What not to do with an SSD drive. Things you shouldn't do with a solid state drive (SSD) Is it possible to defragment an ssd drive?
Quite a long time has passed since the appearance of solid state drives (Solid State Drive - SSD) on the market. Prices for this product are gradually decreasing, making it more and more affordable, and now a 120 GB drive will cost about 4 thousand rubles. In fact, if you want to upgrade your PC now, then buying an SSD will be one of the most cost-effective options. You don’t have to throw away your existing hard drive (it will only partially change its function, becoming a storage for media and other heavy files), and the computer’s performance in almost all operating modes will increase noticeably.
Users who are not particularly interested in the world of hardware may not clearly understand the fundamental difference between an SSD and the usual magnetic hard drive HDD, and they often see the new product as the same HDD, only faster, smaller, lighter and more expensive. It is precisely the lack of understanding of the fundamental differences in the operation of HDD and SSD that can lead to incorrect use of SSD, which in especially severe cases will reduce all its advantages to zero. Yes, the solid-state drive needs to be used correctly, but do not be afraid - the user does not require any painstaking daily deeply technical actions. Rather, it's simply required not to do a few simple things, and today we're presenting a list of "don'ts" for anyone considering powering up their workhorse with a fast SSD.
For the techies who have discerned captaincy here, we ask you to take into account the fact that if you know all this, then you probably also know the fact that there are other people who may not know all this. Replace the usual “thank you cap” with your additional advice, together we will make the Internet more useful.
Don't defragment
There is no need to defragment the SSD. If in the old Windows with FAT32 you defragmented by inertia (although NTFS works fine without it), then with the purchase of an SSD you can and should forget about defragmentation (the SSD itself) altogether.
SSDs have a limited number of write cycles (as a rule, the cheaper the disk, the less resource it has), and such shoveling of its contents will definitely not benefit the lifespan. Yes, recent SSD models have a very large supply of write cycles, and you are unlikely to reach the limit when the disk stops working correctly, even with frequent recording, but the point here is rather that defragmentation itself is pointless for SSDs.
HDDs use mechanical parts. The head that reads the data wanders back and forth across the surface of the magnetic disk. Accordingly, the more specific data is scattered across the disk, the more movements and time it needs to completely read this data. Nothing moves in an SSD, and access to any memory cell is equally fast and does not depend in any way on the relative position of this data.
Don't format
We are accustomed to the fact that in order to completely and permanently delete data from the HDD, it is necessary to use additional tools: formatting, special utilities like DBAN or the Wiper tool included in CCleaner. This is done so that a cunning attacker will not be able to recover the data you deleted from the disk using a utility like Recuva.
In the case of SSDs, everything is different. The point here is not even in the drive itself, but in the operating system. If you are using a more or less current OS (Windows 7+, Mac OS X 10.6.8+, Linux with Linux kernel 2.6.28+), then the system takes over the final deletion of data from the disk, and does it automatically using the TRIM function.
TRIM implements the ability for the OS to “inform” the solid-state drive that the file has been completely deleted and the sectors occupied by it need to be cleared. Some of the first SSD models did not support TRIM, but that was so long ago (and these SSDs were so expensive) that the likelihood of getting into such a drive model is close to zero.
Don't use Windows XP or Windows Vista
New toy - new axis! And the point here is not at all new. It's just that XP and Vista don't support TRIM. In the previous paragraph, we gave the concept of TRIM, and now we need to explain how the absence of this function affects the SSD. If there is no TRIM, then after deleting the file the data will still remain on the disk. As a result, when information is written to the same sectors again, they will first have to be cleared, and only then data will be written to them. Unnecessary untimely operations -> reduced speed.
In modern operating systems, TRIM is enabled by default. The user does not need to do anything. Just leave everything as it is and enjoy the SSD speeds.
