Solved! How to Recover Data from Dead/Failed/Crashed SSD?

Compared with traditional HDDs, the faster SSD drive is ideal for PCs to run programs that access large amounts of data because Solid-State drives can shorten laptops’ boot time, transmit data more quickly, and provide higher bandwidth.

But some users are bothered by dead SSDs & dead hard drive recovery issues. To solve this issue, please keep reading.

"Can we recover data from dead SSD?"

It’s possible to recover files from dead SSDs as long as your SSD itself is not physically damaged.

If your SSD drive dies because of physical shock or overuse, you’d better send these damaged, broken disks to the repair store.  You can check the possible causes of a dead SSD for a better understanding.

How recover data from dead, failed, or crashed SSDs

Preparation for dead SSD data recovery

• Before dead SSD data recovery, you’re supposed to disable TRIM because the activated TRIM can continue erasing invalid blocks to get free flash memory blocks prepared for new data. Once the newly added data has overwritten your deleted missing files, it could be hard to retrieve them.

To prevent more problematic issues, don’t hesitate to disable TRIM now!

Step 1. Type “cmd” in the search bar and choose “Run as administrator” to open the command prompt window.

Step 2. Type “fustil behavior query disabledeletenotify” in the command prompt windows and press “OK” or hit “Enter” to go on.

Step 3. Wait to see the return data. If the return data is 1, which implies Trim is activated. If the return data is 0, which means Trim is disabled.

Step 4. To disable it, please type “fustil behavior disabledeletenotify 0” in the window.

Recover files from SSD drives via data recovery software

Professional data recovery software like MyRecover could be your top choice to recover files from dead, broken,or failed SSD drives. It is easy to use and get deleted files’ original paths, filenames, and format after recovery.

You can use the free version to recover data from SSD, up to 500 MB! Download to have a try!

Step 1. After launching MyRecover, hover the mouse over your SSD drive and click Scan.

Step 2. Filter your needed data according to Name, Date, Document Type, or Path.

Step 3. Go to the Deleted Files/Recycle Bin/Other Missing Files folder and select the data you want. Then click “Recover x files” to begin the SSD data recovery process.

How to Fix a Dead, Failed, or Crashed SSD (5 Solutions)

Solution 1. Update SSD firmware via Device Manager

Try to update your SSD firmware if your SSD fails to work properly. Moreover, please remember to handle it with care and avoid interruption as well as a power failure during the update process. Otherwise, your Solid-State disk can easily fail into fail-safe mode.

Step 1. Press “Win + X” and open Device Manager by clicking it.

Step 2. Go to Disk drives and expand it. Then right-click on your SSD drive and select the “Properties” button.

Step 3. Under the Details tab, select Hardware Ids > click OK to save these changes.

Solution 2. Update SSD device driver via Device Manager

How to recover data from SSD dead laptops? Undeniably, outdated SSD device drivers can prevent you from accessing data saved in this drive.

What’s worse, it can affect its reading and writing performances. The slower the Solid-State drive writes, the more likely it is to break down. Let’s show how it works!

Step 1. Open Device Manager by entering it in the search bar.

Step 2. Go to Disk drives and right-click on your solid-state drive. Then select the “Update driver” option.

Step 3. Select the “Search automatically for drives” option. Please wait patiently.

Solution 3. Run CHKDSK.exe to fix corrupted file systems

If there’s something wrong with your file systems or bad sectors on your SSD, running CHKDSK indeed is an efficient way. But in practice, most users are not willing to learn more about CMD. Not to mention typing the corresponding command lines to fix them.

If it happens to be your case, why not give AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard a shot? This free partition manager software is good at checking partitions and fixing errors by using CHKDSK.exe with a GUI (graphical user interface).

Step 1. Download and install this free software on your Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, or XP computers.

Step 2. After entering the main interface of this utility, right-click on your selected SSD. Then click Advanced > Check Partition.

Step 3. Select Check Partition and fix errors in this partition by using chkdsk.exe > click OK. Please select the last option if your hard drive is in RAW format.

Please remember to click “OK” to exit this window.

Solution 4. Format your SSD drive to a compatible file system

If the file system of your SSD drive cannot work with your current Windows OS, there’s no surprise why there’s no data to recover detected.

In this case, this free AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard you’ve downloaded can also help you format your SSD drive and set up a suitable file system. Please read further.

Step 1. After running this free demo on your Windows PC, right-click on your selected SSD drive and select the “Format Partition” option.

Step 2. Select a file system you want and click the “OK” button.

Please click “Apply” to save these changes.

Solution 5. Connect dead or failing SSDs to another computer

Is there another way to recover data from crashed SSDs? It turns out there is. You can take out the dead SSD drive and connect it to another working PC. Let’s demonstrate how it works.

Step 1. Unlock your dead laptop with the screwdriver and take out the dead SSD drive.

Step 2. Connect this SSD as an external hard drive with a USB 3.0 connection cable. Besides, you can reinstall this drive as a new drive via a SATA cable and a power cable.

• If the PC supports installing a second hard drive, press F2/Del to enter BIOS. Then select Advanced > IDE Configuration > Configure SATA > hit Enter > AHCI to save these changes.

Step 3. After that, you can transfer your SSD data to a PC or USB drive. If there exist lost files, please use the above-recommended tool, MyRecover to recover data from failed SSD.

Common causes of SSD failure and crash

What can cause SSD to stop working? With the reasons presented, you will have a better understanding to get back your files from dead SSDs.

File system failure. A corrupted/lost/deleted file system will prevent you from accessing and reading the device data as usual. And it forces users to format it to a readable file system before using.

Firmware failure: Several users frequently update their Solid-State drives to improve performance. The SSD firmware is extremely complicated and needs to be handled with care. If there’s an interruption during the update process, most SSDs automatically enter a fail-safe mode. 

Malware infection: Sometimes, malware infections or bad sectors in the drive can cause your SSD data to become inaccessible, unreadable, or corrupted. In this scenario, you may need to recover inaccessible data from hard drives. 

Improper usage: If you keep writing data to your SSD’s flash memory, your SSD drive will likely wear out. Similarly, constant power fluctuations or incorrect ways of shutting down your PC are also responsible for failing SSDs. 

Overheating: Your SSD can become overheated because of high overloads or intensive processes. It is obvious that a lack of a cooling system or persistently high temperatures can cause SSD failure. 

Physical damage: Heavy blows, water submersion, squeeze, and other external factors can damage SSDs and lead to data loss.

In the end

Is it possible to recover data from dead SSD? After reading this passage, you can find potential reasons for failing SSDs and get specific way to recover files from dead SSDs. You can also learn how to repair a dead SSD using 5 repair methods. 

To protect SSD drives from data loss, it’s time to cultivate a good habit of creating disk backups regularly via this free Windows backup software, AOMEI Backupper.