4 TB SSD 'shrinks' over time?

This is the one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Passport-Ultra-Portable-External/dp/B01H4MZE2K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1475347154&sr=8-3&keywords=wd%2Bpassport&th=1

Is that not an SSD jaclaz?

Surely NOT.

It is a conventional hard disk, the thing of note is that (probably) it has four platters, each 1 Tb, and (maybe) uses SMR see
http//www.anandtech.com/show/10456/western-digital-expands-capacities-of-my-passport-drives-using-4-tb-25-hdd

Nothing more distant from SSD which - as MDCR stated - would cost 10x, example
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-EVO-2-5-Inch-MZ-75E4T0B/dp/B01G844OOO

Anyway, SSD's do not "shrink over time", they have overprovisioning, again example paper
http//www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/downloads/document/Samsung_SSD_845DC_04_Over-provisioning.pdf
i.e. from day one you have less available space than the total.

IF a user sets overprovisioning to 0 more than shrinking over time he/she will experience filesystem corruption (and later will be forced to "shrinking").

There is seemingly some (minimal) overprovisioning that is not "declared", however
http//www.seagate.com/it/it/tech-insights/ssd-over-provisioning-benefits-master-ti/

jaclaz

This is the item posted

WD 4TB Black My Passport Ultra Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBBKD0040BBK-EESN

It clearly written that it is a Hard Drive.

This is the one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Passport-Ultra-Portable-External/dp/B01H4MZE2K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1475347154&sr=8-3&keywords=wd%2Bpassport&th=1

Is that not an SSD jaclaz?

Surely NOT.

It is a conventional hard disk, the thing of note is that (probably) it has four platters, each 1 Tb, and (maybe) uses SMR see
http//www.anandtech.com/show/10456/western-digital-expands-capacities-of-my-passport-drives-using-4-tb-25-hdd

Nothing more distant from SSD which - as MDCR stated - would cost 10x, example
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-EVO-2-5-Inch-MZ-75E4T0B/dp/B01G844OOO

Anyway, SSD's do not "shrink over time", they have overprovisioning, again example paper
http//www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/downloads/document/Samsung_SSD_845DC_04_Over-provisioning.pdf
i.e. from day one you have less available space than the total.

IF a user sets overprovisioning to 0 more than shrinking over time he/she will experience filesystem corruption (and later will be forced to "shrinking").

There is seemingly some (minimal) overprovisioning that is not "declared", however
http//www.seagate.com/it/it/tech-insights/ssd-over-provisioning-benefits-master-ti/

jaclaz

Just to clarify a few things here. Yes, it is a HDD. No, it does not use SMR that's mostly just found in archive drives and a few newer 8TB models. Yes, this model does have at least 4 platters. Depending on the specific internal drive you get it may even have 5 platters.

As to most modern SSDs, they do technically shrink over time but they generally now have built-in overprovisioning which often isn't even user configurable. In most situations, you'll start having S.M.A.R.T. errors long before starting to have any significant shrinkage anyway. It's far more likely that the SSD will just implode and completely stop responding from one reboot to the next. That's usually how they tend to fail in reality.

if I'm using this drive to store CCTV footage

As mentioned above. The drive is not a SSD & it won't shrink.

BUT, if you are using this drive for CCTV then there are specific drives optimised for this.

Try Googling,
Western Digital Purple
and
Seagate Surveillance

Wotsit, I would have loved it if you were right and it was an SSD, I'd have bought a bunch myself! But I bet if you cracked it open, you would find a standard 2.5" laptop HDD in there.