Installing an SSD? tips/tricks/benchmarks

Oops, my bad

What I'm trying to say is, I'm curious how much time will it add to your 8.1 seconds (boot time) when the necessary files are enabled.

Thanks!

No rush mate. Just want to see if you can get better result on safe mode.
I'm still puzzled what's causing my VAIO to slow down on normal mode.
XPS - same result on normal and safe mode
VAIO - better result on safe mode

 

Hint Hint... Go into MSConfig and shut off all services and startups temporarily. Check NO GUI boot. Apply and exit. Hold down the power key to force the system to shut down wrong. Restart and select safe mode. Run a Crystal Score and smile....post it.

 

It will add up to 16 seconds, that's why I had those categories. Those necessary files (services and startup items) vary according to the usage (if I run a server, if I do benchmarking, etc, etc) and that's why it's hard to give a specific number.

One very simple method to see why you experience such a difference is to open the Resource Monitor and watch the disk activity. This way you can see which processes utilize your disk the most in each case and try to isolate them. NTFS is a journaling file system and you will be surprised by how much this logging affects the performance of the drive.

 

I've had this SSD installed for a month maybe(X-25M 80gb) on my m11x and when I would run the optimizer at first it would be nearly instant, but I notice it getting progressively slower(a couple seconds so not too bad). The only difference now is that I uninstalled WoW which was around 17 gigs. Would that be the main cause? And does running the optimizer frequently have a bad impact on performance?

 

Is system restore on or off?

 

Thought i'd share some experiences with you guys..

After following all the tips and tricks in this thread my boot time was around 20 seconds.
Yesterday i went ahead and scanned through all the running services and disabled the ones i decided are unneeded for my personal use, here's the list :

• AMD External Events Utility
• ANDREA ST Filter Service
• Application Experience
• Bonjour service
• Certificate propogation
• Diagnostics policy service
• Diagnostics Service host
• Distributed link tracking client
• FF Install filter service
• Homegroup provider
• Human interface device access - might interfere with media buttons
• Intel Pro/Set Wireless Event Log
• Intel Pro/Set Wireless Registry Service
• Offline Files
• Program Compatibility assitsant service
• Remote Desktop Configuration
• Remote Dekstop services user mode port redirectior
• Windows Image Aquisition

I know each will have his own list, i just wanted to share the one's that will most probably be common to M17x-R2 owners.

The things is, my boot time went from 20 seconds to 19.5 - this is not much of a change

Here's a list of programs that start when i boot :

• AlienFX Controller - controls the lights of the machine
• Synaptics touchpad - i run it in order for the touchpad to be disabled when i have a mouse conencted
• IDT PC Audio - I assume it's for the audio card
• Babylon Client - Babylon dictionary
• IAStorIcon - Is installed with Intel Rapid Storage driver, can i turn it off ?
• OSD
• CCC
• Google Update - Not sure i need it
• Steam - i need it for my games.

What do you guys think, where else can i cut the "fat" off ?

Another thing i noticed, boot timer is not consistent, each time i reboot the times would be +-5seconds different. I could get anywhere between 19 and 25 seconds. Do u guys see that behavior too ?

 

As far as Steam and Babylon client, can those be pulled from the start up list so they lauch when you actually launch the programs? Just thinking of your going to be gaming, won't steam start when you open the games? That might cut a little time off. No need to have it running if your not going to use it every time you start.

 

yeah, ok, i'll disable steam and try if it autostarts when i run a game.
babylon - i kind of want it autostarted, i use it a lot and it won't start on first use, i'll need to actively turn it on, and i'd rather have it loaded.

Thanks mate!

 

Ok...with what u r starting, you are getting a great start time. Like I said though, just for the heck of it shut down all services and startups reboot and then do the timer...check off services and startups again and then be back to normal.

Googleupdate....and any updaters BADDDDDDDD. They slow down your system considerably.

Good work by the way...feels good knoowing the system will be completely set up and a result of your own work eh???

 

Will do what you said just so i know i can get those crazy boot times and report back, thanks !

Definitely so, took me an hour plus but it does feel good, i was a little worried about not being able to get under 19 seconds, but now that you tell me it's fine with what's running i am calm.

