Solid-state drives, or SSDs, work faster and use up less battery power than good old HDDs. The bad thing about SSDs is their limited lifespan. The even worse thing is that they can fail without warning and take all your data with them. 

Low SSD life means your drive’s lifespan is about to end. If you got a Low SSD life alert from CleanMyMac X, back up your data so that you don’t lose it when the disk fails.

Why is my SSD about to fail?

Solid-state drives need to erase all data from a sector before they can write new data to the same sector. This is called a program-erase cycle, and SSD life is limited to a certain number of these cycles. The faster program-erase cycles get used up, the sooner your disk fails. Here’s what can bring an SSD closer to its end:

  • You don’t have Trim enabled

The Trim command optimizes the way data is written to an SSD and prolongs its lifespan. If you don’t have Trim enabled, the drive wears out faster. Apple-provided SSDs use Trim by default, but for a third-party drive, you have to enable it manually.

  • You fill up more than 80% of the disk

When over 80% of your SSD is filled up, it gets harder for wear leveling algorithms to do their job: minimizing the number of program-erase cycles and extending the drive’s life.

  • You run apps that write log files and cache to the SSD

Some apps constantly write temporary files to your disk as you run them. That means wasting program-erase cycles on data you don’t even need — log and cache files.

why is SSD fail

Can CleanMyMac X help fix the most common issues with your SSD?

While CleanMyMac can’t fix a drive that’s already failing, it can help you extend the life of a new SSD. Here’s how you can optimize the way you use your drive:

  1. Keep at least 20% of the disk space free by regularly cleaning up useless junk. Use Smart Scan if you’re not sure which files are safe to remove.
  2. Completely uninstall apps that write temporary files to the SSD with CleanMyMac’s Uninstaller module. Or, if you do need these apps, try tweaking their settings to make them write those files elsewhere.
  3. Keep an eye on your drive’s health and available space with CleanMyMac X Menu — open it by clicking a little iMac icon right from your menu bar.

You can get a CleanMyMac X to clean up your Mac and uninstall apps without limitations.