Installing the system on ssd windows 10. Setting up the system after installing the SSD. Manually configuring functions that affect disk performance

This guide is suitable for any modern operating system, not just Windows 10.

Having already had quite a lot of articles about solid-state drives, or SSDs for short, it’s time to write an article about how to configure this miracle of technology for an operating system, or vice versa, configure Windows for an SSD.

• You can read about the benefits of solid state drives.
• Briefly about SSD optimization -.
• ABOUT choosing an SSD drives – .

I have given a number of useful links that I recommend that you familiarize yourself with; subsequently you will understand the pros and cons of the above-mentioned memory drives, and you will also know how to choose an SSD.

I got a little distracted, so let's immediately start analyzing 9 cases of correctly setting up a system for solid-state drives.

Fortunately, there are no problems with this in Windows 10. To use an SSD you must have at least Windows 7. More early versions do not have TRIM support, which is necessary for normal disk operation. Although, there are many articles on the Internet on using SSDs in Windows XP or Vista.

I recently wrote about this technology; it allows you to increase the performance of disks, not only SSDs, but also HDDs, and also has a number of others useful functions. Read about this and that.

Modern operating systems have a file indexing function, which speeds up the search for necessary files on disks; unfortunately, this function has a negative impact on SSDs, because the number of operations on the disk increases, and this reduces the service life of the drive.

To use an SSD effectively, you can use it as a system disk; it is also sometimes divided into several partitions. More detailed information you can look in the utility. You can go there by right-clicking on the Start menu and selecting the appropriate item.

How to disable disk indexing?

This is done very simply, we go to the folder with disks, that is, “Computer”, right-click on the disk and select "Properties".

Next you will see a checkmark at the bottom “Allow the contents of files on this drive to be indexed...”. Remove it and press "Apply". A window may appear where you need to select the “Apply to the disk and all subfolders and files” option. The shutdown process will take about 10 minutes.

If SSD drive is divided into several sections, you need to do this operation with all sections.

Tip #4 – Disable system search (Windows Search Service)

It is similar to an indexing service, as it also serves to speed up file searches through indexing. This increases the number of operations on the SSD, so we will disable Windows service Search. There is no need to worry, because solid state drives themselves are very fast and disabling indexing and the Windows Search service will not in any way reduce the speed of searching for files.

How to disable Windows Search service?

Let's go to the "Services" section, for which we press the Win + R key combinations and enter the command services.msc. In the list of services, find Windows Search and double-click on it. In the window that opens, in the item "Startup type" choose "Disabled", and also click on the button "Stop". Apply the changes.

Tip #5 – Disabling automatic defragmentation

I have already written about defragmentation. This technology is designed to increase the speed of work hard drives, but not SSD. In the case of the second type of drive, defragmentation will only shorten its lifespan. IN different version Windows shutdown automatic defragmentation is a little different.

On Windows 7

Open the Run window using the Win+R keys and enter the command dfrgui. The “Disk Defragmentation” window opens, in it you need to click on the item "Set up schedule".

Now click on the button "Select drives" and uncheck all SSD partitions. Don't forget to click OK.

On Windows 8, 8.1, 10

In these versions of Windows, disabling defragmentation is similar. Press Win+R and enter the command again dfrgui.

This time the Optimize Disks window will open. Click on the item "Change settings".

Click on the button "Choose".

In the window that opens, uncheck all SSD partitions and click OK.

If the SSD is used for the swap file, then it must be immediately transferred to the HDD or disabled. You can read about the swap file.

So, you need to go to Control Panel go to "System and Security" Then "System" and select the item on the left « Additional options systems".

In option "Performance" press the button "Options".

Go to the “Advanced” tab and in the “ Virtual memory» click "Change".

If the “Automatically select the size of the paging file” checkbox is checked, then uncheck it. Then select the SSD and disable the paging file for it by selecting "No swap file". Click OK.

