The advent of solid-state hard drives, or SSD for short, can certainly be considered a breakthrough in the development of technologies for creating devices for recording and storing digital information. The first SSDs to hit the market, with the exception of high speed access to arbitrary blocks of information were in many ways inferior to traditional HDD drives. Not only could their volumes, without exaggeration, be called more than modest, they also had low fault tolerance and cost a lot of money.
What's wrong with SSDs?
The high speed, quietness and low power consumption of solid-state drives have served as good drivers for their development. Modern SSD drives are lightweight, very fast and quite reliable from a mechanical point of view, devices used in tablets, ultrabooks and others. compact devices. The price of SSDs has also dropped significantly. But still, they cannot be called perfect. All SSDs have a significant drawback - a limited number of rewrite cycles.
The flash memory of most SSDs is MLC type and allows you to write data approximately 3 to 10 thousand times, while regular USB They exhaust their service life in 1000 or less rewrite cycles. There are also SSDs, for example, with SLC memory type, which can withstand several hundred thousand rewrite cycles. There are many nuances, so it is not surprising that it is precisely this feature of SSD drives that raises a lot of questions among ordinary users regarding their operation, and most importantly, extending their service life. Is SSD optimization necessary in Windows 7/10 or is this just another myth created by the manufacturers and developers of commercial software themselves?
Basic training
Yes, you can leave everything as is on a PC with an SSD, and you might be right, but if you really care about your drive and want it to last as long as possible, it's worth considering customizing it. Let's start with whether you bought a computer with an integrated SSD or just the drive itself, which you want to replace the HDD with, transferring Windows from it. In the first case, you can limit yourself to setting up the system. If you install the SSD yourself, be sure to check whether it is included in BIOS mode AHCI connections for SATA controller.
There are two points here: after enabling AHCI and Windows migration on SSD system may not boot because it does not have the appropriate drivers. Therefore, either install the drivers ahead of time, or run reinstalling Windows from scratch. Second. The BIOS of older PCs may not have AHCI mode. In this case, the BIOS will have to be updated. Now regarding the firmware of the SSD controller. Owners of solid-state drives often ask whether the drive will work faster if you install latest version firmware. Yes, it will, but if you decide to update it and in general, if the need arises, it is better to contact the service center for help.
System settings. Disabling defragmentation
Defragmentation is useful for HDDs, but it can harm SSD drives, so Windows usually automatically disables it. However, it's worth checking to see if it's actually disabled. Run with the command dfrgui Disk Optimization Utility and click Change Settings.
Make sure the “Run on a schedule” checkbox is unchecked. If it is there, be sure to remove it.
Enabling TRIM
The TRIM mechanism optimizes the SSD drive by clearing memory cells of unnecessary data when removing them from the disk. Using TRIM ensures uniform wear of the disk cells and increases its speed. To check if TRIM is active on your system, run as administrator command line team fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify.
If the value of the returned parameter DisableDeleteNotify will be 0, it means everything is in order and the trim function is enabled, if 1 it means it is disabled and should be enabled with the command fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0.
This SSD setup is only applicable to Windows 7/10, while Vista and XP do not support it. Option two: either install more new system, or look for an SSD with hardware TRIM. Please also note that some older models of solid-state drives do not support TRIM at all, however, it is likely that they are still sold in stores digital technology very small.
During the process, a significant amount of data can be written to the hiberfil.sys file on the system disk, comparable to the volume RAM. To extend the service life of the SSD, we need to reduce the number of write cycles, so it is advisable to disable hibernation. The downside is this SSD settings is that you will no longer be able to save open files and programs when the computer is turned off. To disable hibernation, run the command running with administrator privileges powercfg -h off.
Restart your computer and make sure that hidden system file hiberfil.sys has been removed from the C drive.
Disable file search and indexing
What else can be done to properly configure an SSD drive for Windows 7/10? The answer is to disable indexing of the disk contents, because the SSD is already fast enough. Open the disk properties and uncheck “Allow file contents to be indexed...”.
