[GUIDE] UX32VD - How to install Windows 7 on the integrated 32GB SSD

Introduction
The new Asus Zenbook UX32VD comes from the factory with a 32GB "ExpressCache" SSD used together with a Hitachi 500GB 5400RPM mechanical HDD.

What Asus doesn't tell you is that the "cache" SSD actually works as a regular SATA-interface disk, only that it's soldered on the motherboard - and thus it can be used for installing Windows 7 on it!

The SSD is a Sandisk i100, and is actually a new kind of SSD disk called an iSSD.
Here's a brochure with information and a spec sheet.
Performance: Up to 450 MB/s 160 MB/s Sequential Read/Write
Size: 32GB specified (30GB formatted)
MTBF: Up to 4,000,000 hours
Interface: SATA III 6Gb/s
Features: TRIM support, SMART, Advanced Flash Management, NCQ support

Sounds like it's a perfectly good contender for running the OS. Not bad for being a free added treat to the UX32VD eh.

This guide will show you how to install Windows 7 on the integrated iSSD. You will effectively get a cool ultrabook setup of a 30GB OS SSD and a 500GB mechanical HDD to use for programs/media or whatever. All UX32VD versions come with this two-drive setup from factory and can be used in this guide.

Advantages
- Doing a fresh Windows 7 install on the iSSD will make the system MASSIVELY quicker than the preinstalled bloatware Windows 7 that comes with the notebook on the Hitachi HDD.
- The Hitachi HDD will sleep while Windows is running on the iSSD, saving power, lowering noise and lowering temperatures.
- You can upgrade the HDD while keeping the OS intact, allowing for painless HDD upgrades in the future.
- Allows you to have the storage space and economical advantage of a mechanical HDD, while at the same time having the advantage of your OS running on a SSD.
- It will give you pretty much the whole SSD experience including ultra fast hibernation/resume, minimal power consumption, silent operation, no additional heat and a very low searchtime.
- And most obviously, it's completely free and comes with the notebook!

Disadvantages
- The Sandisk i100 iSSD does not have a lot of space at 30GB formatted, and won't hold much more than your Windows 7 install and your most used programs. You will have about 15GB free (depending on OS version and if you follow all optional steps) on it after following the guide.
- It's not as quick as a 'proper' fullsize SSD. The 4k speeds are markedly lower. It's still a respectable SSD though.

What you will need
- An external USB DVD/CD reader (preferably), or alternatively a 4+ GB USB stick.
- A Windows 7 install DVD/ISO together with a valid license. If you got a license, but no media - look at this page for ISO resources.
- Another computer with internet connection to download the drivers from the official Asus UX32VD download page.
- You'll also need a USB stick to transfer the driver files over to the clean Windows 7 install on the UX32VD.

I used a new Windows 7 Ultimate x64 DVD with activation that I had available.
Keep in mind: It's imperative that you need to have a valid Windows 7 install DVD/USB with a valid activation for this guide.

For all UX32VD users it should be possible to simply go into the Windows 7 ISO-resource listed above, download the corresponding ISO of the Windows 7 version that your notebook ships with and then simply use the serial that's written on your charger sticker when prompted after installing Windows 7. Remember that you will need the same version as the notebook is shipped with.

Additionally, there has been reports that if you use a USB-stick to install Windows 7 it can complain that 'A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing...' during install and won't let you proceed. This is because the Windows 7 install does not contain USB3 drivers to work properly with USB-sticks, and needs them loaded separately. Download the USB3_Intel_Win7_64_Z104225.zip package from Asus UX32VD driver page and extract it either to your USB windows 7 installation stick or any other media. Then you just point Windows 7 to that driver folder when it asks you to. Windows 7 should proceed to install as normal.

What's still in testing
- The Hitachi HDD will go into sleep mode too quickly because of the APM settings of it. It will spin up to read, and then immediately go into sleep. It is solved it by installing CrystalDiskInfo 5.0.0, and following this guide. It will now adhere to the disk sleep timer settings in power options. CrystalDiskInfo will need to start with the computer since it needs to disable the APM upon every boot, but it does not draw any mentionable system resources and it shows the temperature of the HDD in taskbar so it can be nifty to have regardless. I've noticed that CrystalDiskMark is not always starting at the startup and log on, and to fix that you need to create a Windows task that will make sure that it starts on both boot and log in. After I did this it worked flawlessly. To do this, please follow this guide: Run a Program at Startup and Log On - Windows 7 Forums
- The fan seems to be pretty erratic in it's behavior. It's mostly completely silent when writing and browsing, but sometimes it spins up and turns off in a seconds time span. This is a BIOS issue, and we have to wait for Asus to solve it. It's still working though, only slightly annoying in some scenarios. By doing a clean Windows 7 install and installing all drivers I don't think the fans will behave any differently from what they did originally. This is still not solved, and seems to effect all UX32VD's so far - even on the factory installed Windows 7.


