Monitor the health of ssd kingston. Enterprise SSD DC400 from Kingston for data centers. Disable file search and indexing

The requirements of corporate users for data storage and processing systems differ significantly from those of a simple end user. For a corporate user, it is not so much the speed of writing and reading data that is important, but the reliability of storage and constant 24-hour access to it throughout the entire period of operation. That is why companies are developing separate series of products for this purpose, which often exceed the prices of seemingly similar models, but intended for the consumer market. That's why Kingston has launched a dedicated range of data center SSDs that are optimized primarily for read-intensive workloads.

Ease of installation, weight and dimensions do not guarantee that an SSD can be used in enterprise environments. The cost of making the wrong choice can often negate any savings benefits, as low-cost SSD drives running in DataCenter can fail prematurely due to excessive write operations, and their write speeds are significantly reduced over their expected lifespan. All this ultimately leads to significant costs due to premature replacement.

Modern SSDs are capable of delivering extremely fast read and write speeds for both sequential and random queries, which is required in enterprise environments where databases can be accessed simultaneously by a large number of clients without significantly slowing down performance. In the case of personal use of an SSD drive by an end user, the difference between the minimum and maximum response time of the drive can be significantly greater. Therefore, enterprise-class SSD drives are optimized not only for peak performance within the first few seconds of access, but by using large redundant area, they also guarantee increased average sustained performance over time, which ensures consistent performance across the enterprise array of drives used in data centers information even during periods of peak load.

NAND flash memory, which is used in SSD drives, has some limitations: the two most important are the design life limit and the possibility of natural errors. Therefore, during the production process, each chip of the future SSD drive is tested and characterized by the initial bit error rate (BER or RBER). This indicator determines the frequency of occurrence of natural errors without any intervention from software error correction. But there are also errors that cannot be corrected by any means. Therefore, the Uncorrectable Bit Error Rate (UBER) was introduced as “a measure of data corruption equal to the number of data errors per bit read after applying a specified error correction method.” According to the international committee JEDEC, the UBER indicator for enterprise-level SSDs is expected to be no worse than 1 unrecoverable bit error with a frequency of 1 bit error for every 10 quadrillion bits processed (~1.11 petabytes), but for the client level, this indicator reduced by 10 times. In other words, SSD drives designed to work in the harsh conditions of data centers must be ten times more reliable than for a home user. To achieve this, Kingston uses parity checking technologies to create a redundant number of checkpoints and check them cyclically.

In addition, to improve reliability, Kingston includes additional electronics in enterprise SSDs with power loss detection and failure protection logic, as well as monitoring input power and providing temporary power in case of any internal or external residual write commands. .

Another important parameter that distinguishes corporate SSD drives from those used for the end user is service life. Its duration is not so critical for home computer due to the fact that with an estimated operating time of 8 hours a day, modern solid-state drives will last much longer than the PC itself as a whole. But for operation in data centers that work 24 hours a day without any interruption, this parameter is critical, since it significantly affects the cost of the entire system. But we know that all types of NAND flash memory used in SSDs lose their ability to reliably store data over time and eventually reach a state where they are no longer usable. To neutralize losses and extend service life, a set of measures is used, but the most important is still constant monitoring of data integrity and the transfer of potentially “dead” bits to a redundant memory area that is not initially accessible to the user. In addition, companies use memory chips based on e-MLC technology, and in some cases SLC, for devices with heavy loads, although the latter solution sharply increases the cost of data storage with a noticeable decrease in the overall capacity of the device. Naturally, advanced S.M.A.R.T. technologies are also used, which monitor free and occupied cells. In ordinary client devices, these technologies are also used, but in a more simplified form. In other words, the main methods of fighting to increase service life are: reliable and advanced technologies for checking memory cells for errors and the reserve capacity of the drive, which is not available to either the user or operating system and which can be used as a temporary write buffer to improve performance, but is primarily intended to replace defective cells over the expected life of the SSD.

