Need Help With Ssds

[MaxwellsDemon]

Hey everyone, so due to a wonky Win7 update it wouldn't boot anymore. Recovery partition had also gone slightly stale and wasn't working for me. So while I wait for a recovery CD to come in the mail, I've figured this would be a good time to do a bit of refreshing on this 2.5-year-old laptop.

I'm going to upgrade to Windows 8. Already bought my upgrade so once I get win7+drivers back up and running, will make the move before installing all my software/files again.

This laptop is 2.5 years old, and while I've not really had any troubles with it I have a sneaking suspicion that the HDD might be dying. I've never had a HDD die on me, and I haven't had any serious, unfixable check disk results... but the recovery partition going bonkers was unsettling. Is this unreasonable? Do HDDs last over 2 years unscathed? I work in media so there's a lot of reading and writing going on, sometimes hundreds of gigs at a time, as well as shameless, frequent torrenting.

If I have nothing to worry about, then I will stick with capacity over speed.

However, I am also open to the option of upgrading to a SSD. (or rather, dual system, using an external HDD for all this media/big chunk transfers to avoid wasting write cycles).

What's the current market like in Thailand for SSDs? Are SSDs from Brand X in Fortune Town really from Brand X, or are they not to be trusted? I always hear there are trends and things with brands at different times, as well. Any help on this would be appreciated!

Oh, and is installation the same as a regular HDD? Should be, right?

[JakeBKK]

Installation on a SSD is the same as on a HDD, only faster. =-)

IMHO: Stay with 7 until the first service pack for 8 is out, or you hold something fancy like a asus transformer in your hands.

On a normal computer you could use a hybrid drive, to combine the best of two worlds

With your old notebook: Why don't you go for a cheap 120 GB SSD as main drive and put a 1gb hdd in your cd-bay. By doing so, you improve your system's speed to the max, still beeing able to mess with torrents.

If you are itching for the last bit of speed: check your memory (ram). on average, main-boards can handle faster memory than the one installed at production date. So, it's likely you can upgrade from 667 to 800 to get a notch more of speed .

the difference in speed is awesome, by the way - once you seen how quickly windows boots, your programs open, you don't want to use HDD's any-more.

Edited January 30, 2013 by JakeBKK

[monty]

Installation on a SSD is the same as on a HDD, only faster. =-)

IMHO: Stay with 7 until the first service pack for 8 is out, or you hold something fancy like a asus transformer in your hands.

On a normal computer you could use a hybrid drive, to combine the best of two worlds

With your old notebook: Why don't you go for a cheap 120 GB SSD as main drive and put a 1gb hdd in your cd-bay. By doing so, you improve your system's speed to the max, still beeing able to mess with torrents.

If you are itching for the last bit of speed: check your memory (ram). on average, main-boards can handle faster memory than the one installed at production date. So, it's likely you can upgrade from 667 to 800 to get a notch more of speed .

Good idea on the dvd bay mod. I also upgraded to a SSD, best bang for the buck upgrade I ever done! Of course now I'm always loosing a USB port to my external storage...

And I can't really remember when I last inserted a DVD or CD

[Chicog]

This should help you get started if you go the SSD route:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

[MichaelJohn]

The speed of SSD's is truely remarkable - but make sure you buy a good one.

Traditional HDD's used to last years but like most things that are now mass manufacturered their life span has decreased. 15% of all HDD fail in the first year!

There's little way of telling if you HDD will fail (for certain) but the only FACT is it WILL fail at some stage (it's a mechanical device), so the most important rule of computing; backup, backup and just in case have another backup .

Good luck

PS yes, wait for the first SP before you upgrade to Win8

[BlackPuddingBertha]

As mentioned, it doesn't matter whether your drive is hard or an SSD or made out of spaghetti: it WILL fail one day. It's just a question of when. So backup accordingly. Any other approach is crass stupidity.

You could have saved money on the manufacturer's restore CD as the Win8 upgrade will install and activate perfectly well as a fresh install. You just need to do it twice. Do one fresh Win8 install on a blank hard drive using the upgrade media you have downloaded with your purchase. Activation will fail. Install again on top of the existing installation. Activation will succeed. No question about it.

[ETatBKK]

With your old notebook: Why don't you go for a cheap 120 GB SSD as main drive and put a 1gb hdd in your cd-bay. By doing so, you improve your system's speed to the max, still beeing able to mess with torrents.

absolutely a good trick, if the CD caddy is available. will keep eyes on it !