While trying my best to make this guide as accurate, simple and correct as possible, I take no responsibility of what happens with your notebook. Some of the steps are not for those faint of heart or inexperienced in how computers work. That being said, it is a surprisingly painless procedure and will take probably under an hour.

WARNING.
There have been reports of a 24GB version of the iSSD being installed on the newest UX32VD. It's doubtful if 24GB offers enough space as a Windows 7 disk, so please be sure to check that you got the 32GB version before proceeding. You can check the size of your iSSD in device manager.

This will remove the original Windows 7 install that comes with the notebook and your ability to use the System Recovery partition will most certainly be gone.

I strongly recommend to use an external DVD-reader for the Windows installation, since USB-sticks can often cause issues. If you choose to use a USB-stick for installation, be prepared to spend time solving possible Windows 7 installation bugs related to it. I updated the guide above to show a solution to the most common USB-stick installation issue.

Also please consider to save a disk clone image of the stock Hitachi HDD on an external disk before proceeding. This can be done with Parted Magic for example and will allow you to return to the factory state even when the recovery partition/tool is not functional. It will probably save you a lot of headache in case something goes wrong.

How to do it
1. Boot up your UX32VD.
2. (Optional safety measure) Burn a System Recovery DVD with an external DVD USB burner using the built in tool for that. It's pretty self explanatory, so I won't cover those steps. As I never burned the recovery DVDs, I'm not certain if it will allow you to restore it after following the guide. Do not have high hopes since Asus seem to have made some of the original files on the stock C: Windows install required in order to complete the restore. Don't ask me why, I think it's pretty foolish by Asus to have critical files on the C: disk since any format or modification will render the recovery useless. It's still good to have the recovery DVDs in hand just in case.
3. Right click on My Computer, click on Manage and then navigate to Windows Disk Management in the left window field. Identify which one is the integrated SSD disk. It's the one listed as 29,82GB and is probably listed as 'Disk 0'.
4. You will see that the SSD has two partitions. Right click on both of them and select 'Delete volume'. Now, right click on the drive icon and select 'Convert to MBR disk...' Both hard disks on the UX32VD comes as GPT disks as stock. Windows 7 can't install on GPT disks, so that's why we're changing this.
5. Reboot the computer and hold DEL to enter the BIOS.
6. Navigate to the Boot options screen and select the Sandisk SSD as first (#1) boot device.
If the iSSD doesn't show up in the BIOS it's still in GPT-mode and not MBR as it should be, and you can't proceed. You can then do an alternative method listed below.
7. Plug in your external USB DVD/CD reader, insert your Windows 7 install disk and reboot the computer - hold ESC as it boots to enter boot options. You can also plug in a bootable Windows 7 installation USB stick.
8. By booting while holding ESC you should enter a screen where you can choose which device to boot from. Select the one you have your Windows 7 media on and press enter. Windows 7 will now load its installation files and the Windows 7 setup will start.
In step 9. you don't actually have to remove the original C: partition on the Hitachi HDD, but the boot orders of the system might clash which makes it confusing. I always prefer to install Windows 7 on a completely clean system, although you can probably leave it until later. How to leave the original Windows 7 installation alone until later: start with DEL to enter the bios, navigate to boot options and disable the Windows Boot Manager boot option (the original Hitachi HDD boot option). Remember that the SSD should be set as #1 boot device.
9. Proceed with the installation until you see the target disk selection screen. You will see many partitions here, and two tasks needs to be done. Before that, verify that the Sandisk SSD probably listed as 'Disk 0' 30GB is not listed with a warning sign. The Hitachi should have a warning sign. If the SSD still have a warning sign it means that it's still in GPT mode and you can't proceed. Now click the advanced options, and make the advanced menu display all the available disk options. First, select the original C: partition on the Hitachi HDD and press format ( Warning: This will remove the preinstalled Windows 7 install, only do this if you do not wish to keep it as explained above). Second, format the SSD.
10. Select the SSD and press next. Windows 7 will now install on it.
11. Wait until the notebook has booted into Windows 7. It's now installed and running on the integrated iSSD! Congratulations

Alternative method to convert the iSSD from GPT to MBR
Follow this guide: How to Secure Erase your SSD with Parted Magic
You will need the 6_19 version of the .iso or newer!
Proceed to Secure Erase the iSSD. Be very careful when doing this.
I've done this and it works perfectly.

