Comment by pbmonster
4 days ago
I know we're talking theoretical optimums here, but: don't put your SSDs in the freezer. Water ingress because of condensation will kill your data much quicker than NAND bit rot at room temperature.
4 days ago
I know we're talking theoretical optimums here, but: don't put your SSDs in the freezer. Water ingress because of condensation will kill your data much quicker than NAND bit rot at room temperature.
I'm interested in why SSDs would struggle with condensation. What aspect of the design is prone to issues? I routinely repair old computer boards, replace leaky capacitors, that sort of thing, and have cleaned boards with IPA and rinsed in tap water without any issues to anything for many years.
Condensation == water. Water leads to corrosion.
Would an airtight container and liberal addition of dessicants help?
Sure. Just make sure the drive is warm before you take it out of the container - because this is when the critical condensation happens: you take out a cold drive an expose it to humid room temperature air. Then water condenses on (and in) the cold drive.
Re-freezing is also critical, the container should contain no humid air when it goes into the freezer, because the water will condense and freeze as the container cools. A tightly wrapped bag, desiccant and/or purging the container with dry gas would prevent that.
A vacuum sealer would probably help to avoid the humid air, too.
1 reply →
Be careful, airtight doesn’t mean it’s not moisture permeable over time.
Color changing desiccant is a good idea to monitor it.
What about magnetic tape?
For long term storage? Sure, everybody does it. In the freezer? Better don't, for the same reason.
There are ways to keep water out of frozen/re-frozen items, of course, but if you mess up you have water everywhere.