This should help you get started if you go the SSD route:

http://www.overclock...e-for-ssds-hdds

very complete info on SSD ! thanks . . .

I am using two SSDs in my desktop box - 1 for OS and another for intel SRT, absolutely amazing. QUESTION here - try to rework on a 4-years old Dell workstation notebook, could I replace a SSD while the BIOS has only IDE / AHCI mode ?

[aarn]

(For ET@BKK) Just go to www.crucial.com, you can put the spec.s for your Dell in there, if possible to replace Crucial will suggest one of theirs, but there's plenty of ssds out there. AA

[ignis]

Not sure about your up-grade to Win 8, reading a few of the geeks and PC sites this week it appears better at the moment is to move over to Chrome OS ?.......... Win 8 is classed as worse then Vista.!

+ of course Chrome OS it is totally Free, and can download for both PC and Laptops.. Do notice a number of new laptops have Chrome OS pre installed..

Anyone using ?

Edited January 31, 2013 by ignis

[ETatBKK]

(For ET@BKK) Just go to www.crucial.com, you can put the spec.s for your Dell in there, if possible to replace Crucial will suggest one of theirs, but there's plenty of ssds out there. AA

thanks AA, my computer is on the list ! and the crucial.com also listed 'guaranteed-compatible with the Dell Precision M4400'. now I need to find an intel equivalent. SSD price drops significantly from 3 years ago !

[Gary A]

I have an older HP Mini netbook. It was quite slow to the point of being irritating. I upgraded the RAM from 1 to 2 GB. The improvement was nothing to cheer about. I then bought an Intel 120 GB SSD. I'm not a techie but managed to install it myself. The Intel SSD Toolbox software did all the adjustments and the difference in performance is amazing. If/when my little netbook dies, I'll still have the SSD and will definitely install it or a new SSD in a new netbook. That was one of my better investments.

[JSixpack]

Sounds early for your HDD to fail. They usually last 5 years. Of course, anything can fail at any time.

You should run CrystalDiskInfo or HDtune and check the health of the drive. It's probably OK. You can get a boot disk here: http://www.ubcd4win.com/. It has HDtune and other disk tools on it.

Repartition to get rid of the useless restore partition and reformat the whole disk. Get the latest drivers for your machine. Forget that Win 8 nonsense. Reinstall Win 7 and your drivers. Done, unless you want to spend money. Yes, authentic SSD drive are sold in any respectable shop in Thailand such as Hardware House or JIB. You can order online (see sticky above).

[Chicog]

PS yes, wait for the first SP before you upgrade to Win8

Why? It's basically Windows 7 (Windows 6.2.9200) with a fancy front end on it.

[MaxwellsDemon]

Thanks for all the advice, I'm gonna go hunting for an SSD this weekend at Fortune, as well as a HDD-in-the-CD-bay upgrade.

Also BlackPudding, I was unaware of that, but that sounds...improbable. I mean, what's to stop someone from starting a fresh install from a cheap upgrade edition? I'll give it a shot tonight, anyway, as I'm still without the recovery CD... grr.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Also BlackPudding, I was unaware of that, but that sounds...improbable. I mean, what's to stop someone from starting a fresh install from a cheap upgrade edition? I'll give it a shot tonight, anyway, as I'm still without the recovery CD... grr.

If I say it works, it works.

Done it twice with completely different upgrade media on two different PCs. Quite a saving.

[aarn]

Good luck finding a suitable ssd, there're plenty around, they do bring further p-l-e-a-s-u-r-e to the www. lifestyle.

You've probably noticed, the frequent recommendations in TV-IT forums to backup backup backup.

Hence, you only need to buy a 60Gb ssd, store everything in an external drive,

then delve into it when you need something, because copying will be fast fast fast. AA

[Gary A]

I forgot to mention that after I installed the SSD, I bought an enclosure for the old hard drive. I use it for a backup and if I would need additional storage space. So far I still have more than half of the 120 MB SSD available. Movies are stored on a portable 500 MB USB hard drive.

[h90]

Sounds early for your HDD to fail. They usually last 5 years. Of course, anything can fail at any time.

You should run CrystalDiskInfo or HDtune and check the health of the drive. It's probably OK. You can get a boot disk here: http://www.ubcd4win.com/. It has HDtune and other disk tools on it.

Repartition to get rid of the useless restore partition and reformat the whole disk. Get the latest drivers for your machine. Forget that Win 8 nonsense. Reinstall Win 7 and your drivers. Done, unless you want to spend money. Yes, authentic SSD drive are sold in any respectable shop in Thailand such as Hardware House or JIB. You can order online (see sticky above).