Driver installation guide
I've installed the following driver packs from Asus UX32VD page, and it covers the basics and some more. I've left some out though, like the wired ethernet usb driver - so add that if you wish to use it. Everything listed is tested and works properly.
These drivers works for a Swedish version of the UX32VD. It's probably the same for the rest of Europe, but if it's the same in the US is not certain. It's still early and we need more reports to know for certain.

Start with installing the 1. Intel VGA driver, and then the 2. Nvidia VGA driver so you get the proper resolution up for the display.
Then start from the 3. ATK driver and install them in the stated order from 1-12. Reboot after installing each driver.
The rest that are not numbered can be installed in any order at your own discretion.
The WinFlash and BIOS packages are only needed if you wish to update your UX32VD bios to 206.

How to get more free space on the SSD
A. Disable the Hibernation file.
1. Begin with clicking Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
2. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off, and then press ENTER. Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.
3. You will now have about 2-4GB additional free space. Instead of hibernation it will S3 sleep, which works so fast that it's allowing the system to resume before you even have time to open the lid fully. It will also save the SSD from unnecessary writes, the only con is that it can use slightly more power while sleeping for long periods.

B. Lower the Page File disk usage.
1. Open the Start Menu and go to Control Panel. Click on the System icon and select the Advanced tab.
2. Under Performance, click Settings. Go to Advanced
3. Under Virtual Memory, click Change and select 'Custom size', and enter minimum as 512 and maximum as 1024.
4. Save the changes and reboot.
5. You will now have about 3GB additional free space. The lower Page File size will probably not affect the system performance in any way.
(If you've upgraded it to 6-10GB ram you can probably disable the page file altogether)

Benchmarks using Windows 7 on the Sandisk i100 iSSD

PCMark7 - 3370 points


3dMark11 - 1134 points


CrystalDiskMark


Cheers, and be welcome to come with feedback.

This is still under testing, so I will update the guide with more information as more reports come in.

Thanks to jedighost for pioneering and collaborating with how to do this on the UX32VD.

 

Great guide dunces!! I really appreciate your hard work and dedication on this! I can't wait to get my hands on the device and test it out for myself! One question though! Where do I get the Windows7 install CD? Is that included with the asus package or do I need to burn it on ISO first during initial boot?

One more thing! During step 3: after the boot: will it go straight to windows disk management?

 

For what it is worth I did NOT delete the factory installed Windows OS. I set the 32 GB drive to boot and then if I want the factory installed Windows I just press escape during boot and choose it.

Then you can fall back to it or use it to go online and get drivers etc.

I used it to install Drive XML and take an image of the SSD and backed that up. (Ended up using it to restore the SSD to the base clean install after I screwed up on drivers)

Then later on I will just delete the data on it.

 

It might help to point out that one should install the Windows version that your UX32 came with so you won't have activation problems later.

Also, check out ABR, < http://directedge.us/content/abr-activation-backup-and-restore > a utility that backs up your Windows key and certificate (choose the beta version for Windows 7). You can restore your key and certificate from a thumb drive after the clean installation.

Lastly, some drivers may need to be installed before or after the others for these to work properly. You might want to check the other notebook brands and models (the original UX31?) for this.

Sent from my Galaxy Note

 

Dunces: great guide, nice work! And thanks for the acknowledgment.

A good Win7 ISO sources guide:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/windows-os-software/604187-legal-download-digitalriver-windows-7-sp1-13-languages.html
But please, include that people sould download the version they have on their sticker, because the key will only work with that version for 100%.

A good idea for the end could be setting up Windows Backup to regularly create (minimum weekly) a backup of the whole SSD to the HDD, very useful for recoveries, disasters, etc.

I'm happy you also keep the System Protection on (Restore Points), their size can be limited by the user, and it saves a lot of hassle in case of a system break-down.

Soon people will demand a Youtube video guide, do you have Camtasia?

Also ATKPackage should be first to install, other packages depend on it.

Keep on rocking!

 

Hey aznhandles, thanks for the support.

Edit: Updated the guide.

Sup' UltrabookFanBoy, I followed your posts with interest in the UX31/32 thread.

It's a very valid point that it's safest if the factory installed Windows 7 stays as long as possible, and I've updated the guide with info on how to leave it alone. I just prefer to avoid making people use several active Windows installations at once until we know they won't clash for certain. Though it should be possible to just simply remove the Hitachi HDD from the BIOS boot order and leave it alone until later.

Did you try setting the Sandisk i100 as the only boot device, while still having the Windows install on the other disk and it did not present you with any 'choose which OS to boot with screen' or anything?

Bobet96, aye I should definitely make it as clear as possible that you NEED to have a working Windows 7 disc with a valid activation license.

That tool seems to be just what's needed! Then the ones who wish to follow the guide and use the Windows 7 that comes with the unit can just backup their activation on the USB stick and then transfer it to the clean install.