Don't fill it to capacity
In order for an SSD to operate at full speed, it must maintain approximately 25% free space on it. It sounds a little unfair: you buy an expensive SSD, it already has little space, the system sees less space in it than what is written on the box, and then they ask you to leave a quarter of the volume in reserve? Unfortunately yes. This is a feature of how SSDs work, and we don’t yet have the best widely available technologies. You will have to accept the rules for the best speed.
From the point of view of internal processes, the drop in performance with a small amount of free space can be explained as follows: a lot of free space means a lot of free blocks. When writing a file, data is written to free blocks. Little free space - many partially filled blocks and few completely free blocks. When writing a file, the system will first have to read the partially filled block into the cache, add new data to it, and then write the already modified block back to disk. And so on for each block.
The 25% limit was not taken out of thin air. This figure was reached by the guys from AnandTech, who conducted research on the dependence of SSD performance on its fullness.
In fact, if you use the SSD exactly where it is strongest, then having to leave a quarter of the space free won't bother you. Now we will talk about the role in which an SSD is most effective.
Do not use as storage
Buying an SSD to store a library of music and movies on it is a bad idea. The HDD speeds are quite enough to comfortably record and watch a FullHD movie from them, and listen to Losless music. SSD is needed where access and write speed is most important.
The SSD should be used as a system drive. It should have an operating system, applications and, if absolutely necessary, modern games. Nothing else.
When we understand that an SSD ideally serves as a catalyst for the most demanding processes for fast computer operation (the operation of the OS is the basis of everything, fast operation of important applications, fast reading of data from the “body” of the game), the need to fill it to capacity disappears altogether. SSD is a dedicated fast lane for only the most important things.
If you still want to use a fast SSD as storage, then just calculate the cost of rubles per gigabyte of memory for it and for the HDD.
What if you bought a new fancy ultrabook that only has an SSD, but you want to record movies? Buy an external hard drive with a USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt interface (provided that this standard is supported by the beech itself).
We hope that this information will help you start using SSDs for their intended purpose and as efficiently as possible.
You must clearly understand: this device is fundamentally different from the usual HDD drive. And in order for the SSD to last as long as possible, try to avoid the same things that you did with a regular hard drive. Let's take a closer look at what to avoid.
If in the FAT32 file system disk defragmentation was still necessary, then with the transition to NTFS this process is no longer necessary. And you shouldn’t even think about defragmenting an SSD drive.
The fact is that solid-state drives have a limited read-write cycle, and therefore overwriting the contents will not increase their service life in any way. Of course, modern SSDs have quite a sufficient number of cycles, which is unlikely to be exceeded by defragmentation. The reason is simple: for a solid-state drive, the defragmentation procedure in the classical sense is meaningless.
The hard drive has mechanical components (the head) that physically move along the disk. Therefore, if information is scattered across the disk, the head will have to make a large number of physical movements. There are no moving parts in an SSD: access to any location is equally fast.
Do not use an OS younger than Windows 7
When installing a modern drive, make sure that your computer has a modern operating system installed. Windows Vista and earlier versions do not support the TRIM feature, which completely erases information from the disk. This command instructs the SSD that the files have been deleted and the space previously occupied by them should be cleaned up.
In the case of using older OS, after deletion, the data physically remains on the disk, and there is a possibility of it being . In addition, using an SSD in a system without support for the TRIM function slows down the computer: the OS first erases the existing information before writing data, which leads to a decrease in read-write speed.
Do not write data to the SSD "to capacity"
As strange as it may sound, for a solid-state drive to fully operate, it is necessary that it be filled with information to no more than 75% of its volume. The thing is that when there is little free space left on the SSD, cells partially filled with data appear. When writing data, information from these cells is first dumped into the cache and then written again.
In other words, writing data to an empty cell is very fast, but writing data to a partially filled cell is slow, due to the need to perform auxiliary operations. It has been experimentally established that for optimal performance the SSD should be kept no more than 75% full.