But here's the thing. If in addition to an SSD you have a HDD, then you are unlikely to want to disable indexing on it. What will come of this? By default, the index file is located on drive C and data from drive D will still be written to the solid-state drive.
If you do not want to disable indexing on the user volume, you will need to move the indexing file from the system SSD to the user HDD. Open with command control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions indexing options.
Now click “Advanced” and specify your index location, having previously created user disk folder.
If your PC only has an SSD, you can completely disable indexing and search by opening the service management snap-in with the services.msc command and stopping the Windows Search service.
Disabling system protection
Controversial point. By disabling the creation of system shadow copies, on the one hand, you will reduce the number of write cycles, on the other hand, you will increase the risk of getting a non-working system in the event of some unexpected failure. The use of retractables is one of the most effective and simple ways return Windows to a working state, for this reason we would not recommend disabling this function, especially since points are created infrequently and do not take up much space.
It does not recommend disabling system protection for your Intel SSDs; Microsoft shares the same opinion. However, it's up to you to decide. If you are using other means backup, for example, Acronis True Image, system protection can be disabled. To do this, go to system properties, on the “System Protection” tab, select the SSD drive and click “Configure”. Next, in the recovery options, activate the “Disable system protection” radio button, move the slider to zero and click the “Delete” button.
Should I disable the page file or not?
An even more controversial solution is to disable the page file. Some people advise moving it to the HDD, others completely disabling it, but it’s not that simple. The paging file is necessary to optimize the performance of the system and programs that require significant RAM resources. Disabling paging can indeed reduce disk load, but the resulting effect will be very small. In addition, this shutdown can significantly reduce the performance of the computer.
There is little point in moving the swap file to hard disk drive no, either, since it is many times slower than an SSD, and constant access to it by the system will slow down its operation. Disabling, or better yet, reducing the paging file is only permissible in one case - if your computer has more than 10 GB of RAM, and you do not use resource-intensive applications. And so, of course, it’s better to leave everything by default. You can perform all manipulations with the paging file in the performance parameters window, called up in the “Run” window with the command systempropertiesperformance(hereinafter Advanced – Change).
Prefetch and Superfetch
In theory, it’s also better to leave everything here as default. The function does not affect the durability of solid-state drives in any way, since it does not produce any records. Moreover, when installing Windows on an SSD, the system automatically disables it. Want to make sure it's disabled? Go to Registry Editor at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/Memory Management/PrefetchParameters and look at the parameter value EnableSuperfetch. It should be set to 0. You can also disable it through the service management snap-in.
As for Prefetch, the disk writes it produces are so insignificant that it can be ignored. However, you can turn it off, nothing bad will happen. To do this, in the same registry key, set the value of the parameter EnablePrefetcher 0.
The same can be said about disconnecting additional function Prefetch ReadyBoot, logged application loading process. The volume of records it produces in the folder C:/Windows/Prefetch/ReadyBoot is negligible, but if you want to disable them too, set the Start parameter in the key to 0 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/WMI/Autologger/ReadyBoot.
Programs for SSD disk optimization
Almost everything that was shown in the examples above can be done using special utilities. How to set up an SSD under Windows 7/10 using third party programs? Very simple. Most of them have an intuitive interface, presented with a set of options that can be turned on or off. There are many SSD optimizers, but we will focus only on the most popular ones.
SSD Mini Tweaker
The most convenient portable program for optimizing solid-state drives. The utility supports work with the functions of defragmentation, hibernation and system protection, Trim, Superfetch and Prefetcher, management of the paging file and Layout.ini, indexing, cache file system and some other settings.
Interface SSD Mini Tweaker is represented by a window with a list of functions available for management. After applying the new settings, you may need to restart your PC.