In our office I think I already changed every HD once within warranty time which is between 3 and 5 years, so I doubt that the last usually 5 years.

[Mrjlh]

Don't install Win 8...you'll regret you did!! It's designed for Ipads and such. Lots of hidden quirks that'll drive you nuts!

[guzzi850m2]

I have an older HP Mini netbook. It was quite slow to the point of being irritating. I upgraded the RAM from 1 to 2 GB. The improvement was nothing to cheer about. I then bought an Intel 120 GB SSD. I'm not a techie but managed to install it myself. The Intel SSD Toolbox software did all the adjustments and the difference in performance is amazing. If/when my little netbook dies, I'll still have the SSD and will definitely install it or a new SSD in a new netbook. That was one of my better investments.

That's interesting, I have an Asus netbook where I resently upgraded from 1GB Ram to 2 GB Ram and I really can't see the difference. When I play a movie over a certain size it's jerking or even frezze up.

I was thinking about buying a Ultra laptop but they are quite expensive so maybe I should try a SSD in my Asus insted. I like the small size of the netbook, so easy to travel with and at home I use a good old desk top.

[Tywais]

Sounds early for your HDD to fail. They usually last 5 years. Of course, anything can fail at any time.

You should run CrystalDiskInfo or HDtune and check the health of the drive. It's probably OK. You can get a boot disk here: http://www.ubcd4win.com/. It has HDtune and other disk tools on it.

Repartition to get rid of the useless restore partition and reformat the whole disk. Get the latest drivers for your machine. Forget that Win 8 nonsense. Reinstall Win 7 and your drivers. Done, unless you want to spend money. Yes, authentic SSD drive are sold in any respectable shop in Thailand such as Hardware House or JIB. You can order online (see sticky above).

In our office I think I already changed every HD once within warranty time which is between 3 and 5 years, so I doubt that the last usually 5 years.

And in my office with over 100 computers I can't remember the last time I had to replace one. But every single computer is on UPSes and fairly stable power and I try to specify a proper PC power supply rather then the cheapest 400Baht route.

[Gary A]

I have an older HP Mini netbook. It was quite slow to the point of being irritating. I upgraded the RAM from 1 to 2 GB. The improvement was nothing to cheer about. I then bought an Intel 120 GB SSD. I'm not a techie but managed to install it myself. The Intel SSD Toolbox software did all the adjustments and the difference in performance is amazing. If/when my little netbook dies, I'll still have the SSD and will definitely install it or a new SSD in a new netbook. That was one of my better investments.

That's interesting, I have an Asus netbook where I resently upgraded from 1GB Ram to 2 GB Ram and I really can't see the difference. When I play a movie over a certain size it's jerking or even frezze up.

I was thinking about buying a Ultra laptop but they are quite expensive so maybe I should try a SSD in my Asus insted. I like the small size of the netbook, so easy to travel with and at home I use a good old desk top.

I can't answer that question but I can tell you that my two TB hard drive that is full of movies works fine. I like my netbook and certainly wouldn't trade it for a tablet. I have a built in memory card reader and three USB ports and I don't need a screen protector because all I have to do is close the cover.

[monty]

I have an older HP Mini netbook. It was quite slow to the point of being irritating. I upgraded the RAM from 1 to 2 GB. The improvement was nothing to cheer about. I then bought an Intel 120 GB SSD. I'm not a techie but managed to install it myself. The Intel SSD Toolbox software did all the adjustments and the difference in performance is amazing. If/when my little netbook dies, I'll still have the SSD and will definitely install it or a new SSD in a new netbook. That was one of my better investments.

That's interesting, I have an Asus netbook where I resently upgraded from 1GB Ram to 2 GB Ram and I really can't see the difference. When I play a movie over a certain size it's jerking or even frezze up.

I was thinking about buying a Ultra laptop but they are quite expensive so maybe I should try a SSD in my Asus insted. I like the small size of the netbook, so easy to travel with and at home I use a good old desk top.

Doubtfull that an ssd will help any.

What you describe sounds more like a cpu or gpu not capable of decoding the video fast enough.

Small SD mpeg2's will play ok, but 720p or 1080p video's (in e.g. h264 compression) need quite a bit of processing power to decode them...

Normally even the slowest hard drive is more then fast enough to deliver the video data to your computer.

[JSixpack]

Sounds early for your HDD to fail. They usually last 5 years. Of course, anything can fail at any time.

