Activity light is only partially lit on external SSD/80 C on idle

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otomon

n00b
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Jun 7, 2021
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I decided to check temperatures on my SSD few days ago and noticed it was hitting 80C on idle, been asking around the internet and most people say this is normal. Bear in mind all my other external drives are hitting 33 C on idle...
Anyways I noticed the light on it is constantly on, but only a small portion of it (like a small sliver) .... any idea what this could mean? Already checked Task Manager and it says absolutely nothing is using it. I heard it could be my Windows Security constantly trying to scan it.. but have no idea how to check/how to turn this off. For reference my SSD is ADATA SD700 and the only recent change I made is add a stick of RAM. Any help would be really appreciated!

EDIT: The only thing I have seem to be able to "catch" was in Task Manager "Resource Monitor"... I noticed it showed "Software Reporter Tool" activity for every single .exe on that SSD.. and then was gone pretty quickly, according to Google... its a Google Chrome thing??

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what external ssd are you talking about, make/model? or is it a generic ssd to usb caddy?
 
pendragon1 said:
missed that somehow...

the casing does look like it'd do a good job insolating the ssd. op, you dont have it sitting right next to the exhaust do you?
Click to expand...

Hey yeah its exactly that model... I would think the rugged models would have something to prevent overheating, some people told me 80 C for external is completely normal, but I asked around Amazon and they said theirs is running 30 C on idle... and no I do have it anywhere near something hot, infact I put a literal fan next to it on highest setting till the case was cold to the couch and it still registered 80 C...

The thing that is worrying me the most is that partially lit indicator, Im used to it going full or blinking or completely off, but no idea what partial light could mean.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the only "big change" I done to my computer is add another stick of RAM just before I noticed this issue... but not sure if thats related or a complete coincidence,
 
otomon said:
Hey yeah its exactly that model... I would think the rugged models would have something to prevent overheating, some people told me 80 C for external is completely normal, but I asked around Amazon and they said theirs is running 30 C on idle... and no I do have it anywhere near something hot, infact I put a literal fan next to it on highest setting till the case was cold to the couch and it still registered 80 C...

The thing that is worrying me the most is that partially lit indicator, Im used to it going full or blinking or completely off, but no idea what partial light could mean.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the only "big change" I done to my computer is add another stick of RAM just before I noticed this issue... but not sure if thats related or a complete coincidence,
Click to expand...
ram is probably just a coincidence. the partial light might just be an "on" indicator. what are you using to see the temp?
 
pendragon1 said:
ram is probably just a coincidence. the partial light might just be an "on" indicator. what are you using to see the temp?
Click to expand...
I tried two different apps using the S.M.A.R.T. thing and got the same results (CrystalDiskInfo and AsusDiskdefrag)... also I just tried another app called "SSS Led" which is a "virtual" activity indicator... and just like Task Manager it shows no activity on idle. I am pretty sure that ligth on the casing is supposed to be off when there is no activity going on....
 
otomon said:
I tried two different apps using the S.M.A.R.T. thing and got the same results (CrystalDiskInfo and AsusDiskdefrag)... also I just tried another app called "SSS Led" which is a "virtual" activity indicator... and just like Task Manager it shows no activity on idle. I am pretty sure that ligth on the casing is supposed to be off when there is no activity going on....
Click to expand...
all my usbs drive has a solid light when on, it flashes for activity. try checking the temp with adata's ssd toolbox. i know a lot of software wont read externals correctly. also, does it feel like its putting out 80c, itd be scorching hot to the touch.
 
pendragon1 said:
all my usbs drive has a solid light when on, it flashes for activity. try checking the temp with adata's ssd toolbox. i know a lot of software wont read externals correctly. also, does it feel like its putting out 80c, itd be scorching hot to the touch.
Click to expand...
The thing is.. the light did use to go off when there was no activity going on, but since I use it for gaming, its quite possible I just never noticed how often it would just stay on until I started looking into this.
For the ADATA SSD Toolbox... it wont even recognize the external SSD yet it recognizes my internal HD from a different brand! Checking the website it does not seem like its even supported their own product..... and apparently I cant even contact them cause of COVID closures.
I was hoping it was just a false reading, but as mentioned previously its one of those rugged ones, and while its a bit warm to the touch like any regular electronic, I am worried the casing is just containing all that heat inside
 
otomon said:
The thing is.. the light did use to go off when there was no activity going on, but since I use it for gaming, its quite possible I just never noticed how often it would just stay on until I started looking into this.
For the ADATA SSD Toolbox... it wont even recognize the external SSD yet it recognizes my internal HD from a different brand! Checking the website it does not seem like its even supported their own product..... and apparently I cant even contact them cause of COVID closures.
I was hoping it was just a false reading, but as mentioned previously its one of those rugged ones, and while its a bit warm to the touch like any regular electronic, I am worried the casing is just containing all that heat inside
Click to expand...
you would feel 80c radiating off it and is hot enough to burn you. if it is just warm, its being misread. i wouldnt worry too much about it.
 
pendragon1 said:
you would feel 80c radiating off it and is hot enough to burn you. if it is just warm, its being misread. i wouldnt worry too much about it.
Click to expand...

Ah okay, wonder what causes it to be misread... could be anything from a faulty censor or w/e. Btw what does "Health Status" mean in S.M.A.R.T. readings? Like is it counting down to 0% or is the SSD basically useless after a certain %?
 
software doesnt like to read them over usb for some reason. not sure, but that sounds about right. no they dont become useless but if/when they develop enough bad spots they will become read only.
 
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