Samsung 870 EVO 2TB bad sectors: what should I do?

[Swordmaster512]

Hi! Today I noticed in Event Viewer (I'm on Windows 10 latest version) lots of error messages about Device\Harddisk1\DR1 having damaged blocks. I ran chkdsk and discovered that my secondary SSD drive 870 EVO has indeed bad sectors (scan results are attached, language is Italian: basically it says it cannot replace the damaged clusters of affected files). S.M.A.R.T infos reported by CrystalDiskInfo don't point to any drive failure, though. Since I've almost zero knowledge in this matter I wonder what I should do: can I solve the issue by simply secure erasing the drive with Samsung tool (I don't care about saving the data in it) or should I go for a replacement, since the drive is relatively young (I bought it in February) and of course still under warranty?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Health looks like 99%, so should be fine. one of mine is on 92%, not worried

 

[GerKNG]

you have 66 bad blocks already. (having ONE is something that is only acceptable when you are beyond the TBW written on the box.)

save what you can and RMA it.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Dont wait for a failure like I did, prepare now even if it lasts a long time.

 

[lexluthermiester]

you have 66 bad blocks already. (having ONE is something that is only acceptable when you are beyond the TBW written on the box.)

save what you can and RMA it.

I have to agree with this statement.

@Swordmaster512
1 or 2 bad cells is to be expected from the factory, which is why every SSD made has a Z-sectoring scheme built into it. 66 bad cells? That indicates a very serious problem developing within one of the NAND dies. RMA that drive AFTER you copy your data elsewhere and wipe(zero out) all of it's space.

BTW, Welcome to TPU!

 

[plastiscɧ]

normally a SSD ignores bad sectors and put the data elsewhere beside.

my italian is a bit rusty but i read your pictures. so in my opinon 66 sectors is not a SUPER drama. but u had over 100 critical abortions of that SSD. thats the reason why. and beside the test was very long 30 minutes to scan a SSD is not normal. even not a 2TB with 500MB reading..

The samsung magician software could help through a secure erase.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

according to that i would go to the vendor. u have still limited warranty on it. with the buying receipe. its EU law.

as a hint: the ADATA SSDs are better than this one.

ADATA ASU750SS-256GT-C Ultimate SU750 HardDisk : Amazon.it: Informatica 750er
ADATA su800 Disco SSD da 256GB : Amazon.it: Informatica 800er modell -- top price performance.

‎Good luck and try to exchange them. I think it is still possible to do that.‎
‎Smaller SSDs are often less fragile and faster, by the way. 2TB is a bit big for my personal taste.‎
‎all the best.‎

 

[eidairaman1]

Back up your data, use Samsung Disk Tools to wipe it, if it has a repair option attempt it othrrwise RMA it

 

[AsRock]

improperly packaged or shipped, including use of non-qualified shipping container

Better check what they mean by that, they might want you to use the original box it came in.

SSD Product Warranty | Support | Samsung V-NAND SSD

Samsung ensures the best quality in all products and services beyond customer expectations. Warranty policy, conditions for Samsung Consumer and Portable SSD.

www.samsung.com

 

[Jetster]

Check it with Samsung's software.

 

[plastiscɧ]

RMA

it's a different procedure in case of warranty as in the states e.g.

RMA

you are all right but,
boys let him check this, it's EU law, depends where he bought it. it's not necessary under circumstances to send it elsewhere. just go to the vendor.


italy is the same market tho

 

[Deleted member 24505]

If a sector is the same size as a block, 66 in a 2tb SSD is nothing. lol maybe just me, but if it still worked, i'd still use it till it fails

 

[Swordmaster512]

Guys, thanks a lot for your answers. I think that I'll try to go to the store where I bought the SSD and see what kind of warranty procedure it applies. I can live without the drive for a while and all things considered I would prefer to have it replaced, if it's not too complicated.
In the meanwhile I transferred useful data and performed a Secure Erase.

 

[plastiscɧ]

Guys, thanks a lot for your answers. I think that I'll try to go to the store where I bought the SSD and see what kind of warranty procedure it applies. I can live without the drive for a while and all things considered I would prefer to have it replaced, if it's not too complicated.
In the meanwhile I transferred useful data and performed a Secure Erase.

and for more than 1TB i personally would go in the future for an HDD up to 2-4TB++. they are fast as well and for longlife.
SSD are best up to 500-1000GB

look at the ADATA i posted

 

[Vya Domus]

Can't read since it's Italian but 66 bad sectors means 0.03379 MB. I think you guys need to chill.

 

[ArdWar]

I never take a close look at how a SSD is managed, but I always thought that bad sectors are detected and mapped away in the firmware level. It should be invisible to filesystem level check.

The fact that they shows up in filesystem check can be quite concerning, depends on how the mapping is done. Maybe check again and see if the bad sectors still shows up?

