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posted by martyb on Sunday May 10 2015, @10:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the powerlessness dept.

An SSD stored without power can start to lose data in as little as a single week on the shelf, depending on several factors. When most drives storage were mechanical, there was little chance of data loss or corruption so quickly as long as the environment in the storage enclosure maintained reasonable thresholds. The same is not true for SSDs and the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC), which defines standards for the microelectronics industry including standards for SSDs, shows in a presentation that for every 5 degrees C (9 degrees F) rise in temperature beyond the optimal where the SSD is stored the data retention period is approximately halved.

In a presentation by Alvin Cox on JEDEC's website titled "JEDEC SSD Specifications Explained" [PDF warning], graphs on slide 27 show that for every 5 degrees C (9 degrees F) rise in temperature where the SSD is stored, the retention period is approximately halved. For example, if a client application SSD is stored at 25 degrees C (77 degrees F) it should last about 2 years on the shelf under optimal conditions. If that temperature goes up 5 degrees C, the storage standard drops to 1 year.

[...] When you receive a computer system for storage in legal hold, drive operating and ambient storage temperature are probably not the first things on tap to consider. You cannot control the materials that comprise the drive and the prior use of the drive. You can control the ambient temperature of the storage which will potentially aid in data retention. You can also ensure that power is supplied to the drives while in storage. More importantly, you can control how the actual data is retained.

[...] What started this look into SSDs? An imaging job of a laptop SSD left in storage for well over the 3-month minimum retention period quoted by the manufacturer of the drive before it was turned over to us. This drive had a large number of bad sectors identified during the imaging period. Not knowing the history, I did not consider the possibility of data loss due to the drive being in storage. Later, I learned that the drive was functioning well when it had been placed into storage. When returned to its owner a couple of months after the imaging, the system would not even recognize the drive as a valid boot device. Fortunately, the user data and files were preserved in the drive image that had been taken, thus there was no net loss.

Now imagine a situation in which an SSD was stored in legal hold where the data was no longer available for imaging, much less use in court. Ignorance of the technology is no excuse, and I am sure the opposing counsel would enjoy the opportunity to let the court know of the "negligent" evidence handling in the matter.

 
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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Monday May 11 2015, @03:00AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday May 11 2015, @03:00AM (#181319) Journal

    There really is no archival medium anymore.

    In the present days, the drones don't need memory any more.
    In fact, the act of recalling something from memory/archive is theft, no different than the piracy: the drones should always pay when engaging in this sort of acts.
    Even the fact a drone remembers that something exists and/or was "consumed" earlier is dangerous and subversive (on the fringe of terrorism, I tell yea): not only it forces the industry to take the extra cost of ever producing something new but... the horror... in may encourage thinking, even critical thinking.

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
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  • (Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Monday May 11 2015, @06:03AM

    by Jeremiah Cornelius (2785) on Monday May 11 2015, @06:03AM (#181372) Journal

    You are confusing some of us by lumping Betas in with Deltas and Gammas as "Drones". Betas are permitted these authorized memories, provided they have remitted regular fees and remain current.

    --
    You're betting on the pantomime horse...
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday May 11 2015, @06:22AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday May 11 2015, @06:22AM (#181379) Journal

      Betas are permitted these authorized memories, provided they have remitted regular fees and remain current.

      You are confused, my friend, you seem to remember something untrue, which is ungood plusplus.
      It never happened, we were always at war with... I do hope you aren't in need for a MiniLuv visit, it may land you in room 101

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 11 2015, @08:20AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 11 2015, @08:20AM (#181402)

        which is ungood plusplus.

        That's "double plus ungood".

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday May 11 2015, @10:34AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday May 11 2015, @10:34AM (#181425) Journal

          That's "double plus ungood".

          In 1984 maybe. Since then, the word "double" has been erased.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 11 2015, @12:40PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 11 2015, @12:40PM (#181444)

            I think you mean: "It is ungood plusplus and always had been; if you find any texts from 1984 using the wrong word, that's just an evil manipulation made to confuse people. Such texts should therefore immediately get destroyed."