I also wrote about hibernation, you can read it. This mode is somewhat similar to sleep mode, but consists of complete shutdown computer, while files from RAM are written to the system disk. When you turn on the computer everything will return to initial state. This solution is bad for the SSD, since it again uses a lot of disk operations and, as you probably guessed, shortens the life of the disk.

Of course, hibernation is a convenient thing, but solid-state drives are very expensive and I wouldn’t want them to fail prematurely. That's why I'm writing instructions on how to disable hibernation.

Launch Command Prompt as administrator and enter the command:

That's it. If you go to the Start menu and select “Shutdown”, there will not be a “Hibernation” button.

To prevent this from happening, you need to move the “Downloads” folder to your hard drive.

This is done very simply. You right-click on the folder, go to “Properties”, item "Location" and press the button "Move", then select the hard drive.

Tip #9 – Moving the folder for temporary files from the SSD to the hard drive

Many of you know that during the long-term operation of Windows, many different files. To extend the life of your SSD, you should move these files to another drive.

So, on any section hard drive you need to create a folder with any name. Since temporary files on the system disk can be stored in the Temp folder, you can call it the same.

In the window that opens, find the variables “TEMP” and “TMP” in the section "System Variables" and on each of them click the “Change” button, change the path to the folder you created.

Click OK.

These are the pies. The article is extensive, but you should find it useful. Now you know how to configure Windows for solid-state drives so that they maintain a long service life.

Best to install on computer SSD disk. They have a higher data read/write speed and are also less likely to fail compared to conventional hard drives. But to experience all the benefits of working with a solid-state drive, Windows 10 must be properly configured for an SSD.

What to check before optimization?

Before starting the optimization process, check whether the system supports TRIM and whether AHCI SATA mode is enabled.

You can check the controller's operating mode in the BIOS. Find the “SATA Operation” or similar section in the settings. If it is set to ATA operating mode, switch it to AHCI.

This may cause difficulties:

• old BIOS version does not support controller operation AHCI mode. In this case, go to the motherboard manufacturer's website, find out if your model supports AHCI mode, then download and install the new BIOS;
• The OS won't boot because it doesn't have necessary drivers. In this case, install drivers on your PC in advance. The best option is to immediately reinstall the operating system.

Enabling TRIM

The TRIM function when using an SSD increases its speed and ensures equal wear of memory cells. This has a positive effect on the performance of the solid-state drive.

At the command prompt running as Administrator, enter the command: fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify. If:

• 0 – parameter enabled;
• 1 – parameter disabled.

To enable, enter the command: fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0.

Setting up Windows 10 for SSD

If all the above points are configured, proceed to Windows optimization 10 on a computer with a solid state drive.

Disabling features

When using a solid-state drive on your PC, disable some Windows 10 features that help with HDD operation. Below it is written in detail how to do this in several steps.

File indexing

Indexing is designed to speed up the OS. She provides quick access To the necessary files. But an SSD drive has a high speed of information exchange with the system, and frequent rewrites will quickly damage it. Therefore, it is better to disable file indexing.

This PC → right-click on the SSD drive → Properties menu → uncheck the “Allow files on this drive to be indexed in addition to file properties.”

Search service

Hibernation

Hibernation saves an image of the working OS when the computer is turned off. It is written to the internal storage. This increases subsequent speed Windows boot 10. In the case of an SSD drive, it is not necessary, because the system boot speed is high, and frequent rewriting of information negatively affects the service life of the drive.

In the command line (you can read how to work with it in the article “”), running as Administrator, enter the command: powercfg -h off.

Prefetch and SuperFetch

Prefetch speeds up startup of frequently used software, and SuperFetch predicts what program you're about to launch. In both cases, the OS preloads information into memory. If using SSDs, disable them.

Important! During a “clean” installation of Windows 10 on an SSD drive, these parameters are initially set to “0”. But when combining SSD and HDD drives on a PC, failures occur. Therefore, double-check these values ​​after installing the OS.

