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How to connect ssd to gigabyte motherboard. Installing an SSD in a laptop. Drive connection interfaces

Modern technologies do not stand still. More modern devices are constantly appearing, which are distinguished by a greater range of capabilities, better quality and higher performance. One such device is a solid-state hard drive. In this regard, the question often comes up: how to install an SSD in a computer?

But before we proceed with the installation, let's figure out what it is and why this device is needed?

What is SSD

SSD stands for Solid-State Drive, which translated into Russian roughly means a solid-state hard drive. But why is it needed? This is a new type of hard drive that is characterized by high speed of reading and writing information. In other words, if you compare SSDs with older HDD drives, the former have much higher data transfer rates.

This, in turn, increases PC performance and reduces operating system boot time. But there is also a drawback. Such drives have certain restrictions on the number of writes and deletions of files. In other words, if you constantly copy and delete various files on an SSD hard drive, it will fail after some time, which cannot be said about HDD drives.

But still, even with such restrictions, the service life of the drive is quite long. And the performance increase, even in games, is quite noticeable. It is worth noting that modern HDD drives have the same connection interface as their solid-state counterpart, making installing an SDD drive into a computer easy and quick, without much expense or difficulty.

Hot keys in Windows 8. Hot keys Windows 8: Video

How to choose a solid-state hard drive

So we come to the question of how to install an SSD in a computer. Everything is simple in principle. First, let's look at what the interfaces for connecting a hard drive can be. There are several of them:

  • ATA (the so-called IDE) is an outdated interface that has not been used for quite some time. The data transfer speed in this case is low, and if you have an outdated computer model that uses such a connector, there is simply no point in buying an SDD.
  • SATA is a newer interface that replaced the previous one. It has a higher information transfer rate. In turn, SATA is divided into three types:
    • SATA 1.
    • SATA 2.
    • SATA 3.

These types also differ in the speed of data exchange. For example, the speed of SATA 2 is higher than that of SATA 1, and SATA 3 is the most modern and fastest interface.

Thus, before buying an SSD, you should find out which connector is available in your PC. For example, there is no point in taking an SSD with a speed rating of 600 MB/s if it is connected to SATA 1, since the connection itself will limit the speed to 150 MB/s.

It is worth noting that all SATA interfaces are interchangeable. This means that if the motherboard is equipped with SATA 2, then you can connect a SATA 3 or 1 cable to it.

How to install gadgets for Windows 8: Video

How to install SDD

So, we have made our choice. Now you can move on to the question of how to install an SDD in a computer. What does this require? First of all, you need to make sure that the interface controller is operating in AHCI mode. This can be done in the BIOS, in the SATA Mode item. .

If your computer has the ability to use additional hard drives, then you just have to disassemble the system unit and connect the SSD to one of the SATA interfaces. Most likely, Windows will require you to format the new drive. This is necessary because during the formatting process, Windows writes the file system to the drive for further work with it.

In this case, you can boot the operating system and copy all the necessary data to the new hard drive. However, due to the fact that SDD has the above disadvantage, it is not recommended to use it for storing files. Typically, it is used to install the operating system. In this case, in order not to reinstall Windows after replacing the hard drive, you can install it on a solid-state analogue.

Thus, you will be able to use your usual and customized system, but on a new, faster and quieter SDD drive. If the computer does not provide the ability to use several hard drives at the same time, as, for example, in most laptops, then you will have to perform certain actions.

In the case of a laptop, you will have to disconnect the old hard drive from the computer interface. We see that the device is located in a special housing. We need to remove it and replace it with a new solid-state analogue. As a rule, the housing is secured with 4 bolts. After reinstalling the case, insert the hard drive back in the same way as you took it apart, only in reverse order.

This completes the installation of the SSD drive. No special drivers are required. The operating system already contains all the necessary software. After the first boot, Windows will detect the new device and automatically install the driver. After this, the system will ask you to restart your PC.

How to install an SSD hard drive in a computer: Video

Hello! Decide to prepare an article in which you will talk about how to properly install Windows 7 on an SSD drive, and how to configure Windows 7 on an SSD drive after installation so that it works for a long time and without problems. I recently bought a laptop, took an Asus K56CM and immediately bought an OCZ Vertex 4 128 GB SSD drive for it, I really wanted to experience all the speed that an SSD gives.

