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Windows 10 to Start Warning Users of Imminent SSD Failure

Seeing this new notification appear means you really need to back up all your data immediately.

 & Matthew Humphries Former Senior Editor

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SSDs may be a lot faster than mechanical hard drives, but they aren't immune to failure, and can do so silently and without warning. Microsoft is aiming to avoid that potential disaster with a new drive health monitoring feature being added to Windows 10.

In the announcement for the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20226, Brandon LeBlanc, author at the Windows Insider Blog, explains how this new drive health monitoring feature "is designed to detect hardware abnormalities for NVMe SSDs." When such an abnormality is detected, a notification will appear on the desktop stating, "A storage device may be at risk of failure and requires your attention." There's also a clickable link to load up Windows 10's drive management and backup options, which also provides more detail on why Windows decided to send the notification.

Windows 10 NVMe SSD warning notification
Image: Microsoft

Seeing this notification pop-up is your signal to stop whatever it is you are doing and instead focus on backing up all your data. There's a good chance that super-fast SSD you've been relying on (hopefully for several years), is about to reach its end of life.

It's possible to check the health of a drive at any time in Build 20226. Simply navigate to Settings > System > Storage > Manage disks and volumes > Properties where the Drive Health information is located. There you'll see the estimated remaining life of the drive, its current temperature, and any warnings in red text. There's also the option to "Back up now" for convenience. If you don't want to use the Windows back up option, there's a number of great back up apps to choose between, and you can always take preemptive action by using an online back up service.

About Our Expert

Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries

Former Senior Editor

My Experience

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.

My Areas of Expertise

  • PC components and system building
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Software development
  • Storage technology
  • Video games and gaming hardware

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