 

Do you need to have the AlienFX on bootup? I believe once you set the options in, it saves it onto the bios of the LED system. So it should remember whatever your settings are for the lights. Disabling that should give a small boost I think.

 

thanks, i'll try that

 

@mfractal
I couldn't find the excel that I had stored the services, so I took a couple of screenshots.

Startup Items
Imageshack - services.png

Services
Imageshack - servicesprt1.png
Imageshack - servicesprt2.png
Imageshack - servicesprt3.png

*EDIT*
I don't always keep this setup, those services and start up items usually change

 

It's off. I followed most of whats on the 1st page, I just didn't do this:

Also, on bootup my screen turns black and then turns back on when on the "Windows is Starting" screen or whatever(after the colored orbs)

 

What the heck is that and where did it come from?

 

It's on page 1 of this thread, and I didn't see the reason for it so I didn't do that part =0

However I followed the other suggestions, and when I ran the optimizer it was always instant, although I haven't really done any real testing on it thats the only change I've noticed when using it, and the screen turning off then back on on boot up annoys me.

 

The reason for that is very simple - to prevent frequent reads and writes that constantly happen inside the users directory (temporary Internet files, temp folder etc).

 

ok..just for info..

which ssd for m11x

ocz vertex 120gb or intel x25m 80gb?

both used in a good price

 

Intel without a doubt! Its small random 4-8kn reads and writes absolutely blow away the OCZ which is where you see the most visible difference in a ssd...

 

@thnx Les

i already had intel to my desktop..and perfoms very good..

but the price is close to much..and i thinking about the 40gb extra of the vertex..which will be very useful for the lappy

finally i will take intel for one more time..its guarantee

 

I have two intels and two Samsungs. I put the Samsung in my M11x. I need the space for the games.

 

Has anyone performed a secure erase on their ssd drive while its in the M11x? I am trying to use an hdderase 3.3 bootable cd on my intel g2 ssd and after the y/n, next, and y/n screens, it just sits there with blinking cursor before it detects the connected drives.

I had the bios set to ATA mode.

 

I do it with a bootable Ubuntu USB stick through the HDPARM command in terminal. I do it in AHCI mode as well.

 

Wow, this SSD is the best upgrade I've bought! Amazingly fast, here's the comparatives:

Images on the left are the 128GB Corsair Nova Series SSD, images on the right are 2x320GB 7200RPM HDDs in RAID 0.

Crystal Disk Mark:


WEI:


Boot Time:

 

Since this seems like a good place to ask, can anyone advice me on FW updates for the Intel G2 SSD? My 160 (newly purchased ) has 02HA on it. Should I flash it to 02HD?

 

You def want to upgrade to 02HD, you will get significant performance gains. Make sure to update the FW before installing the OS.

 

Well, I tried tweaking my SSD, and I decided to try switching it from AHCI to SATA, and now when I boot it's stuck on the alienware head at start up. I can't even get into bios. What do I do?

 

nm, the bios eventually loaded. After some tweaks from this thread this is where I'm at. Any more ideas? I will most likely try a secure erase next time.

 

I have a very similar config to yours and here are my scores:



I still need to update the firmware and do a few more tweaks.

 

Ugh.

Firmware updating tool can't find the SSD.

Perhaps I should swap the drive this thing came with into the primary drive slot.

Ugh.

 

Desertfox, Try this guide, has a few more things in it. It's linked in Les' sig. He also runs a chat at the bottom of the guide I believe.

Windows 7 SSD Performance Optimization Guide

Also, try letting your computer idle at the login screen and desktop for 20-30 min each so it has time to run the TRIM function.

 

Swapped the drive and turned in the Intel Virtual thingy in the BIOS and it worked.

Yay.

Not seeing any increase in CM tho. Durn.

 

Did everything on the website and here are the results.

Some major improvements if I say but still not up to par.

 

@Desertf0x Not sure if you can switch back to AHCI now that you went to sata, but from everything I've read the SSD's run faster in AHCI. Although the SSD in my Inspiron 1720 runs faster in ATA than it does in AHCI. Also, what drivers are you using and what kind of drive?

