortar store; if I were doing this purposefully I would certainly have selected name-brand hardware with a more reliable reputation.

    That said .... I do not find guidance anywhere on what specific SSD's (or SSD design parameters), and what specific USB-SATA bridge chipsets are most dependable for this purpose....

    My own philosophy has been to favor self-assembled external drives for ease of servicing. If the USB connector becomes unsoldered on a sealed brand-name USB drive, which might not even have an accessible SATA header mounted on the drive itself - you are sunk. If you assembled it yourself, mix and match repairs are very easy - not to mention emergency recovery using an off-the-shelf SATA-to-USB data bridge cable.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 191
    Windows XP, 10; Knoppix [Debian] linux
    Thread Starter
       #5

    bro67 said:
    How cheap were they? Possibly the buyers at at Micro Center could have gotten some Chinese fakes. Happens all of the time. See this YouTube
    It's probably a legitimate product which cost about $20 or so at the time; prices have since dropped anyway making the original payout seem not so much of a bargain as of now.. The drive functions normally except for the power-loss glitch mentioned in my OP. The video you linked to seems to be concerned mainly with fake cellphones.
      My Computer


 

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