We just need to know for certain that the Recovery DVD that the UX32VD can burn from the factory OS is actually a Windows 7 installation disc, and not some sort of Asus homebrew Recovery tool that won't allow disk management during the installation and such. I haven't bought a laptop in a long long time, so I'm not totally familiar with how all the recovery stuff works nowadays. With some input I can definitely improve the guide.

Cheers jedighost, I've updated the guide with that ISO resource. Aye, I've left the windows system protection feature as it might save those who make some driver installation mistake or such.

A youtube video guide could be done, but I don't know if I'll be able to do it for some time.

I'll update the driver installation section.

Thanks for the support, without you this method would probably still not have been discovered.

 

If you intend to swap out the HDD for an SSD, will this product key backup/restore thing still work on a fresh install to the new SSD?

Meaning, will I need to get a separate key, or can I use the certification from the stock install for it, with a replacement SSD?

 

ABR will let you restore your key and certificate on a clean install from any Windows installation disk, as long as you install the version that came with the UX32. When you're prompted for the key during installation, leave that field blank and uncheck the box offering to automatically activate Windows. After installation, you can restore the key and certificate from your thumb drive using ABR.

About the recovery disks, most allow you to restore an image of the original partitions from the factory; these can't be used to install Windows. Not sure about Asus, but it's likely the same.

Sent from my Galaxy Note

 

I would like to clear some things up regarding Win7 Activation on the Zenbook:

1., you can always activate your win7 with your key on the sticker, that is on the charger, assuming you installed the same version of win7, like 64 bit Home Premium, for example. There is no need to back up activation files, etc. This basically solves everybody's problem of reinstalls, fresh installs and activations. DONE.

2., for those who want to know more: the Zenbook BIOS's contains a section, telling Windows: "I'm factory OKayed to run Win7 legally!". This is called a SLIC module, "software licensing description table", version 2.1 activates win7, version 2.0 activated Vista. This helps ASUS at the factory not having to manually activate each machine coming off the assembly line with a unique Win7 key.
Now hold on: ALL Asus Win7 Home Premium 64-bit installs are activated from the factory with the SAME KEY all over the world. Not just all Zenbooks, but all ASUS computers!
This key is known, it's not a secret (anymore). Enthusiast made sure to even collect a list of all keys for all versions of Windows and all Manufacturers.
You need 3 things to activate win7 the "ASUS factory way":
1., the BIOS section (this is given)
2., the ASUS certificate inserted into win7 (also known by now)
3., the proper ASUS key for your paticular win7 version
There are many software solutions that do this automatically, if it finds the BIOS SLIC 2.1 section. I'll get to them.
(To go further, all illegal win7 activation schemes are based on emulating a BIOS SLIC 2.1 section in memory, fooling win7 into thinking it runs on a factory win7 enabled machine............ There is one thing even most sophisticated: modding a BIOS itself by inserting a SLIC module...)
A good software to use for installing the ASUS certificate and key:
WOAT - OEM/KMS Activator
Run it as Administrator, choose point B, and let it do it's job. Win7 ACTIVATED! Problem TERMINATED!

 

O.K., thought as much, thanks! And , that second option - did not know that. Does that work with even non-ASUS laptops, such as Clevos?

 

Ahh, right. This is of course the simplest and best solution, thanks a ton yet again jedighost. I didn't realise that the key on the charger is not for some special Asus branded version of Windows 7 that's not available to download.

So the followers of the guide simply has to download a Windows 7 Home Premium x64 ISO, burn it on a DVD/do a bootable USB, and enter the serial when prompted. Sweet.

 

Absolutely. IF the Clevo would have its SLIC 2.1 module in its BIOS, and the software used for injecting the certificate and the proper Clevo key has these in its database, it works.

BUT it does not llok like Clevo has this. See: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/637960-certificate-xrm-ms-clevo.html

Clevo's case is beyond my knowledge, i don't know how they factory-activate, and with what key, etc,. but per the topic above, at least they give an OEM DVD to reinstall Win7.

Exactly, Dunces. I would phrase it this way: they should download the version they have written on their sticker, Asus.com lists Win7 Prof and Basic edition too for the UX32VD, then your guide is really universal.

 

That's right jedighost, my version has Home Premium x64 but apparently the UX32VD can ship with several OS versions. I'll make sure it's clear that everyone has to identify their own version. Cheers!

 

I Live in Denmark, and 32VD is definitely going to be shipped with Win7 Home Premium, but I noticed in the guide you used another OS (Ultimate version) to perform a clean install on the iSSD. Does your machine come with Ultimate?

PS. There isn't a Home Premium iso to download in danish on the other thread. where can I get the danish? i tried everywhere..

 

If you don't have a Win7 Professional License, it is illegal to install that, except maybe for the 30 days trial period.

