Setting up the system after installing the SSD. Installing and configuring an SSD drive

Currently, an ever-growing number of Windows and other OS users choose SSDs as the main storage devices in personal computers and laptops. This is due to the large number of advantages of this technology:

high speed of functioning of the Windows operating system and applications in comparison with conventional HDDs;
low power consumption and noise even at maximum load;
high fault tolerance under overloads and adverse external conditions;
optimization of the latest versions of Windows and non-Windows-like systems for working with SSDs.

But besides the obvious advantages, there are also some disadvantages of this type of media:

high cost compared to the price of classic HDDs;
limited number of rewrite cycles, which reduces the “lifetime” of the device;

It is obvious that this type of media will become increasingly widespread. Therefore, we provide a detailed sequence of steps for installing the Windows operating system on an SSD.

Preparing your computer and media for installing Windows

Before using the SSD, make sure that its antistatic packaging is not damaged. Otherwise, the static voltage generated during operation can not only damage the stored information, but also damage the media. Avoid touching connectors or exposed parts of the drive.

Update your motherboard's BIOS to the latest version available and make sure the SATA mode is set to AHCI. At this point, the preparatory stage of setting up the system moves to the next stage.

Installing media into your computer

When installing into a personal desktop computer case, you must take into account the fact that the SSD drive has a 2.5-inch form factor. This means that it is necessary to have a suitable compartment in the design of the system unit rack or to use special mounting brackets and screws. It’s worth adding right away that unstable fixation of the SSD is highly discouraged, because Strong vibration can reduce the life of the device.

If you own a laptop, the mounting process will become much easier, since compact devices use storage media of exactly this form factor. So installing a new SSD will be limited to switching contacts from an already used disk.

In any case, after fixing the disk, you need to connect it. Two cables are used for this. The first is the power cable and comes from the power supply. For user comfort, this cable is equipped with a notch mount that will reduce the likelihood of incorrect connection. If your system does not have a suitable wire, you can purchase an inexpensive “adapter”.

The second cable is a signal cable and is used for data transmission. Most modern SSDs use a SATA connector, which is also equipped with a notch for proper connection. One end of the cable is plugged into the data carrier connector, the other into the motherboard. Before purchasing an SSD, make sure your motherboard has SATA connectors as there are no data cable adapters available.

Connect the power cables and turn on the computer. At startup, the BIOS recognizes the media and you can proceed to the next step of the instructions. Otherwise, check that all steps of this algorithm have been completed. If, after reconnecting, the media is not recognized by the system, then there is a high probability that the device is incompatible with your motherboard or that one of the devices is faulty.

Installing Related Software

You can proceed directly to the installation of the Windows operating system. There are practically no special features of this process from installing software products on the HDD. The steps are almost the same, starting from formatting the disk, etc. The only important thing is to correctly configure the BIOS settings. After the computer starts and the system recognizes all components, you must select the device from which information will be read before installation. This can be a CD or DVD, or a bootable USB flash drive. To select, you can use the BootMenu (keys F10-F12 depending on the brand of the computer) or select the required SSD media as the first device in the BIOS settings.

Next, we carry out the standard steps for or another operating system - step by step we follow the instructions of the installer program (formatting the media, selecting regional settings, etc.). An important point: if you install the system on a completely new disk, it will not be divided into logical partitions. In this case, you need to think in advance about how best to do the partitioning and perform this operation in the installer at the stage before formatting.

The option of cloning an existing operating system onto a new medium may be more interesting for the user. This method is very convenient, since SSD media are highly integrated with the system and will allow the operating system to start without problems. The latest versions of the tools allow you to clone a wide range of versions of Windows and other systems. To carry out this operation, it is convenient to use a tool such as Acronis® True Image HD.

To run it, you need to use a boot device, but the operating algorithm itself is very simple. Select on the “Tools and utilities” tab > Click the “Clone disk” button (Quick cloning in some translation options) > Select “Automatic (recommended)” to activate the quick system cloning mode. During operation, the program will automatically format the media. For more accurate copying, it is recommended to specify the operating system type, up to the Windows version. Select the source disk (HDD) > Click the “Next” button, then select the target disk (SSD) > Click the “Next” button. After rebooting the system, you can start Windows from the solid-state drive.

Notes for various operating systems

Modern users pay great attention not only to Windows, but also to other operating systems. Let's look at the features of installing them on a solid-state SSD drive.

MacOS. While holding down the Optoins button in the menu item, open the system boot window. To run installation on an SSD, you may need to additionally specify the target media type. In some driver versions, this media type may be recognized as FDD or HDD. Therefore, it may not be selected as the first device. The disk will be formatted before installing the OS.
Unix systems. When installing the operating system, the hard drive will be formatted. Therefore, in case of switching from Windows, it is recommended to copy important information to a third-party independent medium.