The new series of Kingston DC400 SSD drives has better characteristics than consumer models and is designed for more long term service in more difficult working conditions. However, it is worth noting that the Kingston DC400 belongs to the entry-level corporate SSD and is therefore primarily designed to operate in read rather than write mode. One of the important features of the new models is the ability to specify a reserve area (overprovision). According to Kingston's website, enterprise SSDs reserve up to 28% of the drive's capacity, while the DC400 series only reserves 7% by default, the same as consumer SSDs. If necessary, using the proprietary Kingston Manager application, the user can change the capacity of the backup area, thereby increasing the service life of the SSD and to some extent increasing the recording speed.

The Kingston DC400 SSD drive, like most of the company's products, comes in a plastic blister. On its front side, in addition to the brand name and indication of the device series, only the storage capacity and the fact that guarantee period is 5 years.

On the reverse side everything looks just as modest. The main thing that is present on it is a sticker indicating the product number and where it was manufactured. But the user will see important words about the warranty only if he purchases the drive and removes it from the packaging. No installation instructions are included, since the SSD is aimed at the corporate segment of the market and it is assumed in advance that it will be installed by someone who is well versed in this.

This drive has the most common form factor - 2.5 inches and a thickness of about 7 mm, that is, it allows you to install this SSD in any modern devices, including ultrabooks.

Main characteristics of the Kingston DC400 480 GB model, according to the manufacturer:

• connection interface - SATA 3.0 (6 Gbit/s), backward compatible with SATA 2.0 (3 Gbit/s);
• Sequential read/write speed: 555/535 MB/s;
• maximum read/write speed of random blocks of 4 KB in size: 99000/90000 IOPS;
• read/write speed of 4KB blocks under constant loads: 85000/11000 IOPS;
• quality of service (latency) – read/write: hot-plug function;
• static and dynamic wear leveling;
• Enterprise-level SMART tools: reliability tracking, usage data collection, service life assessment, wear leveling, temperature monitoring;
• lifetime: 257 TB (estimated as the total number of bytes written, without significant loss of performance);
• Power consumption: idle/average/max. when reading / max. Recording (W): 1.56/1.6/1.8/4.86;
• operating temperature: 0 to 70 °C;
• mean time between failures: 2 million hours;
• size 69.9×100×7 mm;
• model weight - 92.34 g.

Kingston SSD Manager

To update SSD firmware, Kingston offers free Kingston utility SSD Manager, which can be downloaded from the official website. Using it, the user can view SMART data, SSD status, its temperature and various events related to the operation of the drive (connection/disconnection, identification numbers, etc.).

However, the most main feature This program provides the ability to change the backup area of ​​the drive. It is important to understand that these actions can only be carried out without formatted partitions on the disk. In addition, after changing the volume of the reserve area, you should restart the OS for the new settings to be applied correctly. It should be noted that a minimum reserve area of ​​7% always remains while the user is working with the remaining SSD capacity.

Testing

To test the SSD drive, we used a bench with the following configuration:

• processor - Intel Core i7-4770K;
• motherboard - Intel DZ87KLT-75K;
• chipset motherboard- Intel Z87 Express;
• memory capacity - 16 GB (two GEIL DDR3-1600 modules of 8 GB each);
• memory operating mode - dual-channel;
• system disk - Intel SSD 520 Series (240 GB);
• operating system - Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.

Additionally, the Intel RST driver was installed, and the tested SSD drive was connected to the SATA 6 Gb/s port, which was implemented through a controller integrated into the chipset. An Intel SSD 520 Series SSD was connected to another SATA port, on which the operating system and all applications necessary for testing were installed. All SATA ports were set to AHCI operating mode.

For testing, we used the IOmeter utility version 2008.06.18, which is a very powerful tool for analyzing the performance of drives (both HDD and SSD) and is actually the industry standard for measuring drive performance.

In order not to tie the test results to a specific file system, we tested the SSD drive using the IOmeter utility without creating a logical partition on it.

During testing, we examined the dependence of the speed of sequential and random reading operations, as well as sequential and random writing, on the size of the data block.

In addition, the dependence of drive performance in random read and write operations for 4 KB blocks was analyzed. The 4 KB block size for random read and write operations was chosen because it is typical for operating systems. Windows systems and in random read and write operations, blocks of this size are most often encountered. In this regard, a block size of 4 KB for random read and write operations when measuring IOPS is a kind of de facto standard.

