A method for prolonging the service life of a solid state drive. The method includes providing for use with a digital video recorder, a solid state drive (SSD) for time-shifted viewing of media content, changing the SSD from a first state to a second state based on a functional command from the user, and repeating changes between the first state and the second state, an accumulation of which over time results in a prolonged service life. A device designed to prolong the service life of a solid state drive is also provided.