In our case, the model of laptop/computer and SSD drive does not matter; my instructions can be said to be universal. I will write what needs to be done immediately after installing an SSD drive into a computer and how to configure the operating system after installation on the SSD.

If this is your first time encountering an SSD, then you are probably wondering why there is such attention to setting up the operating system for these drives compared to conventional hard drives. I will now explain everything in simple words.

SSD drives have a limited failure time compared to hard drives. Simply put, they have a certain number of rewrites. Now I won’t say what this number is, it varies and what is true and what is not is difficult to understand. For example, for my OCZ Vertex 4 in the characteristics it was written that the operating time between failures is 2 million hours. And the operating system writes a lot during operation, deletes and writes again various temporary files, etc. Services such as defragmentation, indexing, etc. serve to speed up the system on regular hard drives. And they only harm SSD drives and reduce their service life.

In fact, installing Windows 7 on SSD almost no different from installing on a hard drive. But after installation, you will need to make some adjustments to the operation of Windows 7, but there is nothing complicated there, we will do everything using the utility SSD Mini Tweaker 2.1.

What should you do before installing Windows 7 on an SSD drive?

Well, first you need to install an SSD drive in a laptop or computer, it doesn’t matter. I will not describe this process. There is nothing complicated about this, and this is a topic for another article. Let's say that you have already installed the SSD, or it has already been installed.

If you will use a regular hard drive in your computer next to the SSD drive, then I advise you to disable it while installing Windows 7, this is so that you do not get confused when choosing a partition to install the OS, but this is not necessary.

All you need to do before installation is to check whether our solid state drive is working in AHCI. To do this, go to the BIOS; if you don’t know how, read the article. Next, go to the tab "Advanced" and select the item “SATA Configuration”.

Select the item, a window will open in which we select AHCI(if you had another mode enabled). Click F10 to save settings.

Now you can begin installing Windows 7. The installation process on a solid-state drive is no different from installing on a hard drive. I just want to give you one piece of advice:

Try to install the original image of the operating system Windows 7 or Windows 8. I recommend installing only one of these operating systems, because only seven and eight can work with SSD drives. Do not use different assemblies, and if you install an assembly of Windows 7 or Windows 8 downloaded from the Internet, then try to choose an image close to the original one.

We install the operating system. You may find the following articles useful:

Once the operating system is installed, you can proceed to setting up Windows for SSD.

Setting up Windows 7 to work with an SSD drive

More precisely, Windows 7 will work anyway, our task is to make sure that our solid-state drive lasts as long as possible and without various errors.

As I already wrote at the beginning of the article, to optimize Windows for a solid-state drive, we will use the SSD Mini Tweaker utility. You can disable all unnecessary options manually, but in the SSD Mini Tweaker program this can all be done in a few clicks. You will only need to manually disable indexing of files on local drives.

First we need to download SSD Mini Tweaker. Download version 2.1 from the link below:

There is no need to install the program, just extract it from the archive and run it.

Launch the SSD Mini Tweaker utility.

You can tick all the boxes, or rather, it’s not possible, but it’s necessary. I have checked all the boxes, except that you can leave only SuperFetch; disabling this service may increase the startup time of programs. Check the boxes for the required services and press the button “Apply changes”. Almost everything, in the same utility there is a “Manual” item, this means that you need to manually disable services. There are two of them, disk defragmentation on a schedule and indexing the contents of files on the disk.

If scheduled defragmentation is disabled automatically after the changes we have made, then indexing of files on the disk must be disabled manually on each local partition.

Let's go to "My computer", and right-click on one of the local drives. Select “Properties”.

A window will open in which you need to uncheck the item “Allow the contents of files on this drive to be indexed in addition to file properties”. Click “Apply”.

Another window will appear, click “Ok”.

We are waiting for the process to complete.

When you do this procedure on drive C, you will most likely receive a message stating that you do not have rights to change system files. I just clicked “Skip all”, I think that if you skip a few files, nothing bad will happen.

That's all, setting up Windows for a solid-state drive is complete. You know, many people say that these are different myths, that nothing needs to be turned off, etc. Maybe so, but if they came up with it, then it means it’s necessary and I think that in any case it won’t hurt.

