Restoring SSD files from HDD backup

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geegeegee

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Nov 19, 2013
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I've been looking at several posts regarding restoration of SSD files from a HDD backup, but they don't seem to answer the question I am looking for (or maybe I just don't fully understand the replies). So I ask this question, would anything happen if I restore files that are located on an SSD from a HDD backup? Because a SSD and HDD operate differently, and the way files are read are different between the two, will restoring SSD files from a HDD backup affect the longevity or operations of the SDD?

I plan on backing up files from my SSD drive (C:\) and HDD drive (D:\) onto an external HDD. I want to know if something will happen if I were to restore files in the SDD drive.

 
Solution
popatim
the files on the SSD that you restore from your HDD would be replaced by the hdd file. This affects the SSd longevity because SSD's have a limited number of write cycles and nearly unlimited number of read cycles. This is nothing to worry about. The SSD won't wear out for many years. It takes much longer than when you would want to replace the drive anyways. Anandtech did a study on the Samsung 840 which uses the worst flash for wear (only 1000 writes for its triple level cell flash instead of 3000 for the multi-level cells found in most ssd's) and at 10GB of writes per day the drive would last over 23 years.
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popatim

popatim

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the files on the SSD that you restore from your HDD would be replaced by the hdd file. This affects the SSd longevity because SSD's have a limited number of write cycles and nearly unlimited number of read cycles. This is nothing to worry about. The SSD won't wear out for many years. It takes much longer than when you would want to replace the drive anyways. Anandtech did a study on the Samsung 840 which uses the worst flash for wear (only 1000 writes for its triple level cell flash instead of 3000 for the multi-level cells found in most ssd's) and at 10GB of writes per day the drive would last over 23 years.
 
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giantbucket

giantbucket

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Nov 17, 2013
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people never seem to worry about these things when copying files to/from a USB memory stick, or from some p2p service, or a website, so why is it a question between SSD and HDD? reorganizing the bits so that they land properly is the controller's job - where the file came from is mostly irrelevant if you're just doing a copy-paste of a FILE (or set of files).

the only time this should be an issue is if someone is doing a clone or image or sector-by-sector replication. which normal backups aren't.
 
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Slowroller

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Jul 20, 2013
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Ok this last answer by giantbucket might be the answer to my very similar question but I need to make sure I understand this as I am trying to set make purchase decision for new backup drives.

I have an SSD system drive and a hdd storage drive. Prior to the SSD I was making periodic clones for quick recovery if I need it. More recently before the SSD I started to make backups for recovery from and back to hdd.

So now with the SDD I understand from several forums that it is better to do a new install on an SSD rather than clone from from a hard drive because of the settings for trim and alignment. And that its best to clone from SSD to SSD for making clones.

Got that. but what about using one larger external hdd for making backup images of both the SDD and the hdd as long as I'm not cloning but using a backup image to recover back to the SSD? Would this not have all the original settings and alignment that were originally on the SSD when I created the backup? Seems like the media type (SSD or hdd) wouldn't effect the image itself. Is the one large external hdd for backing both SSD and hdd as good as any SSD to SSD for backup imaging?

Thanks for any help
 
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giantbucket

giantbucket

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i'm guessing this would largely depend on the software you're using to make the backup images. I've only used the native windows tools which (from what I can tell) make copies of files and keep track of the space between them, but may not look at sector-by-sector data. so a 50G partition with 20G of data on it would take 20G of space to image, but it still captures the 30G of blank space so you'd need 50G-plus when you expand it back. some tools might do a blind clone, sector by sector, in which case you would probably be better off using the same storage technology. as far as I can tell, the windows tool isn't blind so you can use different storage technologies on each side of the backup/restore operation.
 
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