We also tested SSD drives for the presence of the aging effect, that is, we found out how the drive's performance in random write operations changes over time.

To determine the speed of sequential read, random read and sequential write, data blocks of the following sizes were used: 512 bytes, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 KB, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 MB. In these tests, the IOmeter settings set the number of concurrent I/O requests (# of Outstanding I/Os) to 4, which is typical for consumer applications. An analysis of the dependence of drive performance in random read and write operations on the depth of the task queue was carried out using blocks of 4 KB in size, and the number of simultaneous I/O requests was set to 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256. Note that the results of this test are especially important if the drive is used in a server, RAID array or NAS system. In addition, to evaluate the read and write speed that the user can count on in real operating conditions, the FlashTest 4.0 utility, developed in our laboratory, was used. It uses function calls from the WinAPI library and copies data exactly as it is done standard means Windows 7 and 8, including displaying a standard window with a progress indicator on the screen.

The well-known CrystalDiskMark 5.1.0 utility, which is often used to measure the performance of various drives, was used as a synthetic test.

Test results

The test for “aging” of an SSD drive was based on a special preset that worked for 10 hours. Naturally, like all modern SSD drives, this model has this unpleasant property, that is, the random write speed decreases as the drive fills up. The recording speed has decreased by about 5 times, but it is clear that the controller has advanced regeneration algorithms. If we compare its results with a regular consumer SSD, the write speed of this model, even in such a difficult situation, is much higher. This suggests that the Kingston DC400 is more suitable for working in data centers than anyone else.

The graph shows three dependences of data transfer speed on block size in basic operations: sequential read, sequential write and random read. Sequential operations, both reading and writing, are very good for this model. At peak they are more than 530 MB/s, which corresponds to the declared values. But in random read operations, saturation does not occur so quickly, however, peak speeds are also achieved at maximum size block.

On the random recording graph you can see the differences in speeds between the “new” and artificially “aged” states of the drive. The degradation of the random write speed when the buffer on the “new” drive is filled is clearly noticeable. However, the speed reduction is not as severe as some budget consumer SSDs. The recording speed under constant stress test conditions approaches 60 Mbit/s at the maximum block size, which is a good indicator for SSD drives. The actual average data transfer speed for random recording in blocks from 512 bytes to 1 MB is presented in the graph of the “aged” drive, which is based on the results obtained after the “aging” process.

A real-world data transfer test, FlashTest 4.0, shows that the Kingston DC400's write speed matches the results obtained in the IOMeter benchmark. In addition, it is clear that compared to a conventional SSD, the new model is significantly ahead in writing speed.

Synthetic CrystalMark tests show better results, which, however, is not surprising.

conclusions

Kingston Company, having released new series SSD drives for corporate use, made a strong bid for corporate information technology services to seriously think about the planned transition to solid-state devices for storing their data. And ordinary users who store large volumes at home, on home computers, are critically important information will become interested in the new device and, if funds allow them, will transfer their databases to modern and reliable media from Kingston. New model The Kingston DC400 delivers class-leading performance. SSDs in this line are designed for read-dominant loads, but can also withstand short-term heavy write loads if necessary. According to our data, increasing the reserve area to 30% of the SSD capacity allows for higher write speeds, so this feature will most likely be in demand in the corporate sector. At the time of writing, the price for this SSD drive is still unknown.

On December 15, 2016, new firmware was unexpectedly released for the Kingston KC400 and Kingston HyperX Savage SSDs. New firmware version - SAFM001B. Unexpectedly - more so for the SSD HyperX Savage, since this drive went on sale in the spring of 2015 (more than a year and a half ago) and since then there has not been a single firmware for it in open access, although in new batches of this SSD the firmware was updated once or twice.
This firmware is suitable for both the Kingston KC400 SSD and the HyperX Savage SSD, because they have very similar internal hardware: they have the same controller (Phison PS3110-S10), only the flash memory is slightly different and some other minor differences.
Firmware suitable for all models from the Kingston KC400 series - 128, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB and all models from the SSD HyperX Savage series - 120, 240, 480, 960 GB.