It seems that I wrote everything I wanted, if you have additions, comments, or something is not clear, then write in the comments, we’ll figure it out. Good luck!

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Updated: February 7, 2018 by: admin

Installing solid-state drives by default on laptops and computers has only recently begun, and a device purchased just 1-2 years ago is most likely equipped with a regular SATA HDD.

This option is also not bad - especially if the SATA III interface is used, but conventional hard drives are not capable of providing maximum performance.

What you will need to install an SSD drive

A user who wants to speed up access to information will need:

    • purchase an SSD with a suitable capacity and price (a 60–128 GB device is sufficient for working with documents and basic programs; for more resource-intensive tasks, you should consider purchasing a 500–1000 GB device);
  • enable AHCI mode to work with high-speed drives (if this has not been done before);
Read more about how to do this in the article “”
  • disassemble the computer and install a solid state drive. For a laptop, you may need to remove the old HDD (for further installation using an adapter and a CD drive). Desktop PCs usually have enough space for an SSD.

As a result, the user receives:

  1. Increasing the speed of working with data;
  2. Reduced energy consumption and weight (important for laptops);
  3. No need to defragment the disk.

Tip: If the computer is old enough (single-core processor, less than 4 GB of memory and the motherboard was released 5-6 years ago), there is no point in installing an SSD. In this case, even updating the hardware will not help speed up the system. And you will have to change the entire device.

Installing an SSD on a computer

The standard size of a solid state drive is 2.5 inches.

3.5-inch versions were also produced, but due to the fact that they were most often installed on laptops, only the smallest drives remained (including 1.8-inch and M2 formats).

This means that for installation on a PC, an SSD requires the use of so-called sleds, or racks - devices for securing the disk inside bays designed for standard HDDs and disk drives.

And, although, thanks to the light weight of the solid-state drive, it weighs little and can only be mounted on one side of the system unit case, you should not do this - it is safer to purchase a small adapter from 3.5 to 2.5 inches.

Installing the disk is carried out in several stages:

  1. The computer turns off;
  2. The power supply is turned off using a button on the back of the system unit;
  3. The power button is pressed and held for several seconds. In this case, a de-energized computer will naturally not start, but static electricity will be removed from the motherboard and other parts;
  4. The PC case is disassembled (usually only one panel is removed for this, most often the left one, but sometimes you have to disassemble the system unit almost completely;
  5. The SSD is installed in place (for a PC, it is not necessary to remove the HHD already there) using a sled adapter and secured with screws. Fasteners are included with the device;
  6. The installed disk is connected to the motherboard via a SATA cable and the corresponding slot on the motherboard;

  1. The disk and computer power supply are connected;
  2. Assemble the system unit and configure the SSD.

As a rule, maximum performance of the drive will be ensured only when it is connected to a SATA 3.0 connector or higher at speeds of up to 6 GB/s.

On the board it is usually distinguished from others by its black color and markings. If there are no designations for SATA 3.0, you should read the documentation for the motherboard.

It is worth noting that SSD drives do not tolerate heating to high temperatures.

Therefore, when adding a new drive, it is worth taking care of improving the cooling system.

To do this, you can provide, for example, an additional cooler measuring 80x80 or 120x120 in the side of the system unit.

Such a fan will perfectly cool not only a solid-state drive, but also a regular drive.

Setting up work

After installing the disk, you first need to configure the media for optimal performance and increased service life:

  1. Go to BIOS (or UEFI) using one of the methods available in your operating system. The easiest way to do this is for Windows 7 by pressing the function key when rebooting (different motherboard or laptop manufacturers use different letters);
Read more about setting up a boot disk in our material:.
  1. Install the SSD drive first in the list of devices (if it is not the only drive);

  1. Save changes and restart your computer.

Now you can either transfer the system to a solid-state drive so as not to install it again.

Or leave the old OS if the SSD will not be used as a system drive.

When choosing the first option, you should use either the built-in Windows tools (they are available in systems starting from version 7 and higher) or applications such as Acronis True Image.

In the second case, when the system remains on the HDD, the same hard drive should be left first in the boot list in the BIOS.

Installation on a laptop

Installing SSDs on a laptop is slightly different.