Shareware utility for optimization and configuration SSD performance disk. There is no Russian language in Tweak-SSD, but there is a convenient step-by-step wizard that offers optimal settings. Features of this program include disabling file indexing, Program Compatibility Assistant, hibernation, paging file, defragmentation, recording the last access time of a file, working with TRIM, increasing the file system cache, removing the NTFS memory limit, and moving the kernel into memory instead of unloading parts of modules to disk.
SSD Fresh Plus
Another SSD optimizer. Unlike analogues, it supports working with S.M.A.R.T. data. With Abelssoft SSD Fresh Plus, you can disable defragmentation, the use of short names for folders and files, timestamps, Windows log, and prefetch services.
In total, the utility supports nine different settings, optimizing the operation of SSDs. Additional features programs include viewing detailed information about the disk. Distributed in paid and free editions.
Conclusion
That's probably all. There are also other recommendations for optimizing SSDs, but for the most part they are either dubious or harmful. In particular, it is not recommended to disable record caching for the SSD disk and USN file journal NTFS systems. You should also not transfer programs and Temp temporary folders, browser caches, etc. from the SSD, because then what is the point in buying an SSD drive? We need programs to run faster, but transferring them to the HDD will only slow down the system.
And finally, here's some good advice for you. Don't bother too much with SSD optimization. It will take you at least a dozen years to reach the lifespan of even a budget 128GB solid-state drive, unless you write and delete terabytes of data every day. And during this time, not only the disk model, but also the computer itself will become hopelessly outdated.
To increase the performance of your computer, as well as to get rid of noise while your laptop or system unit is running, a large, fast and silently operating “flash drive” will come in handy.
Note. The computer will not “buzz” if you install only an SSD. By installing such a device as an addition to a classic hard drive, the computer owner will not get rid of noise, but it will speed up the operation of the “machine” and increase storage.
In the article, we looked at options for connecting an SSD drive to a desktop PC, as well as installing it in a laptop. From the material you will learn what to do to deliver solid state drive and configure the system for the SSD yourself.
How to connect an SSD to a desktop computer?
Connect SSD to desktop computer it's not difficult to do it yourself. To do this, the user will need to turn off the power to the system unit and also disassemble it. To access PC components and place them in free space or replace hard drive, you will need to remove the system unit panel.
In some cases, the user will need to disassemble the entire unit. This is usually required by small-sized models (for example,).
Lifehack: There is a button on the back of the system unit that serves to turn it off. You will need to hold it for a few seconds. Do this before disassembling the system unit. The PC will not start in this case, since the device is disconnected from the network, but such manipulation will remove the motherboard, as well as other internal computer components, static electricity.
The SSD drive is installed in free space using a special adapter made in the form of a slide and attached with screws. Fasteners are supplied with the drive in the kit. An adapter is required because the form factor of the media may be smaller than the slot dimensions. For example, a classic tray is designed for a 3.5-inch part, and the most common size for solid-state devices is 2.5” - like .
When the disk is installed, you need to connect the SSD using a SATA cable to the motherboard, selecting the appropriate slot on it. Then the SSD should be connected to a power supply, which ensures coordinated operation of all computer components.
Important:The drive runs fastest only if connected to a SATA 3.0 slot with at least 6 Gb/s speed ratings. Typically this connector is marked and painted black, so it is easy to see on the board. However, if there are no designations, you should look for documents on and find information about SATA in them.
When the disk is installed and the system unit is assembled, the SSD must be configured for normal functioning of the media. To do this, you will need to go into the BIOS, find the solid-state drive there and, if this drive is an addition to the hard drive, put the SSD first in the list. Thus, the SSD will become the main one.
As soon as the installed SSD becomes the first one in the BIOS, you should confirm the changes, and then reinstall the operating system. You can simply copy the OS to the media if you have it or the user does not plan to leave the SSD, as system disk.
Attention!If the drive will operate as a system drive, you should use classic, pre-installed using Windows for configuration (usually the system itself optimizes operation, which extends the service life of the media). When the operating system remains on the HDD, the same disk must be marked in the BIOS as the main one.