Use your SSD correctly
Storing multimedia files on a solid-state drive is not a good idea. To watch movies and listen to music in the highest quality, the speed of a regular hard drive is quite enough. The SSD should store the operating system, as well as data that needs quick access: programs, games, etc. And if space does not allow, then for a home multimedia library you should purchase an external hard drive with a USB 3.0 interface, this will be more than enough.
Solid-state SSD drives operate on a different principle than a magnetic hard drive (HDD). There are no mechanical parts in an SSD drive, unlike an HDD, which contains and uses mechanical parts. The head that reads the data moves left and right along the surface of a magnetic disk spinning at high speed. Nothing moves in an SSD drive, and any memory cell is accessed the same way.
An SSD disk consists of chips. It is worth noting that defragmenting files on an SSD drive does not provide any benefit in increasing the speed of reading and writing data, but it can actually cause harm.
One of the main problems of an SSD drive is the small number of write-rewrite cycles. The total number of cycles averages 100,000 times for each cell (1 bit), which reduces the life of the device. If you want to extend the life of your SSD drive, then defragmentation should be disabled.
To extend the life of an SSD drive, manufacturers write algorithms into its controller to more or less evenly distribute the load on the flash memory. It is worth noting that every year manufacturers are improving the technology of SSD drives, extending its service life and increasing its size.
Defragmenter programs applied to HDD magnetic hard drives place frequently changing files at the end of the logical disk, so that later, during fragmentation, the file fragments are as close to each other as possible.
Do not format the SSD hard drive.
Many users know that to completely delete data from a magnetic hard disk HDD, it is necessary to use additional tools: formatting, using special utilities DBAN or Wiper tool included in CCleaner, which format files in several cycles. For example, the Gutmann method uses 35 write-overwrite passes to erase data. This is necessary to prevent Radish attackers using utilities like Recuva or Hetman Partition Recovery from being able to recover your deleted data from a magnetic disk.
This is not the case with an SSD drive. By and large, the problem is not in the drive itself, but in the operating system. If you are using a more or less current operating system (Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Mac OS X 10.6.8 and higher; Linux with Linux kernel 2.6.28 and higher), then the system takes over the final deletion of data from the drive. This operation occurs automatically using the TRIM function.
Finally, I would like to give a few more tips.
Do not load a large number of files onto the SSD drive (to the limit).
First of all, this is necessary for the SSD drive to function at full speed. The disk should have approximately 20% free space of its total volume.
Ideally, your computer should have two storage devices:
The SSD must be used as a system drive. An operating system, application programs and applications must be installed on it;
HDD disk is used to store multimedia files and documents. The speed of the magnetic disk is quite enough to play FullHD movies.
I hope that from this article you will highlight the knowledge you need! Use the SSD for its intended purpose and it will live with you forever!
Dear users!
If you have any questions about this material, leave a comment and we will try to help you.
Best regards, Site Administrator
Hard disk drives are slowly fading from the forefront, but for now they provide the most capacity at the lowest cost. Traditional hard drives are not as fast as SSDs. But there are many easy ways to improve their performance and lifespan. Well, if your computer has a solid-state drive, then you are unlikely to need to further increase its speed, but there are ways to increase the reliability of data storage. This material contains various tips and tricks, as well as a description of utilities that will help you get the most out of your HDD or SSD!
Optimizing HDD operation: it is better to partition it
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One of the most common tips regarding the convenience of working with a traditional magnetic hard drive is to divide it into several partitions. Separation has many advantages, for example, OS files can be stored independently of all other data (thus installing programs will be cleaner and with less risk for other data on the hard drive), the page file can be located separately (which reduces the likelihood of system errors), you can install two operating systems (for example, Windows 7 on one partition and Linux on the other), etc. You can read more about the benefits of partitioning (and other features).
Windows comes with a built-in disk partitioning tool that you can use at the beginning of the installation process. At the end of this article, we will also list several utilities from third-party developers.
