Not really a Witcher 3 issue, but just need to vent. Got through the prologue and the Bloody Baron part when my SSD HD C: drive died. Totally dead (even brought to the computer forensics people at work, nope). Personal data wise I am fine, but all my Witcher 3 saves were on that drive.

So I have to start all over! Just got through the prologue. Better believe I am copying the latest save each time I finish playing to a remote place! (Glad I wasn't like 80 hours in, then I probably wouldn't have restarted...)

Asterix

If you want I can give you a save so you don't have to replay everything.
I'm currently ~lvl 12 with the bloody baron quest done and most of velen explored (about 70% I think).
(I save often so if you prefer an older save, it's possible, just tell more or less what lvl / quests you want).

Happened to me while I played TW3. I've got it installed on a Cricial MX100 SSD. TW3 crashed and the disk was gone (or the other way around). Luckily it's back again after cutting the power for a short time.

It was a Crucial 240GB SSD. About a year old. To be honest I have read plenty about SSD's not being as reliable as good old platters. Key is to always back up! (as a computer security guy, I have seen plenty of regular HD's die over the years too...)

I don't know what you've read or where you've read it, but it's not at all true, not even close. SSD's are actually way more reliable than HD's, but it's all depending on the brand. A general rule of thumb for good SSD's is to always look at how many years warranty it offers. Some of them come with 10+ years and others come with 1 or 2, whilst being in the same price range. They have millions of hours rated for heavy use and trust me when i say it, you will never ever hit that mark.

But yeah, as you've said it, key is to always back up, no matter if it's an SSD or HDD.