SSD Crashed - Worried about going with replacement drive

FlatBlackXD

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Jun 15, 2012
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I tried to get my thread name to match up what I was asking without it being too long, but I still do not think it did the trick.

Anyways, long story short. Just this Wednesday my computer froze, and I was unable to get it get past the Starting Windows screen without completely removing my old SSD from my system. Low and behold, it seems my SSD is completely crashed and I cannot even get it to properly show in Disk or Device Management, and when it does, it almost causes my computer to completely lock up.

In the end, it looks like I will eventually get a replacement from OCZ(whenever they get around to responding), and I am a bit cautious about ever trusting them again. I think I understand correctly that they are one of the fastest SSD producing companies out there, but after mine crashed, and reading reviews/comments online, it seems like OCZ has developed quite a reputation of having faulty SSDs.

The two reasons I am posting this is for suggestions on how to possibly be able to salvage the crashed OCZ Vertex 2 60GB sitting next to me, to at least be able to check if anything important is still on there, and the other question revolves around whether or not I should get an OCZ Vertex or Agility 3, or go with a Crucial 120GB as they seem to have much more satisfied customers and much less negative reviews based around crashed SSDs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100011693%204802%204017&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=636|20-148-442^20-148-442-TS%2C20-148-448^20-148-448-TS%2C20-227-706^20-227-706-14%23%2C20-233-191^20-233-191-TS

Those are the four that I looked at possibly upgrading to becoming my new OS holder as well as holding some other games. I really cannot trust any OCZ Vertex 2 anymore as it crashed just a year and a half after I first got it.

Any suggestions, tips, or comments about anything I posted above would be greatly appreciate.
 

TeeBaby

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Jun 15, 2012
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You might want to take a look at a Samsung 830 SSD, if you can handle sata III or Samsung 470 for sata II.
Samsung has great R/W speeds and reliability. There are plenty of reviews on the web to help you decide. Good luck.
 

FlatBlackXD

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Jun 15, 2012
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Alright, I'll take a look at those. I think they are a little bit more expensive, but I do not think expense plays a big role when it comes to stability and reliability of something like storage devices.

A few more questions I wanted to ask about:

Does have an SSD that has more than 80% capacity full cause it to have any problems outside of slower performance? If I do have more than 80%, can that speed up the likelihood of the SSD failing and/or crashing?

One of the OCZ "SSD ABC Guide" Do's suggested "Do keep static storage on a separate storage HDD." What storage is classified as "static?"

Last kind of additional comment. Is there anything else that is kind of important to know about handling SSDs outside of the ordinary? Reformatting every "black" and giving it a fresh start. Or never installing "A, B, and C" type of programs? Is there anything else I should do to help preserve the life of my SSD?
 
That sucks. I bought 2 60GB Vertex 2 on day 1 and have them in RAID-0 and have not had any issues with them.

Update the firmware on your drive to version 1.37 and see if that will allow you to access the drive and recover any needed data.


 

TeeBaby

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Jun 15, 2012
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One of the OCZ "SSD ABC Guide" Do's suggested "Do keep static storage on a separate storage HDD." What storage is classified as "static?"

Static storage pertains to files such as Temp Files, folders: My Documents, My Photos, My Music, saved games etc. Keep only the OS (Win7), Antivirus and other primary programs on the SSD. There are allot of "how To" blogs that will show you how re-direct these files and folders to your storage Hard Drive. I along with many others find that a fresh install of the Operation System will give you the best performance results. Good Luck.