How to install an SSD in a laptop?
First of all, the user should create backup copy information stored on the laptop. Then - disconnect all wires from the laptop (, headphones and charger), remove the battery by pulling the latches.
To install the drive in a laptop, the user should arm himself with a thin one and unscrew the screws that are located on back cover device They cover a cover that protects the hard drive and RAM of the laptop.
Lifehack:Using a plastic card (credit card, discount card) it is convenient to pry off the cover that covers the HDD.
3 installation methods:
- in place of HDD;
- instead of ;
- The “tricky” method is to install a solid-state hard drive instead of a hard drive, and install the hard drive in place of the drive. It is suitable if the speed of the bus to which it is connected old hard faster than a disk drive.
Interesting:if not free space for a second storage medium, but want to keep the hard drive, the owner of a laptop computer has the opportunity to purchase a case for a hard drive to connect an SSD via USB. True, this is only convenient if the laptop is used as a desktop device.
The classic method is replacing the HDD
So, the battery is removed, the cover is unscrewed. It's time to pull out the hard drive: the drive is secured with several bolts, you need to unscrew them, and then carefully remove the hard drive from the SATA slot. You will need to install a solid-state drive in this place and secure the SSD with bolts. The final installation steps: attach the cover, install the battery and turn on the laptop.
When booting a laptop (for example), the user will need to enter the BIOS. There he will see that the system has detected the SSD. Now you need to check what mode the disk is operating in in the tab called Advanced: if not in AHCI, switch the media to this mode and save.
The last step is to install the operating system.
Installing an SSD instead of a disk drive
The preparatory steps are almost no different from those described above. So, the user needs to disconnect from the network and remove the battery. Then, using a screwdriver, unscrew the screw that holds the cover that covers the optical drive compartment.
Under this cover there is a bolt that holds the drive. You will need to unscrew it, press the pedal: the disk drive will slide out of the connector. Now the drive is easy to get.
Important: to install SSD instead optical drive, you need a pocket adapter that matches in size.
To securely secure the SSD drive, you need to screw four bolts into the drive until they stop, put it in the adapter pocket and place it in the SATA socket. The rubber seal will add points to the reliability of the fixation.
To prevent the SSD from dangling inside, the “pocket” should be fixed in the case. To do this, you need to twist the drive mount and place it in the adapter. The shape of the fasteners can be different, but the holes are located according to the standard, so installation should not cause any difficulties.
Lifehack:To prevent a connector with an installed SSD (for example) from looking handicraft, you can remove the cover plate equipped with a button from the optical drive. It is held on by latches that are easy to unfasten with a credit card or pry off with a fingernail. All that remains is to attach the cover plate to the adapter and secure it to the body with screws.
Difficulties you may encounter
When installing an SSD or starting a computer/laptop after an upgrade, the user may encounter some difficulties. Most of them are resolved at the initial stage.
So, the first thing you should pay attention to when self-installation SSD disk (for example) in a computer or laptop - accuracy. Most cases are made of plastic, so careless actions can damage the casing. For example, weak point laptops - sockets for wires.
Attention! It is better to add an SSD to both a portable and desktop device when the computer’s warranty has expired: any upgrade made by the user can “destroy” the warranty.
If you plan to install the SSD media in an optical drive slot, you must take into account the thickness of the adapter pocket. Most models are available in 12.7 mm or 9.5 mm. To be sure that the adapter will fit, you need to find out the model of the drive and find its characteristics on the Internet.
Connection various devices connecting to a computer causes difficulty for many users, especially if the device must be installed inside the system unit. In such cases, the multitude of wires and various connectors is especially intimidating. Today we will talk about how to properly connect an SSD to a computer.
So, you purchased a solid-state drive and now the task is to connect it to your computer or laptop. First, we'll talk about how to connect the drive to a computer, since there are more different nuances here, and then we'll move on to the laptop.