Good news is that you can create a general 64 bit install win7 ISO easily from any 64 bit ISO (in the same language), with this little utility:
http://code.kliu.org/misc/winisoutils/eicfg_removal_utility.zip
Read the readme.txt in it, useful.
If you apply it to any Danish 64 bit win7 install ISO, the resulting modified ISO will ASK you at the beginning of install, which win7 64 bit version you want (Basic, Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate).
Reapply the utility again, if you will, and the ISO is back to the original.
The 32 bit ISOs have a Win7 Starter edition too, as a choice.

This is the absolute latest official Danish 64 bit ISO for Win 7 Professional if you need it:
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59883.iso

For others, all main languages:
Windows 7 ISOs Official Download Links
Look for the lower section, those are the latest: Windows 7 SP1 Media Refresh Digital River Direct Links (5/12/2011 new releases with SP1 included)

 

O.K., but I am a bit confused. Isn't this illegal? Meaning, would you need to have even Windows installed on the PC for it to work (the Clevos can come without an OS)?

 

GREAT thanks...
So what you basically mean that if I use the eicfg.remover I can just install Ultimate with my Home Premium Key and then install/choose the language pack off from ultimate?

 

I was pleased to read full list of proper drivers here, THANSK

Ok, after clean install of windows on HDD (I've used my ultimate version, in Poland Asus sells home premium ONLY :[ ) I've noticed that recovery partition has gone. Ok, not exactly, it's still present but I can't access by F9 or asus AI recovery (it says that revovery partition was deleted )

Yesterday I've found how tu burn recovery CDs from partition : Creating Windows OEM recovery DVDs with Windows AIK (part 1) « Roberto Mencia's blog but I have a problem with determining which *.wim (MS boot image ??) to use according to step :
imagex.exe /mountrw d:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim 1 d:\winpe_x86\mount
on recovery partition are several *.wim

Has anyone recovered recovery (sweet ) and burn CDs partition?

 

I'm sorry I don't understand your question. If an ASUS computer comes with Win7 from factory, then its BIOS contains the SLIC 2.1 code, the machine has a Win7 sticker (with a uniqe 25 digit key on it), and you can reinstall the same Win7 version as many times as you wish. You paid for it as part of the full price.

If your computer comes without win7, BIOS won't contain the SLIC section, you won't have a Win7 sticker with a key, and its illegal to use Win7 on it without buying it separately. But when you buy it, you get a key and a DVD so you don't need ISO files.

Clevo has no SLIC agreement with Microsoft, as I read, so I don't know how they activate win7 on their machines. Maybe manually.

Please read back again thoroughly and formulate your question so that I can understand.

Almost. Ultimate will not activate with Home Premium key, please read back thoroughly what I wrote before: "you can always activate your win7 with your key on the sticker, that is on the charger, assuming you installed the same version of win7, like 64 bit Home Premium, for example." The key on a sticker will activate only the win7 version that is written on the sticker.

You should download a Danish x64 ISO, use eicfg-remover on it, and when you are installing, at the beginning it will ask you which version you want, choose Home Premium (or the version that is written on your sticker).

Clear now?

 

The news about the lack of an actual hybrid drive & the use of two separate drives in the UX32VD is fantastic. Many thanks for bringing this up.

My intention is to put Linux on it. With this configuration I'm expecting I'll very easily be able to install Ubuntu and my swap partition on the SSD and point my home partition to space I clear on the magnetic drive. All the benefits of speed, all the benefits of space. Now if only Nvidia would sort out their graphics card support LOL

 

That made sence now... Thanks Jedighost for clarifying!

 

I've been reading a bit about Remastering Software recently.

What if anyone made a bootable windows 7 .iso installation file for UX32VD?

rt7lite offers such a software. It is possible to cut down the installation file, so you don't need to install unnecessary parts to save space. It's even possible to add the suitable drivers so everything will work perfectly after the installation

Am I misunderstanding the concept of rt7lite, or is this actually doable?

 

Aye, your understanding is perfectly right.

I spent some hours trying to do a lite Windows 7 install DVD with RT7Lite, but when I tried the disc Windows errored' while installing. So I left it, not bothering to spend much more time on it. It would be really nice to have a properly lite'd Windows 7 though! Could save a few GBs more of space like you say.

I also tried vLite, having successfully used that earlier, but it sadly doesn't support Windows 7 ISOs with integrated SP1. Seems to be the most stable lite-program otherwise.

If anyone finds some reasonable way of doing this, please share

 

You understand it correctly, it can take quite some trial and error though to figure out the right combination of what to keep and what to trim down. I'm sure you find guides on this. Drivers and stuff: you could just copy the whole C:/eSupport/eDriver folder and run InstAll.exe after Win7 installed, brings up a windows where you can select all you want (Asus drivers, utilities), very comfortable to start with.

