Samsung 870 EVO - Beware, certain batches prone to failure!

[SPDIF]

Yes you guessed it... I can imagine for a big company you would try anything to get data back, but for us home users... IMHO i think a new SSD is the best option and restore from backup if any.

 

[wvcaudill2]

Ah thanks for the response.

Stupidly, this was the one drive I didn't have set to backup. Luckily, anything critical I store is backed up, but this drive itself, that stored my OS/Games/Programs was not
I won't make that mistake again.

Sounds like I'll just have to send it off for a replacement. In the meantime I've ordered a WD SN850X to replace it as my main drive. Not sure I'm ready to trust Samsung again.

 

[Koozwad]

Hey all, my 4TB Evo 870 completely bit the dust a few days ago with no warning. Woke up one morning, turned on my PC, and it went straight into the bios menu. The SSD could not be detected. I took it out and tried it in many different computers and operating systems, different cables and enclosures, but no luck.

Samsung agreed to RMA it, but before I send it in I wanted to poll the group. Was anyone able to recover any data after the drive became completely unrecognizable to a computer? Furthermore, are there any concerns with sending a drive full of data to Samsung? I have no way to securely erase and since this was my primary drive I am sure it contains some sensitive information. Was Samsung able to recover any data for anyone during the "repair" process?

There are ways to recover some data - free even, despite it not being detected in the BIOS. My 870 EVO 2TB wasn't detected anymore in the BIOS since it failed, either, but semi-existed in the OS. Here's one example of software you can use. https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
You can manually copy files/directories to another drive - though the question is how much of your drive is still alive.

If you can do this so easily, I imagine Samsung can do the same, or better even, as they are Samsung drives. Data is $$$ these days(even simple user habits) so I wouldn't be surprised if they make secret copies of user data, but that's going into conspiracy theory territory. However, a good rule of thumb - if something is possible, it's happening somewhere.

 

[SPDIF]

Ah thanks for the response.

Stupidly, this was the one drive I didn't have set to backup. Luckily, anything critical I store is backed up, but this drive itself, that stored my OS/Games/Programs was not
I won't make that mistake again.

Sounds like I'll just have to send it off for a replacement. In the meantime I've ordered a WD SN850X to replace it as my main drive. Not sure I'm ready to trust Samsung again.

Oh yes then i would opt for a new SSD! No need to repair a SSD that you can't trust anymore. You will have more rest with a new SSD and don't have to think to anything anymore.
Good luck! And yes SN850X is also one of the best SSD around.

 

[wvcaudill2]

There are ways to recover some data - free even, despite it not being detected in the BIOS. My 870 EVO 2TB wasn't detected anymore in the BIOS since it failed, either, but semi-existed in the OS. Here's one example of software you can use. https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
You can manually copy files/directories to another drive - though the question is how much of your drive is still alive.

If you can do this so easily, I imagine Samsung can do the same, or better even, as they are Samsung drives. Data is $$$ these days(even simple user habits) so I wouldn't be surprised if they make secret copies of user data, but that's going into conspiracy theory territory. However, a good rule of thumb - if something is possible, it's happening somewhere.

I'll have to give that software a try tonight. I haven't been able to get the disk to be recognizable in either WIndows or Linux machines, with different cables and enclosures.

 

[wvcaudill2]

There are ways to recover some data - free even, despite it not being detected in the BIOS. My 870 EVO 2TB wasn't detected anymore in the BIOS since it failed, either, but semi-existed in the OS. Here's one example of software you can use. https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
You can manually copy files/directories to another drive - though the question is how much of your drive is still alive.

If you can do this so easily, I imagine Samsung can do the same, or better even, as they are Samsung drives. Data is $$$ these days(even simple user habits) so I wouldn't be surprised if they make secret copies of user data, but that's going into conspiracy theory territory. However, a good rule of thumb - if something is possible, it's happening somewhere.

I gave the software you mentioned a download but just like everything else I’ve tried it doesn’t recognize the ssd when plugged into the computer.

Has anyone found any other way to recover data when it gets to this point?

 

[Koozwad]

I gave the software you mentioned a download but just like everything else I’ve tried it doesn’t recognize the ssd when plugged into the computer.

Has anyone found any other way to recover data when it gets to this point?

You're sure you still have it plugged in(to motherboard+PSU)? Not disabled in Device Manager? I'm personally not aware of other software, but there will undoubtedly be more out there. One more simple one I used in the past is Recuva, but that may not be as effective.