First of all, due to the fact that there is less space inside the laptop computer case and, most likely, to connect a second drive the user will have to remove the first one.

But after installation, the laptop will work faster, and the battery life will practically not decrease, even if you reconnect the old HDD.

To install, the user will need a standard SSD and a drive adapter. The main installation steps include:

  1. Turning off the power to the laptop (by removing the battery);
  2. Open the back cover and carefully remove the HDD. In this case, the cable and power cord are disconnected;

  1. Installing an SSD drive in place of the hard drive with connecting a cable;
  2. Installing HDD using an adapter;
  3. Returning the laptop lid to its place;
  4. Turning on the laptop and setting up the system.

HDD installation

It is advisable to install the hard drive back in cases where the system remains on it.

Or, if the size of the SSD is not sufficient to accommodate all the necessary information, and the solid-state drive itself is used to store only system files and the operating system.

At the same time, the data transfer speed of the optical drive is quite sufficient to support the operation of the HDD.

But it will no longer be possible to ensure the effective use of SSDs in this way.

Therefore, a standard laptop hard drive is inserted into the adapter, and the drive is removed - especially since today it is practically not used.

The adapter for connecting the HDD is selected according to the thickness of the drive, which can be equal to 12.7 or 9.5 mm. Next, the following actions are performed in turn:

  1. The drive is installed inside the adapter;
  2. The optical drive is removed from the laptop (in most models it is held on by one screw). To do this, you need to open the drive (usually it is enough to press a button with a thin needle inside a special hole on the panel in front of the button;

  1. The panel is removed from the drive tray and installed on the adapter so that replacement does not affect the appearance of the device;
  2. The hard drive in the adapter is placed in place of the drive;
  3. The screw that now secures the HDD is tightened.

System Setup

After replacing the hard drive and installing the solid state, the system should automatically detect the type of new device and install all the software necessary for it.

Another utility like Migrate OS to SSD may be needed if you need to move the operating system from an old disk to a new one.

Now you can move on to the main steps to optimize the system. These include:

  • enabling the TRIM function;
  • disable automatic disk defragmentation;
  • prohibiting indexing of files and allowing their caching.

The TRIM function, necessary in order to promptly detect the space remaining after deleting files, has been included in Windows since version 7.

If it is disabled, disk performance will degrade over time.

To check the functionality of the function, open a command prompt as an administrator and enter the fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify command.

If the result is 1, then TRIM is not working. You can enable it by calling the line again and entering fsutil behavior query|set DisableDeleteNotify = 0.

Disabling defragmentation

Defragmentation is a completely unnecessary feature for SSD drives. Moreover, in some cases, frequent execution of the process can even reduce the life of the drive.

To prevent this from happening, defragmentation is disabled using the Run menu (Win + R) and the dfrgui command. In the window that opens, schedule optimization is disabled.

Disabling indexing

To disable indexing:

  1. Open the “My Computer” window;
  2. Right-click on the disk name and select “Properties”;
  3. Remove the checkbox that allows indexing of file contents.

Caching

You can enable caching, which allows the disk to process files faster, by entering the devmgmt.msc command in the Run menu.

This will open Device Manager, where you can open the properties of the desired drive and enable file caching in the policies tab.

Fig. 11. Enable caching

Now solid-state drives, or SSDs, are actively taking over the market and are replacing the good old HDD drives. They gradually fall in price, and their volume is constantly increasing. But it's not that simple. These drives have their drawbacks. The fact is that the service life of memory cells is limited, and it is greatly influenced by the number of rewrites. That is why the correct configuration of an SSD drive under Windows 7 directly affects the service life of this device. Let's look at all this in more detail.

SSD Lifespan

This disk is a regular flash memory, i.e. microcircuits. There are no mechanical, moving parts. This flash memory consists of cells, and they tend to wear out. The more information you write to the disk, the more they wear out. Therefore, setting up an SSD drive is very important. If the disk is being read, then this does not affect its wear.

There are various utilities that can be used to obtain information about the operation and status of the drive. One of them is CrystalDiskInfo. With its help, you can find out many characteristics and performance indicators of the disk. For example, firmware, serial number, total number of operating hours, number of starts, rotation speed (if we are talking about HDD), etc. We will be interested in the field showing the number of host records. The disk controller counts the total amount of data written to memory during its entire operation. This is due to the way flash memory works. Therefore, the figure shown here in gigabytes will exceed the capacity of your disk.

