FAQ

A defective SSD is a Solid-State Drive that has a physical failure (damaged electronic components) or software failure (corruption of the firmware or file system), making data access impossible or unstable. Any incorrect handling increases the risk of permanent data loss.

When your SSD is no longer functional, do not attempt to repair it yourself. Each uncontrolled intervention increases the likelihood of damaging the electronic components and losing your data irretrievably.

Actions to never perform on a defective SSD:

• Do not open it — Opening the case exposes the NAND chips and the controller to electrostatic discharge and dust, making any subsequent recovery impossible.
• Do not format it — Formatting overwrites the allocation tables and metadata; your files would be permanently and irrecoverably lost.
• Do not hit it — Unlike mechanical hard drives, SSDs do not contain any moving parts; a physical shock directly damages the flash memory chips.
• Do not perform repeated power on/off cycles — Successive power-ups can cause surges and worsen an existing electronic failure.

A solid-state drive (SSD) with a LED that is off or blinking indicates a hardware failure affecting the power supply or a critical internal component. The most frequent causes are: a power failure (defective cable, out-of-service SATA port), a damaged SSD controller, or a faulty NAND memory chip. According to industry data, approximately 60% of LED failures on SSDs are related to an internal component rather than the power supply.

An inactive LED indicates that the SSD is not receiving enough power or that its internal controller is no longer responding. Abnormal blinking may indicate firmware corruption or a defective memory chip.

An SSD not recognized by the BIOS is a hardware or software problem preventing the boot system from detecting the SSD drive, usually caused by a failure of the connectors, firmware, controller, or memory chips.

To diagnose the problem, access your computer's BIOS by pressing F2, F9, F12, or DEL at startup (the key varies depending on the manufacturer: Dell uses F2, HP uses F9, ASUS uses DEL). The BIOS will immediately indicate whether the SSD is detected or not.

A broken SATA connector on an SSD is a physical failure that prevents power and data transfer between the drive and the motherboard. Do not attempt to force the damaged connector and never open your SSD to attempt a DIY repair: the internal components of an SSD (controller, NAND chips, capacitors) are extremely sensitive to uncontrolled handling and static electricity. An unprofessional intervention can make data recovery definitively impossible.

An SSD not detected by the operating system can have two distinct origins:

1. Physical problem – The SSD is damaged (shock, overheating, wear of NAND cells) or the connection cable (SATA, M.2, NVMe) is defective or poorly connected.
2. Software problem – The operating system itself is corrupted, or the SSD partition is damaged, preventing Windows or Mac OS from mounting the volume correctly.