You should run CrystalDiskInfo or HDtune and check the health of the drive. It's probably OK. You can get a boot disk here: http://www.ubcd4win.com/. It has HDtune and other disk tools on it.

Repartition to get rid of the useless restore partition and reformat the whole disk. Get the latest drivers for your machine. Forget that Win 8 nonsense. Reinstall Win 7 and your drivers. Done, unless you want to spend money. Yes, authentic SSD drive are sold in any respectable shop in Thailand such as Hardware House or JIB. You can order online (see sticky above).

In our office I think I already changed every HD once within warranty time which is between 3 and 5 years, so I doubt that the last usually 5 years.

And in my office with over 100 computers I can't remember the last time I had to replace one. But every single computer is on UPSes and fairly stable power and I try to specify a proper PC power supply rather then the cheapest 400Baht route.

Excellent practice. The power is critical.

Good airflow inside the case helps prevent the drive from reaching high temps, mostly a risk factor for old drives. I always put a front fan in the computer case to blow on the hard drives and keep them in the sweet spot between 35-40C.

Here's a good summary and analysis of the Google hard drive study:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-hard-drives,4347.html

Most significant for the OP is that heavy usage doesn't correlate w/ drive failure--and, as I noted, 2 years shouldn't be a worry. He should run the tests, though.

[MaxwellsDemon]

I'll run some extensive tests tonight - wanted to make a trip over to Fortune Town but had no time this weekend, may have to wait until next weekend.

Windows 8 is definitely awkward and not quite intuitive, but it is for sure noticeably faster and some new features are nice (like built-in virtual drives). So far it just seems not user-friendly, but functionally it is sound. Everything has been installing without any hitches, including a lot of uncommon software that used to leave me hours frantically googling error codes and crash logs.

Also, BlackPudding, thanks for that tip! I find it kind of hilarious that MS lets you update from an unauthorized copy of windows 7 to a full valid version of windows 8 for so cheap. (12 bucks if you dig up your student ID like me!)

However, since i've already started the new-computer process, if I buy an SSD, what's the method for reinstalling windows 8 with the same product key? I have to deactivate the one on my HDD first, I assume?

[BlackPuddingBertha]

You can bypass the ghastly and pointless Win8 Metro interface quite easily by using one of a few freeware programmes that make Win8 look and act pretty much like Win7. They certainly get rid of those awful tiles and provide a proper start menu etc.

You could do the same clean install trick with the XP/Vista=>Win7 update too, so not much change there for Win8.

You dont need to activate the first install of Win8. In fact you dont even need to enter a product key. Just leave it blank and you will end up with a 30-day un-activated trial installation. When you fit the new drive you can either mirror the old drive to the new one, then reinstall Win8 with the product key, or just install Win8 again on the new drive as a trial and then immediately reinstall with the product key.

When switching to SSD it is best to do a clean install rather than mirror from a non-SSD drive, as this way Windows (7/8) should make the right adjustments for the SSD drive automatically. Depending on your motherboard you may need to adjust the BIOS IDE/SATA/ACHI settings manually before installing. It doesnt hurt to run the Windows Experience Index post-install either, as this also will make some adjustments to SSD settings if for some reason they weren't done during the installation.

Edited February 4, 2013 by BlackPuddingBertha

[Dork]

As mentioned, it doesn't matter whether your drive is hard or an SSD or made out of spaghetti: it WILL fail one day. It's just a question of when. So backup accordingly. Any other approach is crass stupidity.

You could have saved money on the manufacturer's restore CD as the Win8 upgrade will install and activate perfectly well as a fresh install. You just need to do it twice. Do one fresh Win8 install on a blank hard drive using the upgrade media you have downloaded with your purchase. Activation will fail. Install again on top of the existing installation. Activation will succeed. No question about it.

No need to install twice. Just a very simple registry edit after first installation. Then activate as usual.

http://www.mydigitallife.info/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media-and-product-key-on-formatted-or-empty-blank-hard-drive/

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Even better. No big deal to install twice though as it requires almost no user input.

[Chicog]

Don't install Win 8...you'll regret you did!! It's designed for Ipads and such. Lots of hidden quirks that'll drive you nuts!

Designed for Ipads?

Can't wait for *that* lawsuit!

[JakeBKK]

Don't install Win 8...you'll regret you did!! It's designed for Ipads and such. Lots of hidden quirks that'll drive you nuts!

Designed for Ipads?

Can't wait for *that* lawsuit!

simply lovely .