I have, but I use Ubuntu on a bootable USB and do the secure erase through the teminal, hdparm. BIOS in AHCI. Only thing is once in the terminal, you have to unplug/pull out the SSD and place it back in to override the lock.

Follow these instructions
ATA Secure Erase

Just go to "applications", than "teminal" and follow the instructions.

 

I got the idea when you posted ur results, but when I switched over to SATA from AHCI I couldnt even boot. I'm now back on AHCI. I'm running Intel PCHM SATA AHCI Controller 6 port. It's a Samsung SSD PM800, CrystalDisk says TRIM is enabled.

 

I'd let it idle for a while. In my M11x the Samsung is in AHCI, Inspiron it's in ATA. Although you numbers look pretty close to mine. I'd have to check my M11x numbers. Admittedly the Samsungs are not the fastest, but they are good in terms of price.

 

Well I was happy enough with the performance I was getting that I ordered a 2nd Intel x25-m 160gb G2 for my desktop and I secured erased that drive with the Ubuntu cd after the frimware upgrade.

My benchmarks are much better. For a brand new unused drive, my M11x's SSD was benchmarking pretty bad. I am getting an AS SSD score of 340 vs 430 with the desktop one. I will use the Ubuntu on my M11x's SSD later this week when I have time.

 

I tried to make a unbuntu live boot up usb. Im getting a
Media test failure, check cable,
exiting intel boot agent
When I try to boot off the usb. Anyone know what the problem might be.

 

download UNETbootin, make your live cd/usb with that.

 

I did, tried like 4 times now, still won't boot off my usb drive.
I formatted with fat32 and still it doesn't boot. I've tried unbuntu 10.04_live, and 9.04 Live as well. With the 9.04 Live i made it to the boot loader but still didn't boot up to the OS. What am i missing here?

 

Ok, Im at this part
"Issuing SECURITY_SET_PASS command, password="Eins", user=user, mode=high"

When I enter that in its saying "issuing: command not found "

 

ok i skipped that command and it seems like everything else works. It happened in like a second, there was nothing to indicate that it happened or was completed. But the password was not enabled afterwards. I hope I did everything right

 

Flashed the FW using desktop (since nvidia chipset in R1) and loading up fresh windows 7 now.

Will update you all with some benches

 

@Desertf0x, did you have to pull the SSD to unlock it?

After typing "time hdparm --user-master u --security-erase Eins /dev/sda" it should give you a time as to how long it took. Probably around 14-40 sec.

Also not sure if you read it earlier, bit when typing "/sda/x" "x" should be replaced with "sda" so it should be "/dev/ sda"

@scook Looking forward to the new numbers. I have two intels I got from Babyhemi a few months ago that I have yet to open, so I'll probably have to reflash them as well. Hopefully I can do it on my Inspiron. I might have to open them and try since I'm sending the inspiron to my brother in a month.

 

The problem here is you do not enter that. That is what is called the command output.

Once you enter in "hdparm --user-master u --security-set-pass Eins /dev/X"
with X being the sdd esignation (ex. sda) and Eins being the password. You should get an output stating:
"security_password="Eins"

/dev/sdd:
Issuing SECURITY_SET_PASS command, password="Eins", user=user, mode=high"

In that ATA secure erase wiki, anything listed as the command output is not something you type in. The wiki is just showing you what should be displayed back to you when you enter in the commands it tells you to.

 

Since I formated my disk for one more time... I decided to disable all the services out of curiosity and ran the boot timer

7.378 with my T9600 @ 3.41, I wonder with the QX9300 how lower could this time go...

 

if we are having a boot time-off, I will see what I can pull with my fresh win 7 install in my intel 160 (I DO have the QX9300 - and it likes running at 3.33 GHz)

 

Scook I just put the T9600 on, if you beat this score you will make me open the laptop again to through the QX9300 on... LOL

 

well given you have the x25-e you are probably safe lol

 

As per request of LOUSYGREATWALLGM

I run the AS SSD Benchmark instead of the ATTO because I didn't have it on my external drive... sorry
The left if after a normal boot on windows and the right in safe mode.
You will notice that in safe mode sequential speeds are much greater but the overall score is lower