SSD Optimization in Windows

The following are some tips to optimize your Solid State Drive (SSD) on a Windows (7 or 8) machine.

1. Verification of ACHI Mode

Make sure your SATA controller is set to AHCI mode (you can do so in your BIOS). AHCI is needed for native TRIM support in Windows 7. It’s recommended to run your SSD in AHCI mode to enable TRIM to do its job.

Click on the Start > Control Panel > Device manager > IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers > Locate an AHCI controller > If present, the system is in ACHI mode, if not, the system is currently not in ACHI mode.

2. Check TRIM

TRIM should be automatically enabled in Win 7, but if want to double check, follow these steps:

Click on the Start Menu > Type CMD in the search box > Right click CMD icon > Run as Administrator > Type the following command: “fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify”, Press Enter.

If the result is “0″, TRIM is working properly.

If the result is “1″, TRIM is disabled.

Type the following command to enable TRIM: “fsutil behavior query|set DisableDeleteNotify = 0″

3. Turn Off Disk Defragmenter Schedule

Click on the Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter >

Click on the Configure schedule button > Uncheck the Run on a Schedule box > Click OK >

Close the window.

4. Disable Disk Defragmenter

Click on Start Menu > Right-Click Computer > Manage > Services and Applications > Services > Find and Right-Click Disk Defragmenter > Find Startup type > Select Disabled > Click OK.

5. Disable Drive Indexing

With super fast read times, indexing the drive is almost unnecessary and can cause multiple needless writes to your SSD. Indexing will benefit those looking for more endurance over performace from your SSD. If you’re someone who has a large drive and constantly searching for e-mails and files, then disabling it may not be the best idea. On the other hand if you’re someone who rarely uses search option, you may benefit from it.

Click on Start Menu > Right-Click Computer > Manage > Services and Applications > Services > Right-Click Windows Search > Properties > Find Startup type > Select Disabled > Click OK. (Note: This does not disable “searching”; it disables the “search indexer”)

6. Disabling Pagefile or Reducing Size:

Disabling Pagefile can benefit you (decreasing writes to the SSD) if there’s plenty of RAM running in your system. Since it’s basically used as virtual memory that’s stored on a section of your drive, it might not be a good idea to disable it if your computer has smaller amounts of RAM.

Click on Start Menu > Right-Click Computer > Properties > Advanced System Settings > Advanced Tab > Performance Settings > Advance Tab > Click Change under Virtual Memory >

Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives > Click on No paging file > Click Set > OK > Restart your computer.

Additionally, if you have a secondary drive, you can assign Pagefile to that drive. If you decide disabling Pagefile may not be in your system’s best interest, you can reduce the file size that is written to your drive under custom size.

Reference: Alienware