Optimizing HDD performance: defragmentation
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Fragmentation is a condition when parts of one file are located in different physical areas of the hard drive, and not in adjacent ones. Fragmented files take longer to access than non-fragmented files. You can prevent file fragmentation using a special tool. The program copies disparate parts of files and then moves them into a single block on a physical surface, making file access faster and more efficient.
The defragmentation tool built into Windows is available at the following path: Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Defragmenter. With its help, you can analyze the degree of disk fragmentation, run defragmentation, or set up automatic defragmentation (which is recommended). This tool is more than enough for most users, but at the end of this article we will list several defragmentation tools from other developers that provide additional functionality.
Optimizing HDD performance: clearing the recycle bin and browser cache
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Windows stores files that the user deletes in the Recycle Bin. In case they are deleted accidentally, there is a recovery function. Regularly checking and emptying the Recycle Bin helps free up space on your hard drive. You can delete files bypassing the recycle bin by using the key combination Shift+Click on the "Delete" item in the menu accessible by right-clicking on the file/folder. Thus, the files are deleted immediately and without the possibility of recovery. Make sure you no longer need the files you delete, as this is an irreversible process.
Another way to free up space on your hard drive is to clear temporary Internet files of the browser and other programs, as well as the system itself, which are stored in the corresponding folders (for example, the browser) and are used to store temporary information. Although temporary files and caches speed up page loading and program execution, their volume can reach hundreds of megabytes and even 1-2 GB if these files are not cleaned regularly. You can set regular cleaning in your browser settings or use a utility like CCleaner to do this. You can also use the built-in Disk Cleanup feature in Windows.
Optimizing HDD operation: leave space for the swap file
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A page file is a type of Windows virtual memory that is used to store data from applications that are not currently active, allowing more RAM to be allocated to active applications. Some recommend keeping the page file enabled all the time, while others, on the contrary, recommend disabling it. However, unless you know exactly what you are doing, we recommend leaving the page file enabled. If possible, we recommend moving it to a separate disk partition. In this case, files and applications will no longer use the same disk space as the page file. The ideal option would be to place the partition with the page file on a different physical hard drive than the boot drive. This will increase the responsiveness of the system.
Optimizing HDD operation: more about the paging file
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In order to move the page file, you will need to dig into the Control Panel (with administrator rights). Open Control Panel -> System -> Advanced system settings -> Advanced -> Performance -> Settings -> Advanced -> Virtual memory -> Change. A window will appear with a list of disk partitions, where the location of the paging files will be indicated. You need to move most of the page file to a partition on another drive, while reserving at least 800 MB on the C:\ drive to prevent memory system failure. To do this, click on the C:\ drive icon and select the volume of 800 MB (in both lines) or check the box “do not place the paging file in this partition.” Click "Set" to save your changes, and then navigate to the drive where you want to place the page file (in this case K:\), where you select either "System Managed Size" or "Custom Size" (and use the system-recommended dimensions). Save the changes and reboot the system for them to take effect.
Optimizing SSD performance: no defragmentation required!
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Now we move on to solid-state drives, which operate differently from traditional magnetic disks and require different optimization methods. One of the most significant changes: defragmentation, which plays an important role in the operation of HDDs, in the case of SSDs does not have any effect on performance, but, on the contrary, can reduce the service life of the drive due to the fact that during this procedure many write operations are performed . In Windows, defragmentation is automatically disabled for devices that are recognized as SSDs, but sometimes the system gets it wrong. In any case, when using an SSD, you should disable the automatic defragmentation function and use this function only for the HDD.
Optimizing SSD Performance: Disable System Restore
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There is some debate about the issue of System Restore installed on SSDs, with many arguing that this feature can significantly slow down the SSD, making it difficult to perform important TRIM operations. You can disable System Restore, but remember: the absence of a restore point can play a bad joke if errors occur. However, you can reduce the risks in another way - sometimes back up using third-party software. For an SSD drive, disabling system recovery means an increase in service life (due to a decrease in the number of write operations); In addition, this will free up disk space.