Is it worth downloading new firmware and updating it? Definitely worth it, because new firmware One rather serious problem in the operation of SSDs on some computers was fixed and performance was slightly improved.

This official firmware, available on the Kingston website. There - on the Kingston website there are English-language instructions for updating the firmware and a note (also in English) about what's new in this firmware. In addition, on the Kingston website, instructions and notes are scattered across different documents. Therefore, I decided to combine all this here on one page and translate the information from the instructions and the “what’s new” note into Russian. Well, I’ll add a few more words of my own.

In this article, I will tell you how to properly flash your SSD drive if you have any of the KC400 or HyperX Savage models.
Go.

What's new in the firmware?

From the official Release Notes this is what follows:

Firmware Rev. SAFM001B (12/15/16)

• Resolved corner case behavior that forces drive into ROM mode after an abnormal initialization causing it to register as 2MB
• Modified Identify Word 47/59 for 3rd-party software compatibility
• Reduced aggregation of TRIM resulting in improved performance and responsiveness

If translated into Russian, the list of changes will look something like this:

• Resolved an issue where the SSD went into ROM mode and was detected as 2 MB after incorrect initialization
• Changed Word 47/59 definition to be compatible with third party software
• Reduced TRIM aggregation to improve performance and responsiveness

Regarding the first point, I can say - yes, I saw several such reviews that sometimes the KC400 and HyperX Savage SSDs were identified in the system as some kind of incomprehensible disk with 2 MB of capacity as a result of some kind of failure. But this did not happen on all systems and not very often. Apparently, there was some kind of incompatibility at the level of some computer/laptop chipsets.
The new firmware seems to have fixed this problem.

Regarding the second point, I don’t really understand what this fix is ​​and why it is needed. But, if they did, it means it has some role for the operation of the SSD.

Regarding the third point, everything is quite simple: the operation of the TRIM function has been improved, as a result of which “garbage” memory cells should be cleaned more efficiently. This should have a positive impact on the performance and responsiveness of the SSD.

Preparing for firmware.

First of all, check which firmware version is currently installed on your SSD. It is possible that your Kingston KC400 SSD or HyperX Savage SSD will be from a new batch and the SAFM001B firmware will already be built into it by default, in which case there is no need to flash it again if your SSD is working normally.
You can check the firmware version in different ways:

• There is a sticker on the SSD box indicating the firmware version. Look for this type of inscription there - SSD FW;
• there is also a sticker on the back of the SSD itself indicating the firmware version;
• The firmware version can be found via various programs for disk diagnostics - Kingston SSD Manager,CrystalDiskInfo etc.

For example, here is a screenshot from CrystalDiskInfo, the line with the firmware version is marked there.

How to check the firmware version in CrystalDiskInfo.

In my case, the firmware version is SAFM00.r, this firmware was originally on my HyperX Savage SSD and it is much older than SAFM001B. So it needs to be updated.

Below is a list of known ones to me this moment Firmware for SSD HyperX Savage in the approximate order of their appearance:
1. SAFM00.r- was in the very first batches released in the spring of 2015.
2. SAFM00.U- appeared in games released at the end of 2015 - beginning of 2016.
3. SAFM00.Y- appeared in games released around January-February 2016.
4. SAFM001B- released on December 15, 2016, this firmware is discussed in this article.
5. SAFM02.H- present in new SSD revisions, this firmware is newer than SAFM001B.

What is needed for the firmware? A computer or laptop with a SATA 2 or SATA 3 interface. If your PC/laptop only supports SATA 2, then make sure that AHCI mode is available in the BIOS, since not all motherboards with SATA 2 support AHCI mode.
Also, you will need any USB flash drive of 2 GB or more, or a DVD and a working DVD drive in your computer. You can flash it from a DVD, but I recommend flashing it using a USB flash drive, as this option is more reliable and faster.

Important!