 

[elghinnarisa]

I know back in the day bad sectors was like a cancer on mechanical drives. But for SSDs, I don't really know how it works. Does it still spread like cancer?

 

[plastiscɧ]

I know back in the day bad sectors was like a cancer on mechanical drives. But for SSDs, I don't really know how it works. Does it still spread like cancer?

no. they just flag the sectors by themselves and put the data aside to the next cluster.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Can't read since it's Italian but 66 bad sectors means 0.03379 MB. I think you guys need to chill.

Incorrect. The space involved is not the defining factor. I have an SSD that is over 3 years old, has 92% life left and has all of 1(one) bad cell, and it came from the factory that way. 66 bad cells is an unacceptable number for such a new drive and is indicative of a failing component within the drive. It needs to be returned.

I always thought that bad sectors are detected and mapped away in the firmware level.

They are. That's what I meant above by "Z-sectoring". It happens automatically and "should" be invisible to the OS. The fact that @Swordmaster512 is actually seeing 66 bad cells means that all of the Z-sector provisioning has been used up and the bad cells are not being replaced in the drive map with spare good cells. This means the drive is failing and needs replacement, even if drive SMART has not flagged it yet.

 

[Shrek]

Given how solid state drives can just drop out without warning, I'd say it is good to catch things early.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I'd have used it till it died. But then i'm not up on the ins and outs of SSD workings

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'd have used it till it died. But then i'm not up on the ins and outs of SSD workings

That's never a good idea, for several reasons.
1. If it fails outside the return policy/warranty time period, you're boned and its on you to buy a new drive.
2. As a drive continues to fail it's going to cause progressively more problems similar to the ones the OP showed in the first post, and really, no one wants to deal with that.
3. If the drive is an OS boot device and you wait until it's on it's last leg, your OS install will likely get corrupted along with your personal files, game saves, etc., thus forcing a fresh install instead of an install migration.

SSDs and mechanical drives have the following in common: They all have a few defects from the factory. No drive is ever perfect. Both types have provisioning for allocation of spare data space. The defects are always invisible to the user/OS until the spare data space sectors/cells are used up. After that point sectors/cells just go bad ,are remarked out of the drive map and are not replaced with spare sectors/cells as there are none left. This will happen naturally as a drive ages and is not indicative of eminent drive failure.

However, in the case of the @Swordmaster512 , the SSD in question is relatively new and should not have used up it's spare cell provisioning yet. For that to have taken place along with an additional 66 cells gone bad is an indicator of something going bad.

@Gruffalo.Soldier
No offense to you of course, but waiting for a drive to just die is not wise if you care about your investment/money.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

That's never a good idea, for several reasons.
1. If it fails outside the return policy/warranty time period, you're boned and its on you to buy a new drive.
2. As a drive continues to fail it's going to cause progressively more problems similar to the ones the OP showed in the first post, and really, no one wants to deal with that.
3. If the drive is an OS boot device and you wait until it's on it's last leg, your Windows install will likely get corrupted along with your personal files, game saves, etc., thus forcing a fresh install instead of an install migration.

SSDs and mechanical drives have the following in common: They all have a few defects from the factory. No drive is ever perfect. Both types have provisioning for allocation of spare data space. The defects are always invisible to the user/OS until the spare data space sectors/cells are used up. After that point sectors/cells just go bad ,are remarked out of the drive map and are not replaced with spare sectors/cells as there are none left. This will happen naturally as a drive ages and is not indicative of eminent drive failure.

However, in the case of the @Swordmaster512 , the SSD in question is relatively new and should not have used up it's spare cell provisioning yet. For that to have taken place along with an additional 66 cells gone bad is an indicator of something going bad.

@Gruffalo.Soldier
No offense to you of course, but waiting for a drive to just die is not wise if you care about your investment/money.

I rarely have cash to buy new, so mostly i use CEX, which is relatively cheap. Most expensive drive in my current rig is a WD blue 4TB with DOM of 06/21 which was only £80. But i understand if you're paying for say a 4TB NVME which ain't cheap, if it fails inside the warranty period, to return it.

 

[Swordmaster512]

So the store where I bought the drive told me to contact Samsung directly. I wrote an email to their Memory Support (Hanaro) attaching the screenshot of chkdsk analysis and they replied with an automatic message that asks for further information, among other things a screenshot of Samsung Magician Diagnostic Scan results. After the Secure erase, though, both chkdsk and Diagnostic Scan don't find anything wrong with the SSD. Again I'm sorry for the noob question, but since the drive is now completely empty should I fill it with data in order to make visible the bad blocks? Results of complete diagnostic scan in Samsung Magician:

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Could it have been a chkdsk glitch?

 

[Swordmaster512]

Could it have been a chkdsk glitch?

Don't know, before formatting I had run it twice with identical results.

However, S.M.A.R.T. in Magician reports this:


Maybe this is sufficient to prove drive failure?