EDIT: Dunces was faster to answer

to Dunces: hi mate, I might have some new info for you:

I have installed HD Sentinel (another Hungarian author's work ), and it has options to properly set the APM of the HDD. There is a byte setting it, it has 5 different settings. 0, 1, 2-127, 128-254, 255. Take a look, it might help to find an optimum Power management setting for the HDD (not sleeping too soon, but reserving the battery). You can also see tons of SMART data.

I also have downloaded Sandisk's SSD Tool/Utility, was curious what it recognizes... It sees the drive, no Smart data, but it can check for a firmware upgrade! Exciting! No update yet at the moment though...

I also checked the BIOS again, it can boot as BIOS and as UEFI too. That is why there are double options in selecting boot device, when you plug in an USB drive, that is bootable, you can boot it as BIOS or as UEFI.

I also studied MBR and GPT. GPT sux at the moment, complicates things, too new. I don't know yet why Asus went with GPT partitions...

For me there is 1 unknown factor: how durable is this SSD, what is its write amplification. One of the above utilities was able to identify its SMART pointers, all read LBA sectors and all written ones (512 bytes each). Mine are too high, around 190GB written. It is too much for a new SSD, except if it was tested super-thoroughly at the factory. Unusual though. The way to find out is check how the written sectors nr. is growing day by day...

I also don't find much about U100's durability. I believe U100 and i100 are identical, just packaged differently. It is nice to have an idea about how fast an SSD is aging. i100 is so new, there is just not enough utilities/people knowing about it's details.

Run HD Sentinel, choose i100, click on SMART tab, then the last two rows, and then see the chart below. It gives you the number of MBs of read/written in its lifetime. Could you write me how much is yours?

Nice thing is, HD Sentinel stores this data with the timestamp, and is able to draw a chart from the data points later when run again. Interesting exploration...

 

hey jedig, good to see that you're still into trying to solve the remaining UX32VD questions.

Very interesting finds!

I believe the APM settings in HD sentinel should work just about the same way as crystaldiskinfo. While HD sentinel is a good program, I'll probably leave the guide as it is since crystal seems a bit lighter on resources and easier to use. I tried the different settings; APM disabled is the best one. When on a middle-value between pwr saving and performance it spun down to a low rpm instead of turning off. The effect was the same issue though, in the sense that the user will have to wait for it to spin up again every time it has to write something - even if it wrote just 10 seconds ago. No APM will make it work just as a regular HDD and turn off nicely when the timer ticks in.

The Sandisk utility might have some use in the future. The current firmware of it seems to be stable though. Haven't had any crashes or anything.

Yes, it will sometimes allow media to boot in UEFI-mode. I even read that Windows 7 can be installed in UEFI mode, and will then install on GPT-partitions! But, I didn't find any way of booting the Windows 7 DVD in UEFI. Although it should be possible if installing from a USB-memory. I didn't mention that in the guide as it would surely lead to even more confusion. It's also still untested.

It's a very valid point you bring up about durability. I've also considered that, but I feel like since it's made to be a Cache disk it is probably just as durable as any other SSD. Even if having the OS installed on it is slightly more taxing on read/writes it should be alright. Check out the brochure, there Sandisk states 4 million hours MTBF (!) and 20 TeraBytes of Writes (20 TBW, on the 32GB version) while guaranteed to maintain the stated performance. So it seems like a perfect contender for an OS disk actually.



I did the SMART read and it seems to show 73GB written and 76GB read. It's strange that yours shows such a high number. Regardless I think it's no issue at all, if the CrystalDiskMark results are in the same ballpark you should be all set. I too suspect that both U100 and i100 are pretty much the same.

It's probably called an iSSD mainly because of the integrated controller in the very slim ship. I checked the chip out when I opened my VD. It's small as a stamp, soldered onto the mainboard. To think that it runs my operating system is pretty amazing

Thanks for sharing your finds, soon we'll have everything figured out.

 

Sure, i did not mean to influence the guide, just wanted to share my findings. It was more like a message to you, but a public one. I fully agree, it would just confuse and overwhelm others with new data.

20TBW is that is 11GB writes/day for 5 years, that is plenty! If one does not use hibernation, it is more than enough.

Thanks for your input, i hope your Zenbook's fan behaviour gets solved soon. My one seems really silent. It is back with me for a few more days, the sound did not come back after the computer's screen went dark (not sleep yet, just energy saving). I had to play around with the Audio drivers, basically had to disable the HDMI output, i think that was the reason.