We have talked about the many advantages of so-called solid-state (SSD) devices many times. Switching from a classic magnetic disk to an SSD will speed up your computer to such an extent that the difference will be noticeable, so to speak, with the naked eye, that is, without the help of specialized tests. We are talking about super-fast file copying, instant launch of the operating system and applications, including heavy-duty games and graphics programs such as Adobe Photoshop.

And despite this, many users are still wary of taking this extremely beneficial step. They have their rationale, of course, rooted in some still unresolved weaknesses in SSD technology. However, with careful planning and the willingness to invest a little personal time and effort, they can be easily neutralized. Here's how.

Divide and conquer

It's no secret that in order to get the most out of an SSD device, it must be used as a system drive. In other words, the operating system must be installed on it.

When running, Windows (and any other operating environment) makes a large number of accesses to the system disk. Thanks to its high speed, an SSD disk can reduce the time of these calls several times and speed up the overall system performance significantly.

Unfortunately, the lightning-fast response of this class of drive still comes from the prohibitive price per gigabyte of space. As a result, most users get a device with very high speeds and relatively limited (by today's standards) capacity - often ranging from 120 to 250 GB.

This is further complicated by the fact that the performance of an SSD gradually decreases as its capacity is filled. This is due to the specific features of the technology for recording and storing information that is used by this type of disk. Therefore, to get the most out of a solid-state drive, it is recommended to keep at least 30-40 percent of its capacity unused.

Most operating systems, and especially Windows, love to write whatever they want to the system partition. As a result, if you let the operating system decide where to save files and install applications, you may receive a warning that there is not enough free space on the system disk.

It makes the most sense to install on the SSD only the operating system (Windows) and a few important programs that you work with every day - say, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Skype, antivirus software. But in this case, a reasonable question arises: “Where should I keep everything else?”

One possible option is to connect a regular hard drive in addition to the SSD. This is an ideal solution for bulky programs and files, which, however, do not necessarily need the high speeds provided by an SSD. This may include a collection of music files, digital photo albums, and films in digital format. If you are an avid gamer, then this can be most games. In principle, you can install only the game you are currently playing with on the SSD, and leave the rest of the collection on the HDD.

But what if you have a laptop and its design does not allow installing a second drive? In this case, you can save your files and install applications on your external hard drive. If using a bulky HDD seems far from the most practical solution, then use a USB flash memory. Today, the market offers models with impressive volume and super-compact sizes that are incredibly small and almost invisible when connected to a laptop’s USB port.

Of course, there are certain inconveniences in storing some information on external media, because you must always carry it with you. If you forget a USB flash drive or external HDD at home, you will forget everything stored on it.

Move programs

Now that you know what the pros and cons of storing files on an SSD and an additional drive are, it's time to say a few words about how to put it into practice.

The easiest and fastest way is to select an alternative drive instead of the default location during installation of the corresponding application (usually the Program Files folder on the system drive). But how can you move already installed programs without wasting precious time reinstalling them?

Some applications, such as Steam (a client that manages a library of games distributed through Valve's digital service of the same name), offer a simple and fast solution for just this. In particular, Steam allows you to move all your installed games with a few clicks.

Just open the settings menu, find the “Downloads” section, click on the “Steam Library Folders” button and, instead of the default system partition, specify a new location. The Steam Agent will take care of the rest of the work and move all downloaded and installed games to the new location you specified.

Unfortunately, not all installed programs can be moved as easily, and if you simply copy their folder to another drive or partition, they may no longer work correctly, or stop working altogether. Fortunately, Windows has a solution to this problem - so-called “symlinks”. They are created using a special system command, and their purpose is to “trick” Windows that the program is installed on a certain (disk) partition, when in fact it is located on something completely different.

Let's say you have a program installed in the C:\Programs folder. Move it to another drive in a folder with the same name: D:\Programs. The mklink command, which works on the command line, will help you create a symbolic link between two folders. In our specific example, the command would be:

mklink /d C:\Programs D:\Programs

After executing the command, Windows will have a symbolic link between the two folders, i.e. the program will be on the D: drive, and the operating system will think that it is on the C: drive.

Move system folders

As you know, Windows organizes all user files in special folders called Libraries. They are designed to store music and video files, digital images and documents.

Although by default these folders are located on the system drive, they can be easily moved to any drive and even to external media.

As already stated, this is an extremely simple operation. Locate these folders on your system drive where they were created by default during Windows installation (C:\Users\Username). Then right-click on the one you want to move, select Properties, Location, Move and select the directory where you want to move the folder. After doing this, the moved folder will still appear in C:\Users\Username, but any files it contains will actually be written to the alternate drive you specified. Using this simple sequence of steps, you can move all the Libraries folders - Music, Videos, Pictures, Documents and Downloads.