Defragmentation

Defragmentation increases performance speed HDD drive, arranging the arrangement of clusters of information one after another. A solid-state drive has the same access speed to all memory cells. Defragmentation is not relevant for him, so disable it.

Automatic optimization with SSD Mini Tweaker utility

Portable free utility optimizes Windows operation 10 for solid state drive. Because it is created by a third party, you use it at your own risk.

Download and run the program. In the window that opens, select the items that you consider necessary and click “Apply changes.”

Conclusion

After installation or Windows migration 10 on an SSD disk, you need to optimize its operation. This can be done manually by disabling functions that are not relevant for the solid-state drive, or using special utility SSD Mini Tweaker.

SSD drives ( Solid State Drive) managed to gain wide popularity among users. Faster Windows response, faster copying and working with files are the undeniable advantages of an SSD drive over a conventional hard drive.

As a rule, the operating system (OS) itself and the most necessary programs are installed on a solid-state drive, and hard drive used exclusively as storage for other files. Undoubtedly this good decision and it will have a positive effect on productivity, but do not forget that this has its own nuances.

As you know, an SSD disk is limited in cycles of copying and writing information, and when this limit is exhausted, the disk will die. However, there are several Windows OS settings that can significantly extend the life of such drives. The main task of this instruction is to approach the operation of the solid-state drive as carefully and expediently as possible, and also to determine what makes sense to turn off and what does not.

General principles for proper use of SSDs

Before considering the impact of specific Windows functions to work with SSD drives, you should know the basics of working with them:

• Free space reserve. At least 15% of the SSD capacity must be kept free. This is a feature of the job of this disk. You can describe “why” and “what for” for a long time and tediously, so in short: this volume is necessary to maintain optimal performance and SSD service life.
• Disk mode. Only in AHCI mode does the solid-state drive reveal all its functions for the highest possible performance and operating time.

Now you can move on to more detailed review service optimization. As it turned out, in Windows 10, the developers met the needs of SSD owners, and the most important options are already included in the system. Further adjustments can only slightly extend the service life of the drive, but it also has its own consequences.

Let's consider the following issues that may, to one degree or another, affect the lifespan of solid-state drives in Windows 10:

1. Should I disable Disk Defragmentation?
2. Superfetch service and its impact on the drive.
3. Swap file – leave it or not.
4. Location of temporary files.
5. Hibernation - disable or not.
6. Impact of the System Protection function.
7. Impact of the Disk Indexing feature.

Read also:

How to remove password when logging into Windows 10: setting up automatic startup

Defragmentation (optimization) of disks and SSDs

Contrary to what most people think, to extend the life of an SSD, it is not necessary to disable disk defragmentation (aka disk optimization) in Windows 10, since it works in a slightly different way in this OS. The developers explained this as a different approach to individual drives, that is, defragmentation is harmless to the SSD drive. This happens thanks to TRIM technologies, which distributes the load and access to used disk blocks evenly. Therefore, in this particular operating system, defragmentation does not harm the disk, and it is only turned on if System Protection is enabled.

SSD and the impact of Superfetch service

If the specific goal is to extend the life of the SSD, then disabling this service will help. The fact is that, on the one hand, when Superfetch is disabled, there will indeed be fewer write and copy cycles, and accordingly the disk will last longer, but the computer’s performance will also “sag” a little. You can learn how to disable Superfetch from a previously published article. for tuning Windows 10. The effect will not be particularly noticeable, but it will still be there.

Page file and SSD

Here it is already quite difficult to say whether to turn it off or not. On the one hand, if more than 8 GB of RAM is installed, the system will cope without it, thereby saving the SSD from further loads. On the other hand, some programs do not work correctly when the paging file is disabled. Experts from Microsoft say that this file is rarely used and only for particularly resource-intensive applications, which means that there will not be so many write and copy cycles. Plus, such large companies Both Samsung and Intel strongly recommend leaving this file enabled.