EDIT: It didn't solve it. This did: originally I let the fresh win7 download the Intel HD Graphics 4000 drivers as part of Windows Update. But those did NOT install the Intel HDMI drivers. The device showed up in Device manage as HD Audio Device or sg. similar, beside the Realtek one. Then i checked the factory win7 install on the HDD, the naming was different, Intel HDMI audio or sg. I have checked the eSupport/eDriver/Software/Display/Intel folder on the HDD, and there was a HDMI driver. So i just installed the whole Intel HD driver again from that folder. Problem solved. This means we have to rely on Asus for proper drivers in certain cases.

Interesting: on Intel.com the latest HD Graphics 4000 driver says it is not compatible with this machine when trying to run it... Similar how Nvidia's 300 series Beta driver says the same... Seems like updates will come mainly through Asus.

 

Very nice guide, thank you for your work!

Look here: http://www.asus.de/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX32VD/#specifications

In my opinion 24 GB is TOO small for a growing Windows 7.

How does that work without the hiberfil.sys?

Cheers
Eckenlieger

 

Thanks Eckenlieger,

Regarding the size it's 30GB formatted, which I state in the guide. The 24GB figures are only if it's used in 'ExpressCache'-mode. And it's not too small at all for what it is. As stated, you will have about 15GB free space after windows is installed. That is plenty to allow it to grow, and keeping a few of your most used programs on it as well.

Any games or huge programs you can install on the Hitachi HDD which has plenty of space.

Hiberfil.sys actually slows the computer down and is totally unnecessary on SSD drives. After disabling it the hibernation will work even better, while not consuming any space at all.

 

OK, but I thought hiberfil.sys ist used to dump the RAM for the S4 suspend to disk mode. How can a simple file only used for hibernation cause performance issues? Where is the memory dump saved when S4 is activated? Sorry for my maybe stupid questions and thanks for your instruction.

 

Ah yes, good point. Disabling hiberfil.sys will not allow the computer to go into S4. It will go into S3 instead, which is like S4 except that the RAM is still powered. Sorry I didn't mean any general performance issues, but performance is worse when entering and resuming S4 hibernation. With disabled hibernation, it will always enter S3 and hibernation will work lightning fast.

The disadvantage of removing the hibernation file is that the notebook will draw slightly more power while hibernating.

I prefer to disable S4 hibernation though, since I like faster hibernation before slightly higher hibernation power draw, and the reclaimed HDD space is nice of course. And if I'm planning not to use the notebook in a while I simply shut it down regularly.

It's not stupid at all, I hope it's of some help. Cheers

 

S3 = Suspend to Ram = Sleep
S4 = Suspend to Disk = Hibernation

S1 also exists on desktops, it is Sleep with CPU, Fans also powered and running. Videocard, peripherals, etc. powered down.

Advanced Configuration and Power Interface - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

If I don't want to install the OS on the iSSD, can I use it as a normal storage drive after converting it to MBR? I'm swapping in a crucial M4, so my OS will go on there.

 

Definitely!

 

Hey jedig, true that. Like you say S3 is not actually classified as hibernation, and the difference between them is something like this:

S3 Sleep (hibernation disabled) - Does a lightning quick suspend to RAM and powers down everything else. Uses slightly more power while sleeping, but will resume the operating system session very quickly - before the user even has the time to fully open the lid. It's also very stable, and saves the SSD from using up huge writes.

S4 Hibernation (hibernation enabled) - Dumps the current session to the HDD (SSD in this case) and has to transfer the session from the hiberfil.sys to the RAM every time when resuming the session. It's slower, uses up a lot of writing activity on the SSD, but saves some power when staying off for a full day or more. It will consume as much space on the hard drive as the current installed memory size. For instance 10GB of space if you have 10GB of RAM. There are also reports that S4 hibernation is pretty unstable, sometimes crashing drivers - I've read reports of the keyboard light stopping working and fans getting stuck from those who use the factory installed Windows 7, and use the S4 hibernation.

So in conclusion, disable hibernation if you want to have faster system resume times, save 4-10GB space on the hard drive (depending on your installed RAM), and do not care about a slightly higher power draw while not using the computer for a long time. If you have the computer plugged in the AC power, there is no benefit of having the hibernation enabled at all - just cons. You can always just power off the computer normally when you plan not to use it. Here's an interesting comparison (but old, and mostly applicant to desktop PCs).

 

Hi Dunces, I have sent you a Private Message regarding a possible FAQ section.

 

Aye, I just saw. Have responded.

By the way - I just tested the power drain by leaving the notebook in S3 sleep for a couple of hours and returning, it had dropped from 81% to 80%. It seems to work just fine.

 

Absolutely. As I figured, it calculates 8% drain for 24hours of sleep, on its Instant On gadget. Fantastic. It really is fully ready by the time I open the lid.