• Before starting the firmware, it is recommended to do backup copy important data from the SSD, to avoid data loss in case of unsuccessful firmware!
• Your SATA controller must be configured for AHCI mode in the BIOS.
• When updating firmware, your SSD must be connected to the native one (built into motherboard) SATA port of a computer/laptop! Do not use SATA adapters/adapters from third-party manufacturers.
• If you plan to flash on a computer, it is recommended to use a UPS (source uninterruptible power supply) to avoid a sudden power outage during the firmware.
• If you plan to flash on a laptop, then make sure that the laptop's battery is charged and the power adapter is connected to the laptop to avoid a sudden power outage during the flashing.

FIRMWARE SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE UPDATES ARE PROVIDED AT KINGSTON'S DISCRETION FOR CERTAIN KINGSTON PRODUCTS. THE FIRMWARE SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE SOFTWARE UPDATES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ARE USED AT USER'S SOLE RISK, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION OR REPRESENTATION BY KINGSTON.

KINGSTON DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, WITH RESPECT TO THE FIRMWARE SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE SOFTWARE UPDATES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF QUALITY, PRODUCT PERFORMANCE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR WARRANTY, WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR CONFORMITY PURPOSE.

KINGSTON DOES NOT WARRANT THE CONTINUOUS, UNINTERRUPTED OR UNINTERRUPTED AVAILABILITY, SECURITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR ERROR-FREENESS OF THE FIRMWARE SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE SOFTWARE UPDATES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION, TEXT, GRAPHICS, LINKS OR OTHER ELEMENTS CONTAINED IN SOFTWARE.

WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD ANY FIRMWARE SOFTWARE AND/OR SOFTWARE UPDATES, THERE ARE NO LICENSE GRANTED TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARISING FROM CONCLUDING CONTACTS BY THE ATTENDANT HOLDER OR OTHERWISE EXCEPT AS PROVIDED ABOVE.

BY DOWNLOADING THIS SOFTWARE, THE USER AGREES TO THE ABOVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Flashing the SSD.

1. Download the ISO image with KC400/SHSS firmware from this link. The file weighs 773 MB.

2. Burn this ISO image to a DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive with this image. There are many different programs for burning images to CD/DVD and creating bootable flash drives.
To create a bootable flash drive, Kingston recommends using the free Rufus program: https://rufus.akeo.ie/

3. Boot from your bootable flash drive or DVD and select "live – boot the Live system" by pressing the Enter key. The Linux-based mini-OS will boot.

4. Follow the on-screen prompts to update the target SSD's firmware.
There you just need to enter the number of the disk that you are going to flash (usually number 1, if the system has one SSD supported for flashing) and press the Enter key.

5. Update the firmware. When the firmware is successfully updated, you will see on the screen:
a. The SSD Firmware has been updated on drive
b. Power cycle is required to see and use the new code.

6. Turn off your computer/laptop. It is advisable to disable it through the button in the lower left corner (analogous to the Start button), selecting System - Power Off there.

7. Turn on your computer/laptop and start using it as usual.

This is the boot screen you should see if you correctly recorded the image on a USB flash drive or DVD.

Loading screen, there you need to select the first item.

In this small window you need to enter the number of the SSD supported for firmware and press Enter.

Selecting the drive number for firmware.

I have already flashed my SSD, the “flight” is normal. It feels like the SSD began to work a little faster. Also, I saw several reviews on forums and in groups that several people upgraded to this firmware and are not complaining.

That's all, successful firmware, thanks for your attention!
Was the article useful? Then support the author with a pretty penny , contributing any amount to the development of the blog.

Monitor drive health, status, and disk usage
- View drive identification data including model name, serial number, firmware version, and other relevant information
- Utilize Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) and export detailed reports in text format
- Update drive firmware
- Securely erase data
- Manage TCG Opal and IEEE 1667

Installation Process:

Click on the Kingston SSD Manager (KSM) link to initialize the software download.
- Locate your download and extract the contents.
- Run the KSM Setup executable as administrator.
- Follow the prompts within the Setup Wizard and proceed with KSM software installation.
- Once your installation is complete, the system may require a reboot.

Note for MAC and Linux Users:

The Kingston SSD Manager is not compatible with Mac OS or Linux distributions.