Setting up an SSD under Windows 7

Modern flash memory (MLC) is designed for a fairly large number of rewrite cycles, for example 1000, 2000, etc. This means that you can completely rewrite the disk, for example, a thousand times. If you have 128 GB, then you multiply this value by a thousand and get the final result - the total amount of data that you can write to the drive over its entire service life. This indicator appears in the “Total host records” column. It indicates the amount of data written to the disk since it began operating. For comparison, it must be said that 128 GB SSD drives are designed to record 40-70 TB of information. With very active use of the disk, on average, about 10 TB of information is accumulated per year. Thus, its service life will be about 4-7 years.

With moderate use of an SSD drive, the amount of data written to the disk will be two or even three times less, and its service life will be correspondingly longer. That is why they are recommended for But first you need to achieve the correct SSD settings. Installing and configuring an SSD under Windows 7 will not take much time. But that is not all. In order to achieve the best results, another process is performed. This is a Windows 7 setup for optimal performance with an SSD drive.

How the system is configured

Above we learned how flash memory works and what its resource is. Now let's look at how to configure and optimize Windows 7 for proper operation of the SSD drive. It does not require deep knowledge of computer science or deep knowledge of the system. Even a novice user can do this. You will need to complete eight steps to optimize Windows to use an SSD drive. Myths and reality are closely related to each other, and some may get a little confused. We will tell you step by step where to click and what commands to set.

Disabling System Restore

We need to disable Next - "System and Security", then - "System". Then you need to open "Advanced system settings". In the "System Protection" tab, click on "Configure". There are several options here: “Enable protection” and “Disable protection”. We can also configure the number of gigabytes that we allocate for system protection.

This refers to the automatic creation of a copy of the system, the so-called recovery point, and how much disk space is allocated for this. The default is from 2.5 GB to 10 GB. Accordingly, if we disable system recovery, the specified number of gigabytes will be freed on the disk. This setting makes sense to increase the free space of the SSD drive and at the same time reduce the amount of data written to the SSD. However, system protection is a very useful feature, and whether to disable it or not is up to you. If your SSD storage capacity is large enough, then you can leave everything as is. If not, or you do not use protection, you can disable it.

Turning off data indexing

This point has a more practical meaning, which directly affects the speed of your SSD drive and its durability. In the “My Computer” tab, find “System Disk” and go to “Properties”.

Below, by default, the option to allow indexing of files on disk is enabled. This function was developed to optimize the performance of HDD media. This was due to the specific operation of their magnetic plates and heads. There is no such need for SSD drives, so we uncheck this function. This will eliminate unnecessary writes to the SSD disk. If an error suddenly occurs, it will be related to the swap file. You will need to disable it, reboot the system and repeat disabling the above option again.

Disabling the page file

By default, Windows creates a special file on the system disk - this is the paging file. It is used to write some information from RAM to an area on the system disk. This is used in resource-intensive applications such as Photoshop. Some information is unloaded from RAM onto the hard drive, and when necessary, it is loaded back. If you have enough RAM (8 GB or more), then this page file can be safely disabled. This will reduce the number of writes to the system disk. If the RAM is small and the applications you use are quite powerful, then disabling this file may cause system instability. Here you need to look individually.

To disable the file, follow the following path: “Control Panel”, then “System and Security”, then “System”, then “Advanced Settings”, then “Advanced”, then “System Performance”, “Settings”, then “Advanced” , "Change". By default it is enabled, you need to uncheck the box and then click “No paging file”.

Turning off hibernation

Hibernation is a special sleep mode with a new feature. It was developed for Windows Vista. In this mode, data from RAM is rewritten to the system partition, and we can turn off the computer from the network. After switching on, all information is restored, automatically read from the system media into RAM. This way, all open programs are back on the desktop. Data will not be restored in normal sleep mode. If you do not use hibernation, you can disable it. This will reduce the number of writes to the SSD and free up additional space.

