I recently bought a refurbished HP mini PC from a professional seller for a small homelab. It was advertised as being in "very good" condition, and when I asked whether it had any defects, the seller said it had simply been sitting unused.
After setting it up, I checked the NVMe SSD's SMART data. The 256 GB drive reports 70% percentage used, with about 103 TB read and 74.7 TB written over 11,532 power-on hours and 1,870 power cycles. However, it currently passes its health check, has 100% available spare capacity, no critical warnings, no media or data integrity errors, and no entries in the error log. The drive temperature is 62°C.
Should I simply reformat it and continue using it, since this is a refurbished system and the SSD is still functioning normally? Or should I contact the seller now so the condition is documented under the 12-month warranty? I have already replaced the original operating system and changed the BIOS settings, so I'm also unsure whether returning it would create any issue.
4 Answers
The drive is definitely well used, but that is different from being defective. With roughly 75 TB written, it may still have plenty of life left depending on the model’s endurance rating. The 70% figure is best treated as a wear estimate rather than a precise countdown to failure. If the listing promised a new SSD or specifically claimed the drive had barely been used, that would be worth raising with the seller; otherwise, the current SMART data alone does not suggest a return is necessary.
The 108 unsafe shutdowns are the only item that stands out, although they may simply be from power cuts, forced shutdowns, or someone holding the power button. They do not prove the SSD is damaged, especially since there are no integrity errors or logged failures. I would save the SMART report and send the seller a brief factual message asking them to acknowledge the drive’s reported wear. That creates a record without claiming that the machine is faulty.
The SMART results do not show an immediate problem. “Percentage Used” is an estimate of the SSD’s rated endurance, not a statement that 70% of the storage space is occupied or that the drive is about to fail. It has seen substantial use, but it passed its health check, has no recorded media errors, and still has all of its spare capacity available. Since the computer was sold as refurbished, a previously used SSD is expected. Back up anything important, reformat it if needed, and keep using the system.
Replacing the operating system or changing BIOS settings normally does not prevent a warranty claim, provided you have not physically damaged the machine. Before deciding whether to return it, check the exact SSD model and its manufacturer endurance specification. Also run a proper backup and monitor for new SMART warnings, rising error counts, or performance problems. Based on the information shown, the drive appears used but currently healthy.
That makes sense. I’ll keep the report and contact the seller in writing, while continuing to monitor the drive and maintaining backups.