About SSD Toolbox:

The Solid State Drive (SSD) Toolbox is an update utility that properly recognizes the SSD unit(s) installed on your system. It also displays various pieces of information regarding the connected storage devices and searches for a new suitable firmware version.

However, before you consider downloading this version, carefully read the release notes for changes that can apply to your SSD. Once you have updated your drive, reboot to make sure that all modifications take effect.

When it comes to installing this software, the steps are very easy because all you have to do is get the downloadable package (extract it if necessary) and run the available setup. Once the installation is complete, run the Toolbox and follow the instructions for updating the SSD.

That being said, make sure this Toolbox version has a new firmware version available for your solid state drive and, if so, hit the download button, and install the software. Otherwise, check with our website as often as possible so that you don’t miss the release that can improve your SSD.

It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.

Try to set a system restore point before installing a device driver. This will help if you installed an incorrect or mismatched driver. Problems can arise when your hardware device is too old or not supported any longer.

Among well-known and large suppliers solid state drives there is a company called Kingston, known mainly for its RAM modules and USB-Flash devices. This company joined the ranks of SSD manufacturers early and has rich history their model series. However, Kingston products are one way or another based on Sandforce controllers and represent the ssdnow (wide profile from series for ordinary users to enterprise level) and HyperX lines. The HyperX line gets its name from the high-performance RAM modules produced under this brand.

All SSDs require firmware updates. Some developers release them faster and more often than others, but ultimately, it is advisable to carry out this procedure at least once every long period of time. Let us remind you that SSD firmware helps the drive operate faster and, most importantly, more reliably; they often optimize the operation of the internal controller. This time we are learning how to flash Kingston SSDs of the ssdnow and HyperX series.

To do this, first of all, make sure that the update is really required by finding out the firmware number. You can view it in a huge number of programs and utilities. Then find and download the archive of the flash driver program from the official website for your device model. When you're ready, run the program with administrator rights.

A utility window will open, after which it will automatically try to find your Kingston SSD, and the drive should already be detected and visible to the system. It is advisable to connect it to native SATA ports and set the controller mode in the BIOS options to AHCI.

[click on the picture to enlarge]

In about a minute all will be detected Kingston drives and a list of them was built. In addition, the utility will show serial number devices and, of course, the firmware number as well as their volume. In order to reflash the SSD, just mark the required drives and click the “Update Firmware” button. Actually, the program does not have any other functions; all that can be done is to rescan the computer for the presence of an SSD, find out the version of the utility and exit.

[click on the picture to enlarge]

The program will ask you to find the file to update and will start searching for it from its folder. This is the right decision, since it should have been inside the archive downloaded along with the utility.

[click on the picture to enlarge]

Kingston Field Updater will warn you about possible data loss of all unsaved documents and that you need to make a backup. When you're ready, click "Proceed."

The advent of solid-state hard drives, or SSD for short, can certainly be considered a breakthrough in the development of technologies for creating recording and storage devices 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 HDDs. 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 other 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 of the MLC type and allows data to be written approximately from 3 to 10 thousand times, while conventional USB exhausts its resource 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 the AHCI connection mode for the SATA controller is enabled in the BIOS.

There are two points here: after enabling AHCI and transferring Windows to the SSD, the system may not boot, since it will 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 a useful thing 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, the likelihood that they are still sold in digital stores is very low.

During the process, a significant amount of data, comparable to the amount of RAM, can be written to the hiberfil.sys file on the system disk. 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 to this SSD setup 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 the hidden system file hiberfil.sys is 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 first created a folder on the user disk.

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 Reserve copy, 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 also no particular point in transferring the swap file to a hard HDD, since it is many times slower than an SSD, and the system’s constant access to it 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 Windows installation on 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 disabling the additional Prefetch ReadyBoot feature, which logs the process of downloading applications. 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 optimizing SSD disks

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.

The SSD Mini Tweaker interface 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 optimizing and tuning performance SSD drive. There is no Russian language in Tweak-SSD, but there is a convenient one step by step wizard, offering 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 that optimize the operation of the SSD. Additional program features 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.