To disable System Restore, go to Control Panel->System->System Protection->Settings->Turn off System Restore.
Optimizing SSD performance: disable disk indexing
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Disk indexing gives a noticeable performance boost when working with traditional hard drives, but for SSDs this feature is of little use: access speeds will only increase slightly, and the device's lifespan will be shortened due to numerous small writes. You can safely disable drive indexing without even risking data loss, as is the case with System Restore. To do this, right-click on the SSD drive icon in Windows Explorer. Uncheck "Allow files on this drive to be indexed." Perhaps after this a pop-up window will appear with an error message when applying attributes - ignore it and continue with the operation.
Optimizing SSD performance: disable Prefetch and SuperFetch
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SuperFetch and PreFetch technologies load frequently used programs and files into the cache, which again leads to an increase in the number of writes. The increase in performance for an SSD will be slight, but the service life of the device will be reduced. Both of these features can be disabled in the Windows Registry. But we warn you that you should not make any changes to the Registry unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Launch the registry (redegit) and follow the following path: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters". Right-click on "EnablePrefetcher" and "EnableSuperFetch", select "Change", and change the set value (1 or 3) to 0. After that, restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Optimizing SSD performance: disable hibernation mode
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Hibernation mode turns off power. All data needed to restore a session is stored in the hyberfil.sys file, the size of which corresponds to the computer's RAM. When using an SSD, the computer boots up so quickly that using hibernation mode provides virtually no additional benefit.
To disable hibernation, type "cmd" in the Start menu search bar, right-click cmd.exe and select Run as administrator. Then type "powercfg -h off" (without quotes) and press enter.
Optimizing SSD operation: once again about the paging file
Now we'll talk about the page file again. We already advised moving it to an independent partition on the disk, and this advice is doubly relevant if you have an SSD drive: when using a page file, a significant number of write operations are performed, which negatively affects the service life of the SSD drive. Thus, moving the page file to the HDD drive will not only improve its efficiency, but will also extend the life of the SSD drive.
We have listed only the easiest to use HDD and SSD optimization methods. You can find a lot of other advice online, both good and bad. In particular, for those who use an SSD drive, we advise you to read the material " SSD tweaking: myths and reality"If you know any good publications on this topic, then share links to them in the comments to this article on our forum! In addition, information about utilities for partitioning disks, defragmentation and other functions will not be superfluous.
Useful disk utilities: CrystalDiskMark
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The minimalistic CrystalDiskMark program, which we have already discussed in our PC testing recommendations, allows you to measure the speed of reading and writing from the disk, as well as other important indicators. This compact utility with an elegant interface and a small set of additional options is an excellent tool for measuring hard drive performance.
Useful disk utilities: CrystalDiskInfo
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CrystalDiskInfo is from the same developer as CrystalDiskMark. It can read the SMART (Self-Monitoring & Analysis Reporting Technology) information of your drive and visualize it in a simple and accessible form. Like CrystalDiskMark, it is a simple program with a user-friendly interface that provides the user with all the information about the “health” of the equipment.
Please note that CrystalDiskInfo comes bundled with OpenCandy, the installation of which will be prompted by the installer. CDI is an independent program and does not require any additional software.
Useful disk utilities: Parted Magic Livedisk
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There are many tools for managing drive partitions, and one of the most popular is GParted. We recommend using Parted Magic Livedisk, which has all the core GParted tools built-in, as well as a range of other diagnostic tools and tests for hard drive management. Parted Magic is based on the Linux kernel and can work with many file systems, including Windows NTFS, and is a great addition to amateur and professional recovery and optimization tools.
Parted Magic relies on voluntary donations, so if you enjoy the program, please feel free to help its creators keep the product alive and growing!
Useful disk utilities: Defraggler
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Defraggler from Piriform is a free drive defragmentation tool that can be used to defragment not only the entire hard drive, but individual files and folders. Using it, you can move large files to the end of the disk, which will speed up access to smaller files. The program also has a quick defragmentation function and the ability to automatically defragment on a schedule. All this is presented in a neat and user-friendly interface that most users will like.
