It is common for SSD to be used in cases where you want high operating speed and top performance, and large files that take up a lot of space are then stored on classic high-capacity hard drives. However, the reverse approach makes sense if data security is a priority. The reason is not performance, but the way these devices fail at the end of their life.
A mechanical hard drive relies on platters that spin at high speed and a head that floats above their surface. When this mechanism fails, there is often a major breakdown and physical damage to the surface of the discs, the so-called “click of death”, whereby the magnetic layer containing the data is permanently destroyed. In such a scenario, recovery is expensive, complex and often impossible for the end user.
Why the way an SSD stops working can be crucial
SSD has no moving parts and stores data in NAND memory. When cells reach their write limit and can no longer reliably receive new data, the firmware often switches the device into read-only mode. The disk then rejects new data writes to prevent corruption, but allows access to existing files. This leaves a valuable window of time to transfer the data to another SSD or storage medium. For irreplaceable documents, photos, and projects, this behavior can be critical.
However, SSD is not without flaws. The price per gigabyte is still high, which limits capacity. Also, if a controller fails due to a power surge or manufacturing error, data may become inaccessible without professional recovery. There is also the problem of long-term storage: without power, the electric charge in NAND cells weakens over time, so SSD is not ideal for multi-year “cold” archive and storage in a drawer.
This is why HDD still makes sense for mass storage and offline backup. Magnetic recording is more stable during long-term rest, and the low price allows for large capacities and redundant configurations. If the drive is used regularly and there is a budget, an SSD can be a great choice for data as well, but be aware of its limitations, writes How-to-Geek.