Helpful ReplyGeneral SSD Maintenance Questions.

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DW_Mike
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2013/05/31 19:44:55 (permalink)

General SSD Maintenance Questions.

OK, so I have my primary drive (C:) all set up, partitioned, formatted, optimized and whatnot using the Samsung Magician utility. 
I used the 'Simple'-'Basic' settings in the disc management section.

That drive is my OS/Program drive.

Now, I have a second SSD (E:) (same brand as first) that will be for my samples and libraries. I formatted and partitioned same as above.
The Unallocated space on (C:) is 35.5 GB. There is also 100 MB System Reserve.


On (E:) I lowered the Unallocated space from 21GB down to 10GB. (no system reserve I'm guessing that's for OS reasons only)
Is it even necessary to have that much unallocated on a 250GB drive?
I've read that SSD's run better with unallocated space and there seems to be conflicting info on weather it should be 10% or 20%.


I'm wondering if they're talking about your primary OS drive (C:) or does that apply to all drives? 
It would be nice if I could snag all the GB's available.


Any tips on how to make better use of my space?
I'm running 32GB RAM so I'm hoping that'll help pick up some slack.


Been a long day so sorry for the garbled ramblings.


Mike  

post edited by chefmike8888 - 2013/06/01 16:05:00

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DW_Mike
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Re:General SSD Maintenance Questions. 2013/06/01 16:30:53 (permalink)
I've seen some 'tweaks' recommended for SSD's.

I know that for the most part most tweaks are just not worth the effort or even needed at all.

Newer systems, better CPU's, cheaper RAM and storage drives (SSD or HDD) and Windows 7 just don't have the same limitations as even the not so old Dual Core XP systems of only a few years ago. 

I would like to get the opinions of fellow DAW users that are using SSD's on some of the recommended tweaks out there.

Worth it or not?

1. 
SSD optimization tweak - Disable indexing Indexing is a Windows service that is designed to speed up Windows search. The indexing service automatically keeps track of the files on your computer, which makes searching for files faster. However, indexing performs numerous small write operations to maintain the database of file indexes when you create, modify or delete files. And, as you already know, the fewer writes there are to an SSD, the longer it will perform well. As for Windows search, it will perform just as well with indexing switched off. To disable indexing, do the following:
Go to Start and click on Computer Right-click on the SSD drive and select Properties Uncheck Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties  

2. I've read quite a bit on this one.
The common thought seems it should be set to your RAM + 300MB. So I should be set at 33068MB?
Or just let sleeping baby's lie and let Windows manage it?
 
Disable, move or reduce the page file Your system starts using the page file (virtual memory) when it runs out of memory while working with applications. When the system is using the page file, there are writes to your drive. Because it’s best to reduce writes to SSD, it’s best to either reduce the size of the page file, move it to another drive or disable it altogether. Here is how:
Click on Start, right-click on Computer and go to Properties Choose Advanced System Settings link on the left-hand side and go toSettings under Performance Go to the Advanced tab, find Virtual memory and click Change Uncheck the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives checkbox Under Drive [Volume Label], click on the drive where you want to change the size of virtual memory. If your system uses an HDD in addition to an SSD, it’s best to move the page file there. Click Custom size and type the new size in MB in the Initial size (MB) andMaximum size (MB) boxes. Make sure it’s the same amount to prevent your CPU from constantly adjusting virtual memory Click Set and then click OK If you want to disable the page file, simply select No paging file and click OK Keep in mind that if you disable the page file altogether and run out of RAM when using some applications, they will crash.

3. 

And our last SSD optimization tweak - Enable write caching Write caching is a feature that improves the performance of both SSDs and HDDs. Even though the advantage of SSD vs hard drive is increased speed, write caching can still improve its performance. When write caching is enabled, high speed volatile memory is used to collect and cache write commands sent to the disk drive. This helps to improve the performance of the drive. Another useful feature of write caching is NCQ (Native Command Queuing) – a feature that introduces write combining and enables the drive to make intelligent choices when writing and reading data.
To enable write caching, do the following:
Click on Start, right-click on Computer and go to Properties Click on the Device Manager on the left-hand side Open the Disk drives section, right-click on your drive, select Properties and go to the Policies tab Check Enable write caching on the disk and click OK These SSD optimization tweaks will help you make your solid state drive even faster, prolong its lifetime, and make your computer a real pleasure to use.

Lady's, Gentleman....
Your thoughts please.
Mike

post edited by chefmike8888 - 2013/06/01 16:33:53

Sonar X3 ~ Scarlett 18i6 ~ Home Build DAW  
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DW_Mike
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Re:General SSD Maintenance Questions. 2013/06/01 20:18:22 (permalink)
I'm not looking for better performance from my SSD's, that would be silly and useless.
I'm just wondering if these will prolong the life of the drives or if Windows is set up for spinning drives and to accommodate SSD's these should be done. 

Mike

Sonar X3 ~ Scarlett 18i6 ~ Home Build DAW  
GA-Z77X-UD5H
Intel i7 3770k 4.2GHz
32GB RAM Crucial Ballistix Elite (4x8) 
2x Samsung 250GB SSD 
1TB WD Black HDD @ 7200RPM 6Gb/s 64MB 
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Noctua Silent Fans ~ 3x120mm ~ 1x140mm 
Seasonic Platinum 760w PSU 
Windows 7 Pro 64Bit.
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slartabartfast
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Re:General SSD Maintenance Questions. 2013/06/03 04:08:42 (permalink) ☄ Helpful
Go to Start and click on Computer Right-click on the SSD drive and select Properties Uncheck Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties  



If you want to stop writes to the SSD this method will not work. The indexing file is by default located on the C: drive, and unless you stop the service or move the index file to another drive,  there will continue to be writes to that file on that drive. The method above stops the indexing service from reading from files written to the C: drive, not writing to it. A better way to control the source of files for the indexing service is to use the indexing options window. Type "indexing options" in the start search box and "modify" to control the locations that will be indexed or "advanced" to control the type of file that will be indexed.

If you want to avoid the processing overhead of indexing, the most straightforward method is to turn off the service altogether. Type "services" into the search box, right click "service" and choose "run as administrator" to open the services window, scroll down to "Windows Search" highlight it and right click to expose and highlight the properties and choose the "stop" button. That will pull the plug on indexing i. e. nothing new will be added/written to the index and you will not be able to use it to search until it is restarted.

To move the location of the index if you want to save space and prevent writes to the C: drive you can follow the instructions here:

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/change-the-location-of-search-index-in-windows-7

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DW_Mike
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Re:General SSD Maintenance Questions. 2013/06/03 09:59:12 (permalink)
Thank you David.
So in your opinion, should I just leave well enough alone?

Will turning off indexing cause more problems? 
Or should I just move it to my HDD?

It's so hard to trust what is out there on the web. 
Some people tweak just because they can.
I'm looking for the ones that need to be done in order to get the most stable, longest life out of my system.

Thanks again.
Mike

Sonar X3 ~ Scarlett 18i6 ~ Home Build DAW  
GA-Z77X-UD5H
Intel i7 3770k 4.2GHz
32GB RAM Crucial Ballistix Elite (4x8) 
2x Samsung 250GB SSD 
1TB WD Black HDD @ 7200RPM 6Gb/s 64MB 
Corsair H80i Liquid cooler 
Noctua Silent Fans ~ 3x120mm ~ 1x140mm 
Seasonic Platinum 760w PSU 
Windows 7 Pro 64Bit.
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