SSD Optimization Tips: Your Best Tutorial

01

Enabling AHCI

The first step in optimizing SSD is to ensure that your disk’s read/write mode is set to AHCI. Generally, if your computer is running the Windows 7 operating system, you only need to enter the BIOS settings before installing the system and set the disk read/write mode to ‘AHCI.’ If you have already installed Windows 7 and are unsure whether the disk is operating in AHCI mode, please follow the instructions below:

1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog.
2. Enter ‘Regedit’ to access the Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to the path ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesmsahci.’
4. Double-click on the ‘Start’ value on the right side and change the value to ‘0.’ Then, restart your computer.

02

Updating your Chipset Drivers

Keeping your chipset drivers up to date is beneficial for improving system compatibility and enhancing disk read/write performance, especially with SSDs updating rapidly. It’s essential to update your disk chipset regularly.

Trim is a crucial feature that can boost SSD read/write capabilities and reduce latency. This is an important technology supported by Windows 7 and requires an upgrade to enable it.

03

Disabling System Restore

This is a crucial step, as recent feedback has indicated that System Restore can affect the normal operation of SSDs or TRIM, thereby impacting SSD read/write performance.

1. Right-click on “My Computer” and select “Properties.”
2. Choose “System Protection.”
3. Click on “Settings.”
4. Disable System Restore.

04

Enabling TRIM

Confirming whether TRIM is enabled has always been a challenging task, as we need to closely monitor the computer’s status to determine it. Disk TRIM often occurs in an instant, making it difficult to detect. You can check if TRIM is successfully enabled by following these steps:

1. Open CMD (Command Prompt).
2. Right-click on CMD and run it as an administrator.
3. Enter the command: “fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify”
4. If the returned value is 0, it means TRIM is enabled.
5. If the returned value is 1, it means TRIM is disabled.

05

Disabling Disk Indexing

The purpose of disk indexing is to accelerate access to specific folders and directories. However, SSDs have incredibly low response times, typically around 0.1 milliseconds, which is hundreds of times faster than traditional hard drives. Therefore, there’s no need for indexing, and excessive indexing can unnecessarily reduce the lifespan of your SSD.

To disable indexing:

1. Click on “My Computer.”
2. Right-click on your SSD and select “Properties.”
3. Uncheck the option for indexing and click “OK.” Sometimes, you may need to perform this action with administrator privileges; simply execute it with administrator rights when prompted.

06

Disabling Disk Defragmentation Schedule

By default, Windows 7 has disk defragmentation disabled, but it may auto-enable in certain situations. Since SSDs don’t suffer from fragmentation issues, there’s no need to have them running, as frequent defragmentation can reduce the SSD’s lifespan.

To disable the disk defragmentation schedule:

1. Right-click on the disk and select “Properties.”
2. Go to the “Tools” tab.
3. Choose “Defragment now…” and click the “Disable schedule” button.
4. Click “OK.”

07

Disabling Virtual Memory

This is a debated optimization option, with many people questioning whether it truly enhances performance. However, regardless of the debate, disabling this option can free up an additional 3.5GB-4GB of storage space. We do not recommend disabling this option for users with less than 4GB of RAM.

To disable virtual memory:

1. Right-click on “My Computer.”
2. Select “Properties.”
3. Choose “Advanced system settings.”
4. On the “Advanced” tab of the “Performance Options,” click “Settings.”
5. Select “Change” under Virtual Memory.
6. Turn off the option for “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.”
7. Disable all paging files, then click “OK” and exit.

08

Disabling System Hibernate

Hibernate is a useful feature for traditional hard drives as it allows for quick loading of previously used programs. However, in the era of SSDs, this feature has become less relevant. SSD-based systems typically boot within 20 seconds, which is not significantly different from the startup time of hibernate mode. Therefore, it’s better to reclaim the roughly 2.5GB of storage space that would be used for hibernation.

To disable system hibernate:

1. Open the Start menu and search for “CMD.”
2. Right-click on “CMD” and run it as an administrator.
3. Enter the command: “powercfg -h off”

09

Disabling Windows Write Caching Buffer Flushing (or Keeping the Default)

Note: Disabling Windows Write Caching Buffer Flushing can have two very different consequences. One is a potential decrease in system read/write performance, while the other is an improvement in performance. Why does this happen? It’s because different SSD devices have different caching mechanisms. Some SSDs, like those with OCZ’s SandForce controllers, don’t have caching. Therefore, for OCZ products, performance may improve, while for Intel products, we recommend leaving it unchecked to avoid potential performance degradation.

To configure Write Caching Buffer Flushing:

1. Right-click on “My Computer” and select “Properties.”
2. Go to “Device Manager.”
3. Choose “Disk drives.”
4. Right-click on your SSD and select “Properties.”
5. In the properties window, navigate to the “Policies” tab.
6. You will find an option to enable or disable “Write-caching on the device.” You can choose to enable or disable it based on your SSD type and performance preferences.

10

Disabling Prefetch and Superfetch

Both Prefetch and Superfetch are acceleration technologies from the XP and Vista era, which are unnecessary for SSDs due to their ultra-low latency (around 0.1ms). Disabling these features can improve system performance.

To disable Prefetch and Superfetch:

1. Access the registry by searching for “regedit” in the Start menu and running it as an administrator.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSessionManagerMemory ManagementPrefetchParameters.
3. Right-click on “EnablePrefetcher” and “EnableSuperfetch.”
4. Modify the values from (1 or 3) to 0.
5. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

11

Disabling Windows Search and Superfetch Service

1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog.
2. Type “Services.msc” and press Enter.
3. Locate the “Windows Search” and “Superfetch” options, right-click on each, and select “Properties.”
4. Stop these services by clicking on the “Stop” button in their respective properties.

12

Enabling No GUI Boot Mode

This feature disables the system’s startup screen, potentially saving you around 2-3 seconds of boot time. Leave the other options unchanged, as altering them may have adverse effects.

To enable No GUI Boot Mode:

1. Press Win+R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog.
2. Type “msconfig” and press Enter.
3. Check if “No GUI Boot” is selected.
4. If it’s not selected, check the box, and then click “OK.”

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