 

Thanks Dunces and Jedighost!!! You guys are awesome, I'm a newb and was able to do this in a little over an hour! Great guide! The computer starts up lightning quick compared to before.

 

Congratulations johnx7! You did great!

 

do you, possibly, have any advice on how to make a clean install on a new SSD drive (replacement of the original HDD)?

any recommendations (if not a step-by-step guidance) from an experienced users would be really beneficial (i.e. which from the 86 firmware files should be installed - clearly the drivers, but any comments on the software? is the sequence important in some cases?... etc.)

 

This is a wonderful idea

 

HTML:

I would like to know that too.

 

Great find.

Looking at the SSD speed though, it doesn't look that fast at all. Reminds me of the SSD in the new Samsung Series 9 which is a U100 and I noticed that it was slower in-use than, say, a Toshiba Z830 that has faster 4K write speeds. The size will eventually be an issue too as Windows grows.

Personally I find ExpressCache to be a good solution for a hybrid system (as tested on Samsung Series 5 ultrabook) and would never put Win 7 on a 30GB drive (i've tried it before) but for those who are good at keeping a Win 7 system clean, this is a good project.

As far as the upgrade process goes, wouldn't the standard Win 7 imaging process work? I.e. create an image from Windows Backup and Restore, create the boot drive and boot and recover to the SSD or does that fail because the original partition sizes are too big?

Chippy.

 

Here is what I did:
1. Uninstalled all the Asus bloatware I did not need or want.
2. I merged the two partitions on the Hybrid drive to have 1 large and the hidden restore partition. This was done using Windows Disk manager.
3. I had pre-purchased a Samsung 830 SSD and 8 GB RAM
4. I downloaded the 30 day trail of Acronis and did a disk clone of the Hybrid drive to the SSD. Size does not matter in this case as long as the SSD can hold the installed information.
5. Shut down the device and install RAM and swap the drive.
6. Removes the need to reinstall and boots incredible quicker. I also converted the 30 GB drive to a standard partition as well.

 

I linked this thread on my German Ultrabook Blog and felt free to send the link to Steve from Ultrabooknews.com too. Again: Very nice work

 

Hey Chippy,

The soldered-on Sandisk i100 is indeed slower than a new generation fullsize SSD, but the purpose is foremost to get pretty much the full experience of having your OS on an SSD for free. You also get the unique ability to have a two-drive setup in an ultrabook.

It's really no slouch in real world performance at all. Windows boots in 8 seconds, after 13 seconds it has loaded the desktop and is fully responsive. I've compared the experience with my OCZ gen3 sandforce equipped desktop computer - and the UX32VD running on the Sandisk is surprisingly quick. I'd say only those who care about benchmark results, or work with very specific SSD demanding tasks are going to notice much of a difference.

Considering stability and reliability, the Sandisk (with 4 million hours MTBF) even seems to be better than many fullsize SSDs.

I agree that the original ExpressCache configuration is the easiest solution, and after some time when it gets to know the usage patterns it will be reasonably okay in speed - but it's still far from a real SSD experience.

The size of 30GB is really not that bad when disabling hibernation and the page file. In my opinion 15GB of free space will allow the Windows to grow. It will perhaps grow two-three GBs or so over the years, and that headroom is right there. When SSDs were new I ran my main desktop OS on a 30GB SSD for well over a year of daily usage - it was really no issues. As long as you don't expect to put huge files on your desktop, and divert all storage heavy files to your mechanical drive it's really alright. But yeah, you have to be able to handle the available SSD storage with some measure of frugality.

I wouldn't recommend the Windows Backup method, as that might introduce some new issues. It might work, but the bloat of the original Windows install is nice to completely leave behind.

Cheers to both you and Eckenlieger for linking to the guide from your blogs and thanks for your input. A lot of people might be interested in this.

 

Perhaps I missed it, but I might suggest disabling Windows System Restore to save another 4-5 GBs of space

 

That is a good advice in case you don't have any use for the System Restore feature. I've disabled it on mine, and plan to add it to the guide.

Originally it takes up about 300-400MB, but will grow as more restore points are created. I definitely recommend to disable it in the long run.

 

I prefer to have it, it can save a corrupt system from reinstall. WinXP almost always could be saved with a repair install. Win7 can't. Just maximize it's size manually with the slider, to 3-400MB and you are set.

 

That's real good to know, thanks for sharing.

Using that program it's really easy to migrate the iSSD OS install onto a faster fullsize SSD later on. Just plug in the new drive, do a clone of the iSSD onto the target SSD, and format the iSSD. I plan to get one when I feel like it's affordable enough. Doing video work in Premiere CS6, so the 500GB Hitachi has the space I require. The 32GB Sandisk iSSD manages the OS install just fine in the meantime.