Would SpinRite help me with slow SSD ReadSpeed results?

[qfive]

Hello

Here is a ReadSpeed result from two identical model SSDs, purchased about 6 months apart.

Benchmark timing resolution +/- 172 picoseconds.
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| ReadSpeed: Hyper-accurate mass storage read-performance benchmark. rel 1 |
| Benchmarked values are in megabytes read per second at five locations.   |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

NOTE: This system contains an NVMe controller which is not yet supported.
      The addition of full NVMe support IS on our development roadmap.

Driv Size  Drive Identity     Location:      0     25%     50%     75%     100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
81  512GB  P3-512                            28.1   21.1    76.5   532.9   243.6
82  512GB  P3-512                           445.2  543.2   543.5   543.5   543.5

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See the ReadSpeed forums at forums.grc.com for help and community support.

The command "reboot" does what you'd think.
You may use the command "menu" for more....

C:\>

As you can see, drive 81 is very slow at the front. This drive has a Windows 11 install and has been having occasional weird issues with booting, so it prompted me to run ReadSpeed.
Could anyone advise if this is "read disturbance", and an issue that may be fixed by running SpinRite at level 3?
If so, would it be a temporary fix, or permanent?

Thank you!

 

[Bplayer]

There could be something else going on with the drive, but is is likely just bitrot. Have you tried doing a chkdsk on the drive? Yes, SpinRite running level 3 will most likely resolve the issue, but this will not be permanent. Bitrot happens when a sector has not been written for a while and the charge drops off. I schedule a check of my drives every 6 months and refresh them as required.

 

[DanR]

@qfive Technically it is Read Fatigue. Reading many times weakens the NAND charge slowing down (degrading) drive performance.

Bit Rot is loss of NAND charge over time due to long term storage. This also slows down (degrades) drive performance. It is now commonly believed that when the drive is powered up the drive's firmware deals effectively with Bit Rot.

The front end of the drive is where the OS and apps are stored. Hence that part of the drive gets read a lot. Hence the fatigue. Based on the ReadSpeed results, I would recommend running SpinRite Level 3 across the entire area of this drive to restore best performance. Then do a ReadSpeed run to confirm the drives performance. After that, a periodic (once every 3-6 months) ReadSpeed run will indicate when/where another Level 3 refresh is in order.

No, the performance boost is not permanent. The drive's front end performance will continue to decrease again over time as a result of repeated reading of those areas of the drive. However, at 6 months of age a healthy drive will have lots of life left yet. Thus its performance should decrease slowly over time. Hence the periodic ReadSpeed runs to safely monitor the drives performance.

 

[peterblaise]

I've seen some SSDs write and read painfully slowly, regardless of
brand or age.

I re-write entire drives and checked performance again immediately,
and check again later - days, weeks, months - and the drives have
decayed again.

Example -
image 1 below is as-received, poor performance,
image 2 is after a full SpinRite Level 5 rewrite, getting better,
image 3 is after multiple SpinRite Level 5 rewrites, almost perfect,
but image 4 shows it decaying again after only 4 reads:

Rewrite by any means:
SpinRite Level 3, 4, or 5,
SE secure erase ( if the drive is blankable ),
bit-for-bit clone out and clone back in,
destructive rewrite by free HDDScan, and so on.

Mine is a KingDian, yours is a KingSpec:

The KingSpec P3-512 is a 512GB 2.5-inch SATA III (6Gb/s) internal solid-state drive designed for desktop and laptop upgrades.
It utilizes 3D NAND TLC flash to offer read/write speeds up to 570MB/s and 540MB/s respectively, delivering faster boot and load times than traditional HDDs.

Key Features and Specifications:

• Capacity: 512 GB.
• Form Factor: 2.5-inch (7mm slim).
• Interface: SATA III 6 Gb/s.
• Performance: Read speeds up to 560-570 MB/s, Write speeds up to 520-540 MB/s.
• Technology: 3D NAND TLC.
• Compatibility: Laptops, desktops, and all-in-one PCs (Windows, Mac, Linux).
• Reliability: MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) up to 1 million hours.
• Warranty: Typically 3 years.

Note on Confusion: The KingSpec P3-512 is a SATA drive, which is distinct from the Crucial P3 500GB NVMe SSD, a faster PCIe M.2 drive.
They are just super cheap drives.
They appear to always return their data, just slowly as they wear out.
I'm going back to CMR hard drives - much more reliable and consistent.

@qfive , let us know how yours behaves after a full rewrite.

Thanks.

 

[qfive]

Thanks @Bplayer @DanR @peterblaise

After a full rewrite with SpinRite level 3, these are the new ReadSpeed results (also echoed by the SR built in benchmark):

Benchmark timing resolution +/- 172 picoseconds.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ReadSpeed: Hyper-accurate mass storage read-performance benchmark. rel 1 |
| Benchmarked values are in megabytes read per second at five locations.   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

NOTE: This system contains an NVMe controller which is not yet supported.
      The addition of full NVMe support =IS= on our development roadmap.

Driv Size  Drive Identity        Location:   0      25%     50%     75%     100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
81  512GB  P3-512                           372.4   386.3   361.3   356.6   520.0
82  512GB  P3-512                           521.3   543.4   364.3   543.4   539.8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See the ReadSpeed forums at forums.grc.com for help and community support.

The command "reboot" does what you'd think.
You may use the command "menu" for more....

C:\>

A quick test of the drive with copy operations on the Windows install seems quicker as well, but this could be placebo.
Whether or not this will solve my intermittent booting issues - time will tell.

I will retest a few times over the near future and update if it decreases dramatically.

Thanks again

 

[peterblaise]

@qfive, your measurements and descriptions match my graphs
perfectly - cheap SSDs, on their way out.

What to buy to replace them . . . ?

Does anyone have PROVEN alternatives?