Silencer

June 01, 2011 at 11:33am

Nice.

A word about SSDs, for my fellow MaxPCers...

I recently joined the SSD club!  (Mushkin, 240 GB, $424.)  I'm a tech, so naturally I wanted to learn about all of the necessary SSD tweaks...

There are about 45 or so out there.  Here's the thing though:  Most SSD Tweak Guides are OUTDATED, with Windows 7, so always check the dates on any SSD Tweak Guide.  If they're older than a year or two, know that Windows 7 now automatically handles just about everything.  I'd say you actually can just slap in your SSD, and you shouldn't have any problems.

Turning off indexing on your SSD isn't a bad idea, it will perform those functions faster.  However, some Microsoft programmer said disabling the Windows Search service will break some new high-level shell functions, (which are probably crap.)  So you can turn off indexing on just your SSD, by right-clicking it in Computer, clicking Properties, and clearing the check-box.

One more note:  Moving the swap file off of the SSD is a BAD idea.  I've tried it all ways.  Leave it on the SSD, AND leave it alone.  (Do not set it to a fixed size, that would basically be the total opposite, of moving it off of the SSD.  It needs to be a fluid size, so leave it alone.)  Also, Microsoft also recommends leaving it on the SSD, saying the benefits of having an SSD are much better realized by leaving the page file on it.

So before you tweak the hell out of your Windows for your SSD, check the dates of those SSD Tweak Guides.  If you're running updated Windows 7, you're fine.  Maybe turn indexing off on your SSD.  And LEAVE the page file ALONE!  :O)

If a discussion gets started, I may add some more SSD tweaking wisdom, if I have time!  :O)

Oh and one more thing!  Double-check your new SSD's Firmware version, BEFORE you flash it with the 'latest available'.  My drive shipped with a Firmware that's actually newer, than the 'latest available' on the internet.  I ALMOST screwed-up, and flashed my brand-new drive, with older firmware, (and the newer firmware that came on it, is not yet available for download.)  So WARNING!  DOUBLE-CHECK your SSD's Firmware versions, BEFORE updating it!  ;O)