SSD failure mode?

[BLinux]

so, today, my son's computer started acting up. it runs Fedora Linux 25 w/ OS on a Samsung 840 Pro SSD and his /home on a mirrored set of HDD. when i took a look at it, some CLI commands failed with some missing library errors. when i did a listing of /lib64, several of those libraries showed as 0 bytes in size. it would then spontaneously go blank screen and reboot. i can't really have it run long enough to dig further. tomorrow, i'll boot off a rescue USB stick and take another look. maybe check the SMART data on the SSD. but, has anyone seen this type of failure of an SSD where file sizes just become 0 bytes? seems really strange to me... i can understand having bad sectors resulting in files not being readable, but for the file system meta data to report back 0 bytes, means that meta data was updated? if it isn't a failing SSD, I'll have to try and see what might have caused it. anyone seen something like this before?

 

[fractal]

I see similar symptoms (many system directories full of zero byte files) on the little ARM dev boxes that run from SD card. It happens to me about 1 in 4 times if I pull the power without shutting down the OS. I can't remember the last time I saw those symptoms on a real system with a real drive.

There's always the chance of malware but it seems unlikely.

Best next step is to connect the drive as a secondary on a known good system, or boot from USB as you proposed to check SMART. The 840 Pro is not new and may have taken some beating if you were swapping to it or Firefox was hammering it.

 

[BLinux]

I see similar symptoms (many system directories full of zero byte files) on the little ARM dev boxes that run from SD card. It happens to me about 1 in 4 times if I pull the power without shutting down the OS. I can't remember the last time I saw those symptoms on a real system with a real drive.

There's always the chance of malware but it seems unlikely.

Best next step is to connect the drive as a secondary on a known good system, or boot from USB as you proposed to check SMART. The 840 Pro is not new and may have taken some beating if you were swapping to it or Firefox was hammering it.

thanks for the reply. turns out there was a lot more going on. fortunately, the SSD seems to be in good order. what it looks like is a failing CPU that caused spontaneous shut down during a system update. When I got access to the system, I found that several RPM packages had duplicates, indicative of a package upgrade being interrupted. while poking around, the system spontaneously would reboot or power off. and right now, it won't boot at all. when i turn on the PSU, the system+cpu fan turns on and then shuts off and repeats that cycle indefinitely. I then started unplugging power cables until I got to the CPU power cable. With the CPU power cable disconnected, when I turn on the PSU, the system+cpu fans would turn on and stay on. So, it looks like if the CPU powers on, it wants to shut down. So, i'm suspecting CPU failure, or 2nd to that a motherboard failure. My first suspect was PSU, but I swapped PSUs to a known good one and the behavior was the same as described. So, after that I suspected motherboard or CPU, but the CPU is a Q6600 that has been overclocked to 3Ghz for 7yrs so I suspect it lived a short but fast life. If I had another Kentsfield CPU to try out, I could confirm CPU or Motherboard but i don't. I went ahead and ordered a Xeon E5450 with a 771->775 adapter to modify it as replacement for Q6600. When that comes in, I guess I'll know if it was CPU or mobo.

anyway, this is actually my first experience with CPU failure (if it is that) from what I suspect is shortened lifespan from overclock.