 

[wvcaudill2]

You're sure you still have it plugged in(to motherboard+PSU)? Not disabled in Device Manager? I'm personally not aware of other software, but there will undoubtedly be more out there. One more simple one I used in the past is Recuva, but that may not be as effective.

Yes, and I know its receiving power because I can feel it heating up in my hand.

I've tried both direct connection with the PSU and motherboard and also a SATA kit I had that provides power and a SATA to USB connection. I'm trying to recover anything I can off this drive before I send it to Samsung this afternoon.

 

[Koozwad]

Yes, and I know its receiving power because I can feel it heating up in my hand.

I've tried both direct connection with the PSU and motherboard and also a SATA kit I had that provides power and a SATA to USB connection. I'm trying to recover anything I can off this drive before I send it to Samsung this afternoon.

It's possible then it is just too far gone. TestDisk was at least worth a shot.

I had the same happen many years ago when I was developing some games, and had all my assets etc stored on an external Western Digital drive. Back then I didn't know about disk corruption, and before I knew what had happened it was too late.

Take this as a learning opportunity to be careful buying the newest of the newest and wait for user reviews/experiences for at least a year or so after release. Heck, it'll save you plenty of money too, and with disk drives these days the performance differences in real world use are negligible. By far the biggest jump was HDD to SSD.

Of course like has been said, it's important to back up anything you wouldn't want to lose.

 

[wvcaudill2]

It's possible then it is just too far gone. TestDisk was at least worth a shot.

I had the same happen many years ago when I was developing some games, and had all my assets etc stored on an external Western Digital drive. Back then I didn't know about disk corruption, and before I knew what had happened it was too late.

Take this as a learning opportunity to be careful buying the newest of the newest and wait for user reviews/experiences for at least a year or so after release. Heck, it'll save you plenty of money too, and with disk drives these days the performance differences in real world use are negligible. By far the biggest jump was HDD to SSD.

Of course like has been said, it's important to back up anything you wouldn't want to lose.

Yea this is an unfortunate situation. I just never expected an SSD to have such a short runtime before failure. Luckily everything critical was backed up to my Google Drive. Just going to be a PITA to reinstall everything on my computer to get it back to being what I need it to be.

Thanks for the help.

 

[wvcaudill2]

Hey so I was actually able to get TestDisk to recognize the SSD! I've taken a screenshot below. What are the next steps to any data recovery? I don't have another 4TB drive lying around to clone this one, so would prefer searching through the data structure to find files to recover.

 

[unwind-protect]

Hey so I was actually able to get TestDisk to recognize the SSD! I've taken a screenshot below. What are the next steps to any data recovery? I don't have another 4TB drive lying around to clone this one, so would prefer searching through the data structure to find files to recover.

You really want a full copy right now. If you are short on cash get a spinner drive. Or return a drive after you are finished.

Don't you need a new drive anyway?

 

[SPDIF]

The longer he wait to RMA to Samsung, the lesser the chance they will replace it... I can know it, never wait and RMA it ASAP to them. If possible, back-up the entire thing sector by sector to another drive, after that you have the time to try to get back data at any way possible. And surely NEVER play around with an already broken SSD, one little fault and everything of data is doomed! Back-up this thing ASAP.

 

[Koozwad]

Hey so I was actually able to get TestDisk to recognize the SSD! I've taken a screenshot below. What are the next steps to any data recovery? I don't have another 4TB drive lying around to clone this one, so would prefer searching through the data structure to find files to recover.

Great to hear!

Here is some general information about TestDisk(can also find a PDF in the application's folder): https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk_doc/
If you get stuck somewhere it's probably better to use the software's forum as they will know much better how to help you(but good to report back here with what and how you did it so that it can help others): https://forum.cgsecurity.org/phpBB3/

From memory, the steps I took were as follows:
-start software using testdisk_win.exe
-select No Log
-select the correct (defect/damaged)drive
-in your case most likely select EFI GPT partition(important thing is that the data such as folder structure etc. is visible)
-select the main data partition & use list function
-you can press shift+c to copy selected files, and c to copy highlighted file, press a to select all etc, it says at the bottom as well

In my case I was able to see the original folder names etc. and copy files/folders, which is more than I can say for any other method/software I tried. Not everything was intact though which is to be expected with a failing drive. It's better than nothing! Perhaps the included PhotoRec can be even better to use, though I have no experience with it.

Received my replacement drive today already(super fast) and this one's production date reads 2024-01-29, instead of the old failed SSD's 2021-01-30. Fingers crossed they have fixed the issue permanently!

 

[SPDIF]

Received my replacement drive today already(super fast) and this one's production date reads 2024-01-29, instead of the old failed SSD's 2021-01-30. Fingers crossed they have fixed the issue permanently!