Keep it clean

Moving non-essential files and applications is a big first step, but it's not at all sufficient if you want to keep at least 30-40% of your SSD's capacity idle. Once you start actively using it, it will slowly but surely become filled with files, some of which are completely unnecessary. We are mainly talking about temporary files created while various programs are running, which are not always deleted after they are closed; browser cache and unzipped installation files.

For example, two large, competing companies that produce graphics processors - AMD and NVIDIA - regularly release updated versions of their drivers. They can be downloaded and installed automatically, but not all users know that before this they are written to a special folder on the system drive - usually C:\Nvidia or C:\AMD. Over time, the size of this folder increases significantly, since new versions are released almost every month, and each of them weighs several hundred megabytes.

As for other causes of “disk contamination,” they can be easily eliminated using a small but very useful and completely free program, which I have already mentioned several times on the pages of the site. It scans and removes from the disk all unnecessary temporary and spooled files, old system libraries, outdated operating system archive records, and more.

If after all this you find that your SSD space is still low, check what exactly is taking up space using another small and free tool: WinDirStat. It will tell you who is the culprit of occupied valuable gigabytes.

Limit the number of entries

Besides the high price per gigabyte, there is another reason why many people are still reluctant to consider solid-state drives - their relatively limited lifespan. The technology on which they are based provides a certain number of rewrite cycles, after which the flash memory chips from which the SSD is made wear out and the device stops working. However, SSD manufacturers are constantly trying to increase their lifespan and have recently made significant progress in this regard.

A recent independent study by Tech Report proved that even budget SSD drives can easily provide 1 PB recording, i.e. 1 petabyte or 1000 terabytes. This is 4-5 years of uninterrupted operation - an indicator by which current-generation SSD drives are fully comparable to hard drives, which usually have an active life of about 6 years.

However, it makes sense to take some precautions to minimize wear on the disc and ensure its longevity.

For example, you can limit the number of writes to it by simply preventing certain programs (all browsers and tools such as Adobe Photoshop) from using the disk buffer. To do this, you need to enter the settings menu of the corresponding program and specify an alternative partition or disk for recording temporary files (cache).

Do not defragment your SSD under any circumstances! This is not only unnecessary, but also a dangerous operation that can shorten the life of the disk.

Defragmentation is a remnant of another technological era and a system for organizing files on a hard drive. For SSD technology, which already provides several times higher file transfer speeds, defragmentation becomes completely unnecessary and even dangerous, since this process involves multiple read and write cycles, which, as already mentioned, can significantly reduce the life of the solid state drive.

Have a great day!

There are several ways to install an SSD in a laptop, depending on the purpose of using solid-state storage. The device can be used as a primary or additional storage space for information. Many users use a solid-state storage device as a system drive, which can significantly speed up Windows.

Installing an SSD in a laptop

New models of solid-state storage devices have a large amount of memory for storing multimedia files and resource-intensive programs.

Choosing an SSD drive for a laptop

The standard solid-state drive has a 2.5″ form factor, which is compatible with the dimensions of a laptop HDD. When choosing a model, you should pay attention to this criterion. The drive must be connected to the SATA interface. Modern technologies provide the ability to use several file storages in a laptop, which expands the choice.

To install the operating system, purchase models with a memory capacity of up to 120 GB. This solution has an affordable price and speeds up system booting and operations related to system files by 5-6 times. Larger solid-state storage is designed for storing high-quality multimedia files and working with resource-intensive programs.

Replacing HDD with SSD

To replace the hard drive with a modern analogue, you need to disassemble the laptop. To do this you will need a Phillips screwdriver. In most laptop models, the HDD is located immediately under the back cover - unscrew the mounting bolts and carefully remove the cover.

Smoothly remove the HDD by pulling it in the desired direction marked with the guide arrow. An SSD, like a standard HDD, is connected to a SATA interface. Install the drive into the 2.5″ hard drive slot and secure the laptop cover with bolts.

This solution allows you to install a modern storage device as your main file storage. Install the operating system on the new device, and further configuration of the storage device will be described below.

Installing an SSD instead of a disk drive

Modern technologies and the availability of the necessary adapters allow you to install an SSD in a slot for an optical drive. This solution allows you to expand space on your laptop and save data from the old HDD drive. You can use several file storages at the same time.

To install a solid-state drive instead of a disk drive, you will need to purchase an additional adapter - SATA 2nd HDD Caddy for Laptop. When ordering an adapter, check compatibility with your laptop model. To install the adapter, you must remove the back cover of the laptop.

