Storage Solutions SSD life/performance and number of partitions.

[PoBoy]

wrt SSDs, one often comes across terms like wearleveling, overprovisioning, free space (keep enough) etc. etc.
Bit confusing.

I could not find any info on whether SSD life/performance is related to the number of partitions on that SSD.
For e.g. : is it better to have fewer large partitions.
If there are many partitions on the SSD, there would be less free space on each of them, right?

Asking because until now I have separate partitions for programs (I use portable apps whenever possible), data, code, images, music, videos, installers . The last four are on a HDD btw.

EDIT : That would also mean it is smarter to opt for a larger capacity SSD ?

EDIT 2: If I secure erase a SSD would CrystalDiskInfo suddenly start showing SSD health as "Good" ?

 

[StygianClaw]

I could not find any info on whether SSD life/performance is related to the number of partitions on that SSD.
For e.g. : is it better to have fewer large partitions.
If there are many partitions on the SSD, there would be less free space on each of them, right?

Partitioning will not affect SSD performance or lifespan.

The logical addresses used by the operating system map to different physical addresses on the SSD. The controller on the SSD takes care of this. So if you make a partition on an SSD, it does not mean that the data in it is confined to a particular part of the flash.

Asking because until now I have separate partitions for programs (I use portable apps whenever possible), data, code, images, music, videos, installers . The last four are on a HDD btw.

On HDDs, the partitions may impact performance to an extent but not lifespan. The addresses map linearly unlike SSDs. The outer tracks of the platter are faster than the inner ones.

That would also mean it is smarter to opt for a larger capacity SSD ?

I suggest getting one with at least 30% more capacity than what you expect to use. You only need to consider the total free space across all partitions.

If I secure erase a SSD would CrystalDiskInfo suddenly start showing SSD health as "Good" ?

The SSD health is calculated using the total writes. If an SSD's official endurance is rated at 100TBW and you have written 10TB, then the health would be 90%. Most SSDs would last far beyond the rated endurance. However, there is no guarantee by the manufacturer for this.

Also, as an SSD wears down, the time that it can retain data when left unpowered starts to reduce. This is only a significant problem if you leave them unpowered for months or years.

When you use secure erase, it adds a large chunk of writes which might reduce the reported life remaining. If the controller has logged some warning in the SMART, it may disappear later, if the controller determines it was a one-off. On the other hand, secure erase can possibly cause any hidden problems to surface and throw new warnings/errors.

 

[PoBoy]

Thanks StygianClaw.

Yikes! I just found out the (SATA) SSD I have is from circa 2012 !
But it's still showing 100% health.
It's a Intel SSD 520, Cherryville. Got it approx 5 years back, pulled, from ebay.in - after hearing about it here at TEF.

Lifetime Endurance – 36 TBW Minimum (5 Years, 20GB written per day) - from here .

EDIT : "The 60GB is currently priced at 149.99, the 120GB is 229.99, the 180GB is 369.99 and the 240GB model we are testing today comes in at 539.99 and the uber 480GB drive costs 1049.99. "
Thats USD btw, LOL.

From : https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4559/intel_520_series_240gb_solid_state_drive_review/index.html

EDIT2 : Got it in Feb 2016. TEF post

 

[guest_999]

Yikes! I just found out the (SATA) SSD I have is from circa 2012 !
But it's still showing 100% health.

That's because ssd of those times didn't have a "lifetime remaining indicator" like later ssd hence crystaldiskinfo/similar software will always show 100% health for such ssd even beyond TBW.

 

[enthusiast29]

When you use secure erase, it adds a large chunk of writes which might reduce the reported life remaining.

Secure erase on SSD doesn't do any writes. It sends a electrical signal to the disk which flushes all data from all the cells/blocks and marks them free. Enhanced secure erase generates new encryption keys which make old data unreadable.
I've done it hundreds of times.

 

[guest_999]

Secure erase on SSD doesn't do any writes. It sends a electrical signal to the disk which flushes all data from all the cells/blocks and marks them free. Enhanced secure erase generates new encryption keys which make old data unreadable.
I've done it hundreds of times.

Exactly! This is similar to how android factory reset works on android 7+ where basically encryption keys are deleted so even if data is still there it is practically unrecoverable as those encryption keys are permanently lost.

 

[gourav]

Enhanced secure erase generates new encryption keys which make old data unreadable.

Is all data on SSDs encrypted?

 

[StygianClaw]

Secure erase on SSD doesn't do any writes. It sends a electrical signal to the disk which flushes all data from all the cells/blocks and marks them free. Enhanced secure erase generates new encryption keys which make old data unreadable.
I've done it hundreds of times.

Makes sense. But how does it work on unencrypted drives (Bitlocker/Device encryption turned off in Windows)? I understand the bit where the entire flash is marked as free cleared but do modern SSDs encrypt all data at the controller level even if disabled in the OS?

Asking, because the last time I did a secure erase (Samsung Magician) on an SSD was a few years back and it drastically increased the write count.

 

[guest_999]

Is all data on SSDs encrypted?

Makes sense. But how does it work on unencrypted drives (Bitlocker/Device encryption turned off in Windows)? I understand the bit where the entire flash is marked as free but do modern SSDs encrypt all data at the controller level even if disabled in the OS?

Asking, because the last time I did a secure erase (Samsung magician) on an SSD was a few years back and it drastically increased the write count.

SSD which support hardware encryption always encrypt data independent of OS but without setting a secondary key for the encryption key so it is transparent to OS but if you do set a key via ssd mgmt then you need to enter that password before ssd can be read or OS on it can be loaded.

 

[enthusiast29]

Asking, because the last time I did a secure erase (Samsung Magician) on an SSD was a few years back and it drastically increased the write count.

I'm unsure what option you used but maybe you did actually write 0s. I always secure erase using either BIOS or parted magic bootable ISO.
It doesn't need any software actually, all it does is execute the built-in secure erase in the firmware.