SSD vs HDD for data security

[Berni]

SSD reliability varies a lot between models.

The early SSDs tended to suffer a lot of "sudden deaths" where one day the drive just refuses to read or write anything. This has gotten a lot better with time, and usually new SSDs try to fail into a read-only safe mode if something goes wrong, so that you can still recover any data that might have survived.

This typical sudden failiure mode is what made then look more scary for data loss as compared to HDDs that usually fail gradually by deteriorating in performance or hanging randomly before they actually die for good.

But flash cell leakage bitrot is a different thing that can't be directly compared to HDDs since they don't experience it at all. Even after 100 years the magnetic bits are fine on a HDD platter, it is just a question if the rest of the HDD is still in a working condition to read those bits off it.

That being said one should always have backups of important data anyway. As reliable as storage mediums can be, none is 100% reliable (especially when you include natural disasters)

[jonpaul]

Eventually all HDD  fail esp the old Seagate/WD.

We use ONLY Samsung EVO 8xx, 250..500 GB...2 TB with no failures.

Early/cheap/off brand SSD have poor desing, FW and cell quality.

You get what you pay for!

J