Go to the command line: Start menu, enter “cmd” in the search, run it as administrator. Enter the following phrase there: “powercfg-hoff”, and then press Enter. After this, restart the computer. If in the future you want to return everything back, you will need to enter “powercfg-hon” in the command line and then restart the computer.

Disabling Prefetch (Files in RAM)

This function loads some data into RAM if you access it frequently. The operating system itself monitors these files and anticipates this possibility. For example, you often use the Word text editor. Some files are already loaded into RAM, and this program launches faster.

For an SSD drive you will not get any noticeable increase in speed, since it works faster than an ordinary HDD, so you can turn off this function. Most often, the operating system itself disables this function when installing Windows on an SSD drive.

How can you check if this option is enabled and how can you disable it? This is done using the system registry. You need to open the system registry editor. Go to the “Start” menu, enter “Run” in the search bar and open the “Run” window in the results. Enter the word regedit there and click OK. The system registry editor window opens. Here we go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE directory, then to the SYSTEM tab, then CurrentControlSet, then Control, then SessionManager, MemoryManagement and PrefetchParameters. Click EnablePrefetcher, select “Change” and replace the number 3 with 0. Click OK, reboot, and the function will be disabled.

Disable SuperFetch (disabled by default) and Windows Search

This function can be disabled more easily, without the system registry. Go to: “Control Panel”, then “System and Security”, then “Administration”, then “Services” and look for Superfetch in them. Click the mouse and select "Properties". Then click "Startup Type" and then "Disabled". Next, click “Apply”, OK. After a reboot, the changes will take effect.

If you wish, you can turn off the Windows Search service. It helps you search for files on your computer. Accordingly, turning it off will be at your discretion. If you still decide to do this, then in the “Services” described above you need to find Windows Search, then “Properties”, then “Startup Type”, then “Disabled”, OK. In principle, this is not necessary.

Turn off clearing Windows cache

This step will not have a positive impact on performance for all drives. For example, on Intel SSD drives, the company itself does not recommend disabling this option.

Select: “My Computer”, “System Disk”, “Properties”, “Hardware”, the desired SSD, “Properties”, “General”, “Change Settings”, “Policy”. Check the box "Disable cache buffer clearing...". If after these steps the performance of your disk has dropped, it is recommended to uncheck this box.

Disabling ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache (disabled by default)

The ClearPageFileAtShutdown option allows you to clear the page file when the computer boots, and the LargeSystemCache option is the size of the file system cache memory. By default, when installing an operating system on an SSD, these options should be disabled. Windows 7 disables them itself. In order to check this, you need to go into the system registry.

We also go to the system registry editor (see how to do this above). In the branch, go to the following folder: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/SessionManager/MemoryManagement". In the right field we find the file LargeSystemCache. Click on "Change". If the field is 0, then it is disabled. We immediately find and also check the file ClearPageFileAtShutdown. If the field is 3, then you need to change it to 0, then click OK and restart the computer. You will learn further how to set up an SSD drive for Windows.

conclusions

That's basically it. The basic settings have been touched upon here. It is definitely necessary to disable the ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache, SuperFetch and Prefetch, data indexing options. If desired, if RAM allows, you can turn off the paging file. System Restore and Windows Search are also disabled at will. To clear the cache, you need to look at the performance of your drive.

Setting up an SSD drive for Windows 7

Now let's talk about how to configure an SSD drive so that it optimally uses the resource stored in it. What steps and points must be followed in order for the disk to work as quickly as possible and its memory cells to remain operational for a sufficient amount of time? Setting up an SSD under Windows 7 does not require much time and is quite simple.

There are two modes of operation of the SATA controller. The first is the IDE, and it is usually enabled by default in the BIOS. The second mode is AHCI. It is this that will allow us to use NCQ and TRIM technologies, which will increase the speed of random writing and reading from an SSD drive. The TRIM command is sent by the system and allows disk cells to be freed from physically deleted data, thus increasing its performance.

Enabling AHCI Controller Mode

If you have not yet installed Windows, then you can change the mode from IDE to AHCI without any problems in the BIOS. After this, Windows 7 is installed and configured on the SSD drive, and everything works. If you have already installed the system, the procedure will be described below.

