Buying used SSD, how do i test to see if its still good?

[Mungetso]

Hi im looking into buying a used ssd fir very cheap, i dont have any sort of ssd at the moment and would like to know hiw i can test it to see if its worth buying this one, i dont have the option to save up and buy a new ssd any time soon. The ssd in question is a: samsung ssd sm841n 2.5 7mm 256GB

[xentropa]

Run crystaldiskinfo

[Energycore]

You'll want to look at the endurance rating for that SSD online (it's listed as TBW - TeraBytes Written sometimes), and use crystaldisk info to check the actual amount of written data to the SSD. Most SSDs just die when they get too much data written on them, but usually it takes a lot (like, the lowest rating I've seen is 30TB). And just like said above, if it works, it works, but do keep a backup of your data.

[Mungetso]

Ok so i intent to plug it into a USB 3.0 enclosure and plug it into my laptop, run crystaldisk and check that out (what would i be looking for in the report this program gives?) And then test by copying a big file. Would that be sufficient?

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

 

If the square that the top left arrow is pointing at isn't blue and says anything other than "Good", walk away.

On the right next to "total host writes" you'll find how much data has been written to the disk (the primary cause of NAND wear). 

The lower arrow points at the "Wear Leveling Count", which is an indicator of how much life the SSD has left.  It counts down from 100 to 1, and at 1 the drive is as good as dead. 

[Mungetso]

53 minutes ago, Captain Chaos said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

If the square that the top left arrow is pointing at isn't blue and says anything other than "Good", walk away.

On the right next to "total host writes" you'll find how much data has been written to the disk (the primary cause of NAND wear). 

The lower arrow points at the "Wear Leveling Count", which is an indicator of how much life the SSD has left.  It counts down from 100 to 1, and at 1 the drive is as good as dead. 

Thank you for giving the quick rundown. Will my plan of using a 2.5" USB 3.0 cover work?

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

28 minutes ago, Mungetso said:

Will my plan of using a 2.5" USB 3.0 cover work?

Ah, right

 

That depends on the enclosure.  Not all enclosures support S.M.A.R.T. readings.  Kinda hard to tell which ones do and don't. 

Put any 2.5" HDD in your enclosure and test it.  If CrystalDiskInfo sees the HDD and gives a reading, that enclosure will work with the SSD too.

[Mungetso]

3 minutes ago, Captain Chaos said:

Ah, right

 

That depends on the enclosure.  Not all enclosures support S.M.A.R.T. readings.  Kinda hard to tell which ones do and don't. 

Put any 2.5" HDD in your enclosure and test it.  If CrystalDiskInfo sees the HDD and gives a reading, that enclosure will work with the SSD too.

Ok, will do thanks, im picking up this SSD for $53, where as the usual for a 256GB SSD here is around $70. No clue if that is expensive or not for an SSD of that size compared to other parts of the world. (im in South Africa)

[xentropa]

0 reallocated sector counts is good.  I'd say this drive can last a while.

 

Edit: i fail.  Didnt realize that crystaldiskinfo isn't the OPs.  

 

Anyways look out for reallocated sectors.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

2 minutes ago, xentropa said:

Didnt realize that crystaldiskinfo isn't the OPs

Yeah, perhaps I should have pointed out that this was my own EVO rather than the drive the OP was looking at.  This could be slightly confusing indeed.

[dmaes]

28 minutes ago, Mungetso said:

Ok, will do thanks, im picking up this SSD for $53, where as the usual for a 256GB SSD here is around $70. No clue if that is expensive or not for an SSD of that size compared to other parts of the world. (im in South Africa)

In Belgium, you pay at least 100 EUR (120 USD) for that capacity, so I think $53 or $70 is not expensive (at least not for me)

[Mungetso]

36 minutes ago, 101dmrs said:

In Belgium, you pay at least 100 EUR (120 USD) for that capacity, so I think $53 or $70 is not expensive (at least not for me)

Holy crap jeez, thats very expensive in my eyes.