Aligning Partiontion for Windows 7

Do i have to align partition prior to installing windows 7. there are numerous posts out there recommending partition alignment for XP operating systems. Just wondering if Windows 7 will benefit from this.

If so, is there a "guide" out there to do this.

This is for a Precision M6400 - not that it matters but under BIOS sata settings there are options for ATA, AHCI and RAID. I am assuming windows 7 has to be done under the AHCI option.

Advice needed.

 

You should create a separate partition for Win 7 if you like to dual boot. Google "dual boot Windows 7 with Windows XP, Vista".

 

Doesn't matter what you want to use, AHCI, ATA, whatever.

Unless you're using an SSD, no need to worry about alignment, and Windows 7 will align automatically if you let it create the partitions.

 

What is "aligning" partitions? Please pardon my ignorance.

 

I don't feel like explaining it, but here's a link you can read. http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48309

 

But you did a perfect job of "explaining it" - and in the most efficient way, too! Why reinvent the wheel when you can just hyperlink to someone elses's design? Thanks!

 

I am using Intel SSD X25-M. I installed it today using AHCI mode.

 

i don't think alignment is necessary for vista and windows 7 as long as it's from fresh.

 

Im not sure what you mean? I wasn't really sure how to explain it to be honest. Are you mad at me?

Edit: It seems like he';s being sarcastic, but maybe not...I dunno, nvm.

 

No, it sure doesn't sound like it to me. More like an appreciation for giving a quick, simple response..

 

Oh my, there I go, again, again! Sorry 'bout that; I was trying to be witty and tongue-in-cheek, but apparently I only managed to achieve tongue-tied (or maybe it was foot-in-cheek?!).

I really did mean it as a compliment, because I did ask a very low-level beginner's question, and (as I'm sure we all know by now) frequently the best answer to a beginner's question is a quick link to a good reference source - there really is no point in reinventing the wheel by retyping what someone else (or maybe even you??) has said elsewhere. No point, of course, unless you're like me and just love the sound of your own talking/typing, but then, that's not something we really want to be encouraging, is it?

Again, I am sorry that I wasn't clearer about what I was trying to convey, and I am sorry if I made you feel bad about trying to help me.

 

you don't need to align on any ssd except the old jmicron based ones. but it's still a good habbit.

if you use a vista or win7 based bootdisk to create partitions, they are auto-aligned. if you create the partition from within vista or win7, it is autoaligned.

only if you are in xp or booted from the xp setup cd, partitions you create are non-aligned.

so if you have an xp installed, and want to create a partition for win7, don't do it in xp. just make free space with win xp, and then start the win7 setup and let it create the partition.

 

Thank you. thats all i needed.

Not sure if this is the same with everyone. But installing programs with the X25-M is kinda slow..

 

no, here it's very fast. but i guess it depends on the app. remember it has "only" 70MB/s write speed. so if it has to install/write large continuous files, it won't be faster/will be slower than a hdd.

but in most of my app cases, it had to install thousands of tiny files, and really excels there.

but installation is obviously something special, using the app should then be very fast no matter what app.

 

Thank you for the reply. I benched the SSD (windows 7) and got what i should be getting around 250mb read avg, and 70/80mb write average. I think i was installing Limewire when it kinda bogged. IT also happened with Microsoft Office 2007. Office actually took longer than when i had a regular hard drive. But apps do open really fast and im really happy with it.