We need to go to the registry editor, finding the file regedit.exe. How to do this was discussed above. In the system registry editor you need to open a branch according to the following scheme. SSD configuration under Windows 7 occurs in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\msahci directory. Here we need to find the ErrorControl parameter. Click and select "Change". The default value will be 3. You need to replace it with 0, then OK. Just below we find the Start parameter. We also change the value from 3 to 0 and click OK. Next, reboot the computer and go into the BIOS. Now we change the controller mode from SATA to AHCI, save the BIOS and load the operating system.

Now we need to check whether changes have occurred in the system. To do this, go to “My Computer”, then “Properties”, then “Device Manager” and find the IDEATA item here. It needs to be opened, and if you have the line “Standard PCIIDE controller,” then nothing has changed. If you have AHCI in this place, then everything is in order, setting up the SSD under Windows 7 was successful. These steps can be carried out before making changes to the registry and BIOS. You may already have AHCI mode enabled.

Now we have the TRIM command, which will allow the disk to function faster when littered with data, and NCQ technology is available, which allows you to increase the speed of random reading and writing of information.

Thus, the optimization of the SSD operation under Windows 7 was successful. The tips given above should help you in setting up the system for the SSD. All this will make your computer work as efficiently as possible.

We have talked about the many advantages of so-called solid-state (SSD) devices many times. Switching from a classic magnetic disk to an SSD will speed up your computer to such an extent that the difference will be noticeable, so to speak, with the naked eye, that is, without the help of specialized tests. We are talking about super-fast file copying, instant launch of the operating system and applications, including heavy-duty games and graphics programs such as Adobe Photoshop.

And despite this, many users are still wary of taking this extremely beneficial step. They have their rationale, of course, rooted in some still unresolved weaknesses in SSD technology. However, with careful planning and the willingness to invest a little personal time and effort, they can be easily neutralized. Here's how.

Divide and conquer

It's no secret that in order to get the most out of an SSD device, it must be used as a system drive. In other words, the operating system must be installed on it.

When running, Windows (and any other operating environment) makes a large number of accesses to the system disk. Thanks to its high speed, an SSD disk can reduce the time of these calls by several times and speed up the overall system performance by several times.

Unfortunately, the lightning-fast response of this class of drive still comes from the prohibitive price per gigabyte of space. As a result, most users get a device with very high speeds and relatively limited (by today's standards) capacity - often ranging from 120 to 250 GB.

This is further complicated by the fact that the performance of an SSD gradually decreases as its capacity is filled. This is due to the specific features of the technology for recording and storing information that is used by this type of disk. Therefore, to get the most out of a solid-state drive, it is recommended to keep at least 30-40 percent of its capacity unused.

Most operating systems, and especially Windows, love to write whatever they want to the system partition. As a result, if you let the operating system decide where to save files and install applications, you may receive a warning that there is not enough free space on the system disk.

It makes the most sense to install on the SSD only the operating system (Windows) and a few important programs that you work with every day - say, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Skype, antivirus software. But in this case, a reasonable question arises: “Where should I keep everything else?”

One possible option is to connect a regular hard drive in addition to the SSD. This is an ideal solution for bulky programs and files, which, however, do not necessarily need the high speeds provided by an SSD. This may include a collection of music files, digital photo albums, and films in digital format. If you are an avid gamer, then this can be most games. In principle, you can install only the game you are currently playing with on the SSD, and leave the rest of the collection on the HDD.

But what if you have a laptop and its design does not allow installing a second drive? In this case, you can save your files and install applications on your external hard drive. If using a bulky HDD seems far from the most practical solution, then use a USB flash memory. Today the market offers models with impressive volume and super-compact sizes that are incredibly small and almost invisible when connected to a laptop’s USB port.

Of course, there are certain inconveniences in storing some information on external media, because you must always carry it with you. If you forget a USB flash drive or external HDD at home, you will forget everything stored on it.

Move programs

Now that you know the pros and cons of storing files on an SSD and an additional drive, it's time to say a few words about how to put it into practice.

The easiest and fastest way is to select an alternative drive instead of the default location during installation of the corresponding application (usually the Program Files folder on the system drive). But how can you move already installed programs without wasting precious time reinstalling them?

Some applications, such as Steam (a client that manages a library of games distributed through Valve's digital service of the same name), offer a simple and fast solution for just this. In particular, Steam allows you to move all your installed games with a few clicks.