Connecting the SSD to the computer
Before connecting the drive to the computer, you should make sure that there is still room for it and the necessary cables. Otherwise, you will have to disable some of the installed devices– hard drives or disk drives (which work with a SATA interface).
Connecting the disk will take place in several stages:
- Opening the system unit;
- Consolidation;
- Connection.
At the first stage, no difficulties should arise. You just need to unscrew the bolts and remove the side cover. Depending on the housing design, it is sometimes necessary to remove both covers.
For fastening hard drives There is a special compartment in the system unit. In most cases, it is located closer to the front panel; it is almost impossible not to notice it. SSDs are usually smaller in size than magnetic disks. That is why they sometimes come with special slides that allow you to secure the SSD. If you don’t have such a sled, you can install it in the card reader compartment or come up with a more clever solution to fix the drive in the case.
Now comes the most difficult stage - directly connecting the disk to the computer. It takes some care to do it right. The fact is that modern motherboards have several SATA interfaces, which differ in data transfer speed. And if you connect your drive to the wrong SATA, it will not work at full capacity.
In order to use the full potential of solid state drives, they must be connected to SATA interface III, which is capable of providing data transfer speeds of 600 Mbit/s. As a rule, such connectors (interfaces) are highlighted in color. We find such a connector and connect our drive to it.
Next, all that remains is to connect the power and that’s it, the SSD will be ready for use. If you are connecting the device for the first time, then do not be afraid of connecting it incorrectly. All connectors have a special key that will not allow you to insert it incorrectly.
Connecting an SSD to a laptop
Installing a solid state drive in a laptop is somewhat easier than in a computer. The difficulty here is usually to open the laptop lid.
In most models, the hard drive bays have their own cover, so there is no need to completely disassemble the laptop.
We find the required compartment, unscrew the bolts and carefully disconnect the hard drive and insert the SSD in its place. As a rule, all the connectors here are rigidly fixed, so to disconnect the drive, you need to move it a little to the side. To connect, on the contrary, slightly move it towards the connectors. If you feel that the disc is not inserted, then you should not use excessive force; perhaps you are simply inserting it incorrectly.
Ultimately, having installed the drive, all that remains is to securely fix it, and then tighten the laptop case.
Conclusion
Now, guided by these short instructions, you can easily figure out how to connect drives not only to a computer, but also to a laptop. As you can see, this is done quite simply, which means that almost anyone can install a solid-state drive.
I have already mentioned SSD drives more than once in my articles, saying that they are faster than regular ones and can be used to upgrade your computer. And it would seem that installing them is a trivial thing, what could be simpler, remove the old hard drive, install a new SSD , install Windows on it and rejoice, but in reality everything is not so simple. The point is that in order to squeeze out maximum speed from an SSD drive (otherwise why use it), you need to switch to AHCI mode(Advanced Host Controller Interface). And this is where the surprises can begin...
So, I have old computer, who decided to upgrade and install an SSD drive. I switched the AHCI mode in the BIOS. To do this, I went into the BIOS (press the Del or F2 button (there may be other keys depending on the motherboard model), when turning on the computer) in the "Main" menu and selected "Sata Configuration".
And in "Configure Sata as" I chose "AHCI"
I saved the settings, restarted the computer and started installing Windows. But that was not the case, an error occurred:
I started changing the BIOS settings, even updated its version
, the result was the same - this error constantly appeared. In the end, I decided to select IDE mode in the BIOS and install Windows.
The installation was successful, then I decided to try switching back to AHCI mode in the BIOS, but a similar trick failed and Windows simply did not boot (in principle, I expected a similar result). Then I decided to do this - switch back to IDE mode, go into Windows and change the mode to ACHI in the registry editor.
Having returned to IDE mode, Windows booted successfully; now you need to make changes to the registry. To do this, open the registry editor - press the key combination "Win" + "R" and enter regedit.