Transferring temporary file folders from SSD to hard drive

We also touched on this topic when we looked at instructions for clearing temporary files. This method will be effective, although it will reduce system performance. Thus, the choice remains with the user, what is more important - the performance of the OS or the operating time of the SSD drive.

Hibernation and SSD

Of course, this service does not bring anything good for solid-state drives. It is important only for laptop users, and then only so that they can quickly start interrupted work. If you want to turn it off this service, then the fastest way to do this is command line. The Win+R combination will open the “Run” window, in which we enter cmd. In the window that opens, all that remains is to enter the command “powercfg -h off" and confirm by pressing Enter. After this, hibernation will be completely disabled, the hiberfil.sys file will be deleted, which will free up some disk space. If there is a need to return everything as it was, then you should simply enter the command “powercfg -h on” in the same way.

It's time to talk about the proper use of solid-state drives in Windows 10. According to Microsoft, using an SSD on the “ten” does not require any settings or preliminary preparation system to install such a digital data carrier, and independently change the parameters operating system can only harm the flash drive.

But, despite all the assurances of the Windows 10 developer, you should still pay attention to some points, and also study what the “ten” does to ensure maximum performance and saving SSD resource.

C Windows release 10 manuals for correct setting systems for optimizing solid-state drives. But in fact, all of them were copies of similar instructions for the “seven” and “eight”, because in the latest OS many actions are performed automatically by the system when an SSD is connected to the PC (disabling defragmentation, paging file).

What does the “ten” do to extend the life of an SSD without compromising its performance?

Initially, Microsoft configured the "ten" in such a way that when a solid-state storage medium is detected, it is already ready for use, without the need to make any changes to the OS configuration. It is known from official sources that the list of settings when using flash memory-based drives includes:

• deactivating defragmentation;
• using Superfetch;
• disabling ReadyBoost;
• optimization of the SSD power circuit;
• activation TRIM functions for storage.

Remembering the instructions for setting up other Windows versions, you can note that file indexing and caching are not disabled, as is system protection (restore points are created regularly, reducing the device’s working life). It’s the same with folders for temporary files - there’s not even a suggestion to move them to the hard drive. Let's look at all this in order, starting with defragmentation.

Interesting facts about defragmentation

SSD defragmentation in the “ten” is disabled, but some kind of optimization option is activated instead. Having learned about this, many users immediately disable this function, some study the mechanism of its functioning. And, as it turns out, clearing blocks using TRIM technology is a useful function for solid-state digital storage media.

SSD defragmentation in Windows 10 is carried out only when shadow copying is enabled (system protection is active) once a month, but for such drives its essence is not much different from defragmenting files on the HDD. In some cases, not defragmenting a file is useful (for example, when its size subsequently increases).

What to manually disable and what not to do

Many users who read the old article on Windows setup 10 to work with SSDs, prove that SuperFetch, caching and file indexing should be disabled. These tips have their place in life; following them will lead to a loss of productivity and ease of use of the computer.

Next, we will consider all the options for optimizing the operation of a solid-state drive in the “ten”, noting that in order to obtain speed advantages when using it, at least 15% of the space on the disk must be free. And this is very important.

Deactivating the paging file

If you have insufficient RAM for comfortable work and performing some tasks, it is advisable to use a swap file.

This fact is also supported by the fact that the mechanism of its operation implies a minimum number of accesses to the pagefile.sys file for writing, regardless of the amount of installed and free RAM. The number of its read operations exceeds the number of write accesses by approximately 40 times.

When the page file is disabled, even with 8 GB or more of RAM, some “heavy” applications refuse to start (for example, Adobe Premier) or regularly crash. You may have to pay this price to increase the SSD resource.

Disabling hibernation

Another controversial feature is deactivating the ability for the computer to go into hibernation mode. It is also used to quickly start Windows 10. To do this, a hiberfil.sys file is created on the system volume. The “ten” writes the contents of RAM (in case of hibernation) or files necessary for a quick start of the system into it. The file size takes up the same amount of space as the RAM installed on the computer, and the amount of data written to it does not exceed the current size of the RAM used.