Useful disk utilities: CCleaner
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CCleaner is another convenient and free tool that we briefly mentioned at the very beginning. This disk cleanup utility removes browser cache, history and temporary internet files, cleans out the Recycle Bin and Registry, and more. Easy to use and feature-rich, CCleaner is an excellent disk maintenance tool.
Useful disk utilities: SSD Tweaker
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SSD Tweaker implements many useful features to optimize the performance of an SSD drive in a Windows environment, both those that we discussed in this article and others (for example, disabling cache, Prefetching and SuperFetching, data compaction, and much more). Although all these settings can be done manually, using SSD Tweaker it will be much more convenient and faster.
Optimizing your hard drive and SSD: in conclusion
Of course, we only briefly touched on the topic of setting up and maintaining hard drives. If you have HDD and SSD optimization tools in mind that you think should be on this list, or maybe you know some additional tricks for tuning drives and improving their performance, you can tell us about it in the thread our forum dedicated to this article.
Our clients often ask, what is defragmentation and why is it needed?. Today we will try to explain this without delving into terminology, while at the same time focusing on important points.
What is defragmentation?
In the operating system OS X optimization of the hard drive is performed automatically according to a specific schedule. OS X does this during the early hours (3am to 6am), so unless you turn off your Mac at night, you won't have any problems with your files fragmenting. If your Mac is turned off during such hours, you can perform the operation manually, for which you need to run system scripts of the operating system. To run system optimization scripts, open Terminal and copy the command into it
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
Then click Enter and enter the Administrator password.
And this, as a rule, is enough for most users. However, in some situations, for example, if you often work a lot with very large files (for example, video processing) or there is usually little free space on your hard drive, defragmentation using additional programs may still be necessary. It is for such cases that the iDefrag and Drive Genius programs were developed.
In the operating system family Linux (Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora and others) with defragmentation, not everything is so simple. It is generally accepted that Linux file systems (ext2, ext3, ext4, xfs and others) are less susceptible to fragmentation than, for example, the file systems used in Windows (NTFS and FAT32). However, here a lot depends on the FS itself. You can read about defragmentation of etx2, ext3 and ext4 file systems. For the less popular xfs file system, which is usually used for file storage, there is a built-in defragmenter xfs_fsr. In general, the situation with defragmentation in Linux can be described as follows: it is necessary if you often have to perform operations with large files, or with a large number of medium-sized files. For example, high file fragmentation can be created by a continuously running torrent, a constantly growing library of films, or a photo archive that has grown to hundreds of gigabytes. In other situations, the level of fragmentation usually does not affect the operation of the system.
Defragmentation of SSDs (solid state drives)
The short answer to the question: “is it necessary to defragment an SSD drive?” No.
Why is defragmentation not necessary when using an SSD? It's simple:
- due to the design features of solid-state drives, when using SSDs, it does not matter whether a file is written to adjacent sectors or not;
- Defragmentation greatly harms SSDs, since this operation reduces the already limited number of possible rewrite cycles of solid-state drives.
In addition, most modern media (not only SSDs, but also HDDs) have very advanced “stuffing” and are essentially full-fledged computers themselves. Therefore, many problems related to the location of files are solved independently.
Finally
Today we tried to answer the most popular questions about disk defragmentation. Let's recap:
What is defragmentation?
This is the process of merging fragmented files.
Why is defragmentation needed?
To speed up file operations, and therefore speed up the system.
How to defragment?
As a rule, standard operating system tools cope well with defragmentation. The choice of a third-party solution depends on the operating system and sometimes the file system.
Is SSD defragmentation necessary?
No. In addition, it harms the SSD.
If you have any questions or do not agree with anything stated in the article, write about it in the comments, we will be happy to discuss it. Did you like the article or discover something new? Share with your friends - let others know about it :-).
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