Reid Kistler
11-08-2010, 12:30 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://lifehacker.com/5681986/' target='_blank'>http://lifehacker.com/5681986/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"We all know <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5586733/how-to-take-full-advantage-of-your-solid+state-drive" target="_blank">solid-state drives take a bit of care</a>, so if you want to keep track of how your SSD is faring health-wise, [the] free utility <a href="http://ssd-life.com/" target="_blank">SSDLife</a> will let you know.... [H]ow many times your drive has been powered on, written to... and even...an estimated lifespan."</em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1289169151.usr19541.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>If you own a Solid State Drive - or are thinking about purchasing one - Lifehacker's brief article on the SSDLife utility is worth a visit, as it contains several useful links for other SSD tools, as well SSDLife itself. Note that SSDLife is available in both a Free and a $20 Professional Version. Per a <a href="http://ssd-life.com/eng/compare-versions.html" target="_blank">comparison on the vendors website</a>, the Professional version offers S.M.A.R.T. attributes and a "SmartCheck" feature, which polls SSD status on a given schedule, in addition to the general health and technical drive information provided by the freeware version of the utility. If you own one or more SSDs, will this utility make your tool kit? Or do you even bother with any special tools or care techniques?</p>