External SSD drive recommendations (Page 2): SanDisk is the only brand of SSD that I have ever had fail. Samsung is the brand that I use the most of.

decoonass Loc: San Antonio

Cheese wrote:

My SanDisk "Extreme Portable" external SSD drive just failed after less than a year of use. Does anyone have any positive experience with other brands? I'm looking for a 1TB capacity drive, and see quite a few in the $150 - $200 price range. I've noted some good online reviews of the Samsung and Seagate brands. Anyone have firsthand experience - positive or negative - with these or any other brands? Thanks.

SanDisk is the only brand of SSD that I have ever had fail. Samsung is the brand that I use the most of.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147641

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

Before you throw it out try this:
Keep the drive connected
Restart the computer & enter the BIOS
Let it sit overnight, at least 6-8 hours.
Restart & see what happens.

Note that should work for INTERNAL SSDs. I’m not sure about Externals.
Worth a try.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

NCMtnMan wrote:

Why are you using SSD for an external drive? There is little performance gain over a conventional drive when being use as an external because the connection to your system restricts the data flow. Neither USB 2.0 or 3.0 is as fast as the data flow internally.

I believe in general for reliability. SSD’s have no moving parts. Nothing to jiggle around because of movement like the heads in HDD’s.

cactuspic Loc: Dallas, TX

I have been using both a 1TB and 2TB Samsung infernal drives inexpensive enclosures for several years without problem. I have seen the 1TB priced about $125 recently.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

Cheese wrote:

My SanDisk "Extreme Portable" external SSD drive just failed after less than a year of use. Does anyone have any positive experience with other brands? I'm looking for a 1TB capacity drive, and see quite a few in the $150 - $200 price range. I've noted some good online reviews of the Samsung and Seagate brands. Anyone have firsthand experience - positive or negative - with these or any other brands? Thanks.

What failed? The SSD itself, or the circuit board/cable connector?
If the SSD died, replace it with whatever size drive or type drive you want. No need to toss a good housing.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Cheese wrote:

Thanks for the recommendation. At close to $500, these are outside my price point ... although the $200 drive that I had failed after just a year. Something to think about.

Intel makes SSDs in all price ranges depending on the interface and the number of erase/write cycles. I paid about $100 for the 540 series 500GB drive I just bought. Since I intend to store image files on it that are typically written once, but read multiple times (few erase cycles), I wasn’t willing to pay a premium for the professional grade which has a higher number of rated erase/write cycles. All the Intels I have are 530/540 series and as I said, the reliability has been first rate. As an alternative, Samsung 860 and 970 series drives have a good reputation and they have a pro grade version of each for a premium price.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

TMcL wrote:

Isn't the 540 series an internal drive?

Yes, but you can mount it in the existing external enclosure (if it’s still good). On the other hand, both Intel and Samsung make small externals that have a USB interface (the 540 is SATA).

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

NCMtnMan wrote:

Why are you using SSD for an external drive? There is little performance gain over a conventional drive when being use as an external because the connection to your system restricts the data flow. Neither USB 2.0 or 3.0 is as fast as the data flow internally.

A typical SATA SSD has a sustained BW of 500-600 MB/sec and USB-3 is rated at 640 MB/sec, so no BW issue (traditional 5400 RPM externals average 175 MB/sec MAX) and a 3x improvement in transfer rate. Additionally, while BW is important for large file transfers, such as images, it’s random access time that’s important for small files and OS/Ap calls, and here the SSD is orders of magnitude faster than spinning disk. The access time of spinning disk is in the 10-15 millasecond region for most externals, while SSDs are measured in tens of microseconds.

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

That's fairly unusual. Might be wise to check on warranty - should still be in effect.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Roy G Biv wrote:

I’ve used 1TB G-Technology for 2 years with no issues. It’s quite small and light but does have a ridiculously short USB connection cable, but I haven’t found any issue for travel.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1365963-REG/g_technology_0g06053_1tb_g_drive_mobile_ssd.html

I also have every episode of Monty Python and the Holy Grail on it and still have ~930GB of free space for photos and videos.

Bridgekeeper: What is the cost of a one terabyte external drive?

Arthur: (brief pause) What do you mean, a Solid State drive or a Hard Drive?

Bridgekeeper: (confused) Well...I don't know...AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

Cheese wrote:

My SanDisk "Extreme Portable" external SSD drive just failed after less than a year of use. Does anyone have any positive experience with other brands? I'm looking for a 1TB capacity drive, and see quite a few in the $150 - $200 price range. I've noted some good online reviews of the Samsung and Seagate brands. Anyone have firsthand experience - positive or negative - with these or any other brands? Thanks.

Since the drive is less than a year old, the company should replace it under warranty. I had the same thing happen with a drive less than a year old, and the replacement is working very well. For whatever reason the failure occurred, usually another of the same model may not have the same flaw.

Now I use a Samsung SSD for programs, and HGST Ultrastar HDD for documents. Both have a 5 year warranty. The HGST is technically an internal drive, but with a case with a fan to house it, turns it into an external drive.

If the drives are consumer-grade they have shorter warranties and not as good a build, making them more likely to fail. The better ones have the longer warranties which means better build and decreases chances for failure. Of course, backups still recommended because all drives will eventually fail.

Roy G Biv

dsmeltz wrote:

Bridgekeeper: What is the cost of a one terabyte external drive?

Arthur: (brief pause) What do you mean, a Solid State drive or a Hard Drive?

Bridgekeeper: (confused) Well...I don't know...AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

Classic! Great update to maintain relevancy!

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

While I have not yet (just now ordered a Samsung 500GB on sale for $100 from B&H) used an external SSD, I've use plenty of internal SSDs since release without issue. I would also point out that there is not that much difference between a memory card, dongle and SSD and I've been using all those for many more years. Best of luck.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

I have bought 3 external drives from Costco at different times as I have filled them up. They are all still working. Costco has a great return policy!

Seagate Plus SSD- 4TB no power pack required, uses USB power and data. Fits in shirt pocket.

Seagate Backup SCSI external 4TB, power pack, USB data.

Seagate Free Agent (2006-oldest) SCSI external 1TB, power pack, USB data + 2 other port options.

All 3 work great and offer back sync to your PC system.

Murray Loc: New Westminster

picsman wrote:

I have a rugged Lacie, it seems fine so far.

Me too, for approximately 3 years.