If deactivating the function of putting the system into hibernation mode is not critical for a computer, then for laptop owners this will result in accelerated battery drain and the need to wait for the device to turn on. The process can take a long time if there are a large number of programs placed in startup, especially on older devices. In the case of a PC, waiting for it to fully boot is important if you want to extend the life of an expensive SSD.

It is also possible to reduce the volume of hiberfil.sys by disabling hibernation without disabling fast boot.

System Restore

When the “File History” function is enabled and system rollback points are automatically generated before performing operations affecting the system (installation/removal software) the physical resource of the SSD is reduced. In this regard, it is recommended to disable file history and the creation of restore points. But such careful treatment of the drive can result in data loss or the need to reset the system in the event of a serious failure and the impossibility of rolling back to its previous state.

When using a Korean solid-state drive from Samsung, this can be done using the proprietary Samsung Magician application. Backup in the background can lead to reduced SSD performance when performing many other tasks when working with file system carrier. Therefore, data backup should be performed when the computer is idle.

Intel and Microsoft categorically do not recommend disabling the operating system protection function. With it, you can quickly return your computer to a working state without loss or with minimal loss of user data.

Transferring temporary and user files to your hard drive

Another option for reducing wear on a solid-state drive is to transfer temporary files and user data to partitions physically located on the hard drive. Thus multiple rewrites working files and regularly changing them (for example, stored on the desktop or in My Documents) will slightly reduce the number of writes to the SSD.

Typically, solid-state drives are used as system drives, so storing a multimedia library or image catalog on them is not advisable (this does not apply to games). Indeed, during the optimization process, many of the files for which the reading speed does not have of great importance,are affected, their blocks are moved repeatedly.

Superfetch, file indexing for faster search, record caching and others

Using or disabling these features is more problematic than others. Various manufacturers post contradictory information regarding each other on their resources. It is up to the user to decide which of them to believe, but you should definitely read the recommendations of leading SSD developers.

According to Microsoft representatives, the Prefetch and Superfetch functions are also successfully used on SSDs, having undergone significant changes in Windows 10. Samsung claims that solid-state drives should not be used with the Superfetch function enabled.

As for clearing the cache buffer, the information here also differs radically, even within the same SSD manufacturer, without reliable information to account for one or another point of view. The cache buffer itself can be used; this will in no way affect the service life of the flash memory.

Search and indexing

In Windows 10, the Instant Search Indexing Service does more active indexing, but without it, the always-visible search icon will be useless, and you won't be able to instantly launch a system tool or open a frequently used file. Whether it is worth slightly extending the operating time of the SSD at the expense of convenience - decide for yourself.

As already mentioned, for high-performance operation of an SSD, it must have about 15% or more free space, which is due to the peculiarities of storing digital data on such media. Many SSD developers provide proprietary utilities whose task is to reserve this ~15% of space by creating a hidden volume.

The drive must operate in AHCI mode. This can be checked in the Task Manager (called via Win → X).

It is strongly recommended to connect solid-state drives, no matter who their manufacturer is, to a high-speed third-generation SATA interface that does not use controllers from third-party manufacturers. It happens that on motherboard installed chipset for Intel processor or AMD and additional ports on third-party controllers.

Naturally, you should connect the SSD to the first. You can identify them both by markings on the motherboard and by using the instruction manual motherboard or laptop.

Periodically visit the website of your digital media manufacturer or device support resource and check for the latest firmware. Software updates have a positive impact on hardware performance, and this applies not only to solid-state drives.

To summarize, we can say the following: for beginners, Windows 10 is well set up in terms of minimizing unnecessary write operations. There is little point in interfering with its settings, but experienced users can transfer temporary files to the hard drive and deactivate several functions (indexing, hibernation) to extend the life of the SSD while compromising the usability of the computer.