The issue was fixed in 2022-2023 already, there are no problems anymore and are very reliable again. Since that time i sold numerous of them, with none of them returning.
Firmware had nothing to do with it in this case, it was purely bad NAND inside because of the ongoing pandemic. Crucial had the same problems and many other brand's.

But you did hear most of Samsung because they are market leader in SSD storage.

 

[Koozwad]

The issue was fixed in 2022-2023 already, there are no problems anymore and are very reliable again. Since that time i sold numerous of them, with none of them returning.
Firmware had noting to do with it in this case, it was purely bad NAND inside

That is great to hear, I really hope not too many people lost their entire OS and/or important data, but yeah, learning experience...

PS that pic/render - Mia Winters from RE7?

 

[SPDIF]

Yes my dear Mia from that RE7... Haha!

But for wvcaudill2, it's the best if he take an entire copy from it if possible, and then he can experiment all he wants with that backup.
So don't panic if you receive an SSD with the old SVT01 firmware, it's completely normal. Some of them can upgrade to SVT02 but not all. SVT03 firmware is only for SSD with new NAND variant from Samsung.

 

[Koozwad]

Yes my dear Mia from that RE7... Haha!

But for wvcaudill2, it's the best if he take an entire copy from it if possible, and then he can experiment all he wants with that backup.
So don't panic if you receive an SSD with the old SVT01 firmware, it's completely normal. Some of them can upgrade to SVT02 but not all. SVT03 firmware is only for SSD with new NAND variant from Samsung.

Ha nice, made the render yourself? High quality stuff.

I remember reading that ddrescue(?) can make an exact copy of the drive but requires Linux/Mac to do so. Gotta be some other software like it for Windows users, you'd think.

My new 870 EVO has SVT03B6Q firmware, I wonder what is different exactly compared to the older models regarding the NAND. It does benchmark well, basically reaching all the max. rated speeds. Created a post about some simple benchmark results here: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...of-drives-dedicated-gaming-disk-drive.320719/
I'm curious what others think, as it could potentially be very beneficial to basically everyone out there using any kind of drives. Probably not a lot of people that know the full effect/difference of the policies though. Especially for gaming/video drives it seems better to just go for the safest option(OS drive too, now that I think about it).

Also somewhat related to drives failing/dying: it seems to be better to use GPT compared to MBR regarding data recovery, though most people will likely already be using it for their SSDs.

 

[Sora]

bad NAND inside because of the ongoing pandemic. Crucial had the same problems and many other brand's.

Crucial didn't have a nand quality issue, the controller was defective on the initial mx500 release.

 

[SPDIF]

They did, i had many returned like Samsung, nowadays everything is fine again. All of them where dead.
Also a lot of problems with bad written firmware, i never heard of a bad controller.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

They did, i had many returned like Samsung, nowadays everything is fine again. All of them where dead.
Also a lot of problems with bad written firmware, i never heard of a bad controller.

My MX500, likely made before the pandemic, would suddenly have the percentage of life plunge!

I had it with my first Ryzen build with Windows 10 and suddenly, I was getting alert after alert about the SMART from Crystal Disk Info, IIRC! In only within one year, it plunged down to 82 percent!

 

[SPDIF]

Now i sell them again, good SSD for the money, but they also had a lot of problems with the NAND because they have numerous firmware updates available that are all different for different versions of NAND. Even the firmware is not usable to another you did buy, it was a real disaster.
They have about 4 or 5 different firmware versions available for the same drive! All equipped with different NAND or controller.

The latest ones are using M3CR045 and can be upgraded to M3CR046, because in some cases it makes windows to hang up or freezing.

 

[Sora]

My MX500, likely made before the pandemic, would suddenly have the percentage of life plunge!

Yes, the controller was prematurely moving data around to refresh the nand leading to exponential device-self writes which manifested as extreme write amplification.

 

[SPDIF]

Too bad they are now not so cheap anymore, prices are very high at moment. Around 100 dollar for 1TB, some month ago i could buy them at halve price.

Just found it somewhere cheaper 79 dollar 1TB.
The 870EVO 1TB has a price off 102 dollars now.

 

[wvcaudill2]

So a bit of an update: I was able to browse and recover a significant portion of my files with testdisk. Unfortunately, the one file I was looking for that was saved to my Desktop is missing in testdisk. Not sure if there is anything else I can do to recover it as it seems to have just disappeared.

I'm planning on shipping the drive to Samsung tomorrow, so hopefully its not too late to RMA!