In the registry editor, go to the path "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci", find the "Start" parameter, open it double click. In the "Value" field, enter "0".
That's it, the system can be rebooted and AHCI mode can be set in the BIOS. As a result, everything worked, the SSD disk worked in ACHI mode. Windows booted successfully and worked many times faster than with a regular hard disk.
So, if your old computer has stopped pleasing you with its speed work - installation SSD drive, in my opinion, perfect solution. But we must not forget about the minimum size of RAM - 2GB and a processor, preferably 2 cores of at least 2 GHz.
I hope this article helped you avoid the mistake:
Installing Windows on this disk is not possible. Possible equipment of this computer does not support booting from of this disk. Make sure that the controller for this drive is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu.
And it helped to upgrade your computer and increase its performance and performance.
SSD is a solid-state drive that differs from traditional hard drives in its compactness and data transfer speed. There are several reasons why many users switch to using such storage media, namely:
- Reliability. They, in fact, have no moving elements, which greatly reduces the likelihood of data damage during recording and eliminates physical wear and tear.
- Access speed to data is much higher, which has a beneficial effect on work.
- Compactness. Such drives easily fit into a pocket and are convenient to transport.
- Low noise and temperature. SSDs do not make any noise at all, unlike their HDD counterparts.
The only downside is limit on the number of entries each sector, so many people prefer to purchase such disks for installation operating system– the disk does not wear out as much and the operating speed of the OS can increase.
Installing an SSD in a computer
Before installing the disk into your computer, it need to de-energize:
- Pull out the power plug of the system unit from the outlet
- Press the power button on the power supply (usually located on the back of the system unit. May not be present on some models)
- Press the button turn on the computer for 5-10 seconds so that all circuits are de-energized
Now we remove the cover of the system unit and decide on the place where the drive will be installed. Many modern SSDs and PC cases are equipped with special pockets, which will allow you to install the disk.
Unfortunately, cheaper case models can only be equipped with shelves for 3.5-inch devices, and the shapes SSD factor– 2.5 inches. In this case, you will need a special pocket or adapter. This should be taken care of even before purchasing the disc.
Now we install the drive into the desired 3.5 or 2.5 inch connector and secure it with screws or latches (depending on the characteristics of the PC case)
The next step would be power connection and data loop. SSDs are equipped with L-shaped SATA connectors. The larger one is power, it comes from the power supply. The second, smaller one, transmits data and connects to the motherboard. It is quite difficult to connect them incorrectly, because... there are keys on the cables. 
Now we assemble the PC, launch it and go to the BIOS.
Here we have to install modeAHCI For SSD operation. Then follows:
- If Windows is installed on the drive, you must change download priority. The first place should be the flash drive or disk from which the installation will be performed, and the second place should be the newly installed disk.
- If you plan to work V old system , then the HDD with Windows should come first in boot priority.
- Now all that remains is to make the necessary settings in the BIOS, depending on the firmware version and the purpose of using the drive.
It is worth noting that on modern motherboards, SATA ports may differ in speed. Therefore, the connection should be made in more high-speed port. Information about the speed of motherboard ports can be found in the instructions or on the manufacturer’s website. Sometimes such information is indicated on the box of the board itself.
How to connect an SSD to a laptop
Installing a drive in a laptop is somewhat simpler. To begin with, as in the case of PCs, turn off the power and pull out the battery. Press and hold the key turn on for 5-10 seconds, after which we proceed to disassemble the device.
First, turn the laptop over and look for the lid, near which you can see inscriptionHDD or a hard drive icon is drawn. Unscrew the bolt near the inscription and remove the cover. Most often, the disk is installed in a steel slide, which also bolted. Unscrew and remove the hard drive again. 
Now we put the SSD in its place and do the above procedure in reverse order. Unlike a computer, you will have to reinstall the system, because... Often laptops do not provide for the installation of two or more drives.