Just open the settings menu, find the “Downloads” section, click on the “Steam Library Folders” button and, instead of the default system partition, specify a new location. The Steam Agent will take care of the rest of the work and move all downloaded and installed games to the new location you specified.

Unfortunately, not all installed programs can be moved as easily, and if you simply copy their folder to another drive or partition, they may no longer work correctly, or stop working altogether. Fortunately, Windows has a solution to this problem - so-called “symlinks”. They are created using a special system command, and their purpose is to “trick” Windows that the program is installed on a certain (disk) partition, when in fact it is located on something completely different.

Let's say you have a program installed in the C:\Programs folder. Move it to another drive in a folder with the same name: D:\Programs. The mklink command, which works on the command line, will help you create a symbolic link between two folders. In our specific example, the command would be:

mklink /d C:\Programs D:\Programs

After executing the command, Windows will have a symbolic link between the two folders, i.e. the program will be on the D: drive, and the operating system will think that it is on the C: drive.

Move system folders

As you know, Windows organizes all user files in special folders called Libraries. They are designed to store music and video files, digital images and documents.

Although by default these folders are located on the system drive, they can be easily moved to any drive and even to external media.

As already stated, this is an extremely simple operation. Locate these folders on your system drive where they were created by default during Windows installation (C:\Users\Username). Then right-click on the one you want to move, select Properties, Location, Move and select the directory where you want to move the folder. After doing this, the moved folder will still appear in C:\Users\Username, but any files it contains will actually be written to the alternate drive you specified. Using this simple sequence of steps, you can move all the Libraries folders - Music, Videos, Pictures, Documents and Downloads.

Keep it clean

Moving non-essential files and applications is a big first step, but it's not at all sufficient if you want to keep at least 30-40% of your SSD's capacity idle. Once you start actively using it, it will slowly but surely become filled with files, some of which are completely unnecessary. We are mainly talking about temporary files created while various programs are running, which are not always deleted after they are closed; browser cache and unzipped installation files.

For example, two large, competing companies that produce graphics processors - AMD and NVIDIA - regularly release updated versions of their drivers. They can be downloaded and installed automatically, but not all users know that before this they are written to a special folder on the system drive - usually C:\Nvidia or C:\AMD. Over time, the size of this folder increases significantly, since new versions are released almost every month, and each of them weighs several hundred megabytes.

As for other causes of “disk contamination,” they can be easily eliminated using a small but very useful and completely free program, which I have already mentioned several times on the pages of the site. It scans and removes from the disk all unnecessary temporary and spooled files, old system libraries, outdated operating system archive records, and more.

If after all this you find that your SSD space is still low, check what exactly is taking up space using another small and free tool: WinDirStat. It will tell you who is the culprit of occupied valuable gigabytes.

Limit the number of entries

Besides the high price per gigabyte, there is another reason why many people are still reluctant to consider solid-state drives - their relatively limited lifespan. The technology on which they are based provides a certain number of rewrite cycles, after which the flash memory chips from which the SSD is made wear out and the device stops working. However, SSD manufacturers are constantly trying to increase their lifespan and have recently made significant progress in this regard.

A recent independent study by Tech Report proved that even budget SSD drives can easily provide 1 PB recording, i.e. 1 petabyte or 1000 terabytes. This is 4-5 years of uninterrupted operation - an indicator by which current-generation SSD drives are fully comparable to hard drives, which usually have an active life of about 6 years.

However, it makes sense to take some precautions to minimize wear on the disc and ensure its longevity.

For example, you can limit the number of writes to it by simply preventing certain programs (all browsers and tools such as Adobe Photoshop) from using the disk buffer. To do this, you need to enter the settings menu of the corresponding program and specify an alternative partition or disk for recording temporary files (cache).

Do not defragment your SSD under any circumstances! This is not only unnecessary, but also a dangerous operation that can shorten the life of the disk.

Defragmentation is a remnant of another technological era and a system for organizing files on a hard drive. For SSD technology, which already provides several times higher file transfer speeds, defragmentation becomes completely unnecessary and even dangerous, since this process involves multiple read and write cycles, which, as already mentioned, can significantly reduce the lifespan of the solid state drive.

Have a great day!