Optimize an SSD system disk

Contents

Optimize an SSD system disk. The installation of the material does not differ from that of a classic disk.

Optimize an SSD system disk in Windows: conditions

As far as software goes, this is no different than a drive tray, but Three conditions must be met when installing an operating system on the SSD:

The SATA port that the SSD will be plugged into, should be number “0” or “1” in the motherboard BIOS and preferably in the native controller (not complicated, in this day, it’s an Intel or AMD controller …).
The SATA port must be set to AHCI before installing Windows.
Forget about the operating system before Vista. Except for a rare model of SSD specifically studied for Windows XP, such as the Kinston SSDNow V + 100 series, which has the particularity of integrating Garbage Collection (GC), equivalent to the TRIM command of w7 and 8 but which are executed independently and automatically to maintain optimal performance level. These SSDs are almost impossible to find. So it is necessary to privilege Windows 7 or 8.

If you install Windows on a small SSD volume (less than 120/128 GB), it is preferable to store data and as much software as possible (for example, games). Dedicated to a conventional disk.
Avoid filling the SSD at all costs and do not exceed the occupancy rate of 60% of the total volume. Example: if you have a 100 G0 SSD, do not exceed 60 Go of the used volume. The predominant reason for this rule is that it leaves as much space as possible for the SSD controller to better distribute the data across the chips. This will reduce wear on the memory chips. The more space, the more you can “transform” the free/used cells alternately. SSD manufacturers talk about Intel’s “scheduled rotation” or “sharding.”

Check that the TRIM command is functional (Windows 7, 8)
Do not exceed 60% fill of the useful volume (see above, this also directly interferes with performances)
After installing Windows and drivers, it is necessary to start WEI (Windows Experience Index), the Windows performance index. This validates SSD support by Windows.
Intel chipset motherboards (any ICHxx chipset from P965 and PCH series 5 and 6): If performance is not as expected with Windows base units, install RST (Intel® Rapid Storage Technology)

It is simple. For an SSD to live long… it must be used! Seriously, we need to avoid useless writes that wear out memory chips as much as possible.
Disable Windows defragmentation if it is not already automatic. You shouldn’t defrag an SSD at all. This type of operation inflicts an impressive amount of writes that will be the cells. The performance of an SSD is not affected by file fragmentation like a classic disk, on the contrary: fragmentation is beneficial, since it allows uniform wear of the cells and the SSD controller manages all this.
Disable indexing for all partitions on an SSD (indexing is useless on an SSD).
In the “Power Management” settings, prohibit disk hibernation (for SSDs)
Move virtual memory to another disk using advanced system parameters (pagefile.sys)

The driver of an SSD is very important. Like all hardware, it is firmware driven, feel free to update it if the SSD manufacturer offers a newer version than the current one. The operation is performed immediately after purchase or during reinstallation of Windows, since it is often destructive to data and the operating system (depending on the model, this is not always the case). Updates bring a general improvement in performance, reliability, or bug fixes.
Disable standby or extended hibernation if you usually let your PC stand by itself, avoid pointlessly shutting down the SSD.
If your PC has less than 4 GB of installed RAM, you can disable Prefetch, Superfetch and swap files from the SSD (only in the presence of a second conventional drive).
Disable system restore to limit the allocated space, this last recommendation should be followed if you are not afraid of losing data in the event of a crash, crash, etc.