Some models limit access to the drive, which forces you to deeply disassemble the laptop. Follow the instructions to maintain the integrity of the case and ensure successful disassembly.

Remove the drive and connect the adapter. The adapter supports 2.5″ drives.

Reassemble the laptop case.

Setting up an SSD drive

After replacing the HDD with an SSD or installing an additional drive, you need to make subsequent settings in the operating system. If the solid-state drive is used as a disk for the operating system, you need to configure disk loading.

Enter the BIOS to the BOOT section and move the required disk to the first position. The operating system will automatically boot Windows from the required drive.

Configuring and disabling services in Windows

The Windows family of operating systems is designed to work primarily with HDD drives, which have some differences in the operating principle of SSDs. To improve the functioning and lifespan of the device, you need to make a number of changes in the Windows settings.

Disabling hard drive defragmentation

Defragmenting a hard drive allows you to speed up the operation of the HDD by optimizing its logical structure for faster data reading. For an SSD, this function is not needed; on the contrary, it can harm the solid-state drive. You can disable defragmentation by executing the command in the “Start menu - run - dfrgui «

In early versions of Windows 10 and subsequent updates, this section was called “Disk Optimization,” where defragmentation was redesigned for modern systems. There is no need to disable this process in Windows 10.

Disabling the page file

If you have enough RAM, it is recommended to disable the page file, which has a positive effect on the speed of the hard drive.

To perform this operation, you need to open the performance options. Select "No paging file".

Enabling the TRIM function

Starting from version 7, the Windows family began to actively support work with solid-state drives. The developers have added a TRIM function that interacts with the SSD drive. The system sends information about unused blocks to be deleted. This speeds up system performance and increases the service life of the device.

You can check the activity of the service in the following way:

Open a command prompt
Copy the command fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify
The received response must contain the value DisableDeleteNotify = 0 or DisableDeleteNotify = 1. If the received value is 0, the TRIM function is active, if the value is 1, TRIM is not functioning.

This feature is enabled by default in Windows 7 and newer versions.

Disabling hibernation - sleep mode

The system startup speed on an SSD drive is 5-6 times faster than on an HDD. The sleep mode function loses its relevance when using a solid state drive. Hibernation mode creates a system writable file. Disabling this feature simplifies system operation and optimizes device performance.

Disabling file indexing

File indexing occurs continuously and creates a writable file, which could theoretically shorten the life of the SSD drive.

Disabling indexing will not affect the speed of file search, since the SSD has a high speed of working with files. You can disable indexing as follows:

Open the “My Computer” shortcut;
Open the properties of the required disk;
Uncheck the “Allow file contents to be indexed...” tab.

Installing a modern storage device not only speeds up the system, but also requires maintenance and detailed configuration.

Connecting various devices to a computer is difficult for many users, especially if the device must be installed inside the system unit. In such cases, the multitude of wires and various connectors is especially intimidating. Today we will talk about how to properly connect an SSD to a computer.

So, you purchased a solid-state drive and now the task is to connect it to your computer or laptop. First, we'll talk about how to connect the drive to a computer, since there are more different nuances here, and then we'll move on to the laptop.

Connecting the SSD to the computer

Before connecting the drive to the computer, you should make sure that there is still room for it and the necessary cables. Otherwise, you will have to disconnect some of the installed devices - hard drives or disk drives (which work with the SATA interface).

Connecting the disk will take place in several stages:

Opening the system unit;
Consolidation;
Connection.

At the first stage, no difficulties should arise. You just need to unscrew the bolts and remove the side cover. Depending on the housing design, it is sometimes necessary to remove both covers.

There is a special compartment for mounting hard drives in the system unit. In most cases, it is located closer to the front panel; it is almost impossible not to notice it. SSDs are usually smaller in size than magnetic disks. That is why they sometimes come with special slides that allow you to secure the SSD. If you don’t have such a sled, you can install it in the card reader compartment or come up with a more clever solution to fix the drive in the case.

Now comes the most difficult stage - directly connecting the disk to the computer. It takes some care to do it right. The fact is that modern motherboards have several SATA interfaces, which differ in data transfer speed. And if you connect your drive to the wrong SATA, it will not work at full capacity.

In order to use the full potential of solid-state drives, they must be connected to the SATA III interface, which is capable of providing data transfer rates of 600 Mbps. As a rule, such connectors (interfaces) are highlighted in color. We find such a connector and connect our drive to it.

Next, all that remains is to connect the power and that’s it, the SSD will be ready for use. If you are connecting the device for the first time, then do not be afraid to connect it incorrectly. All connectors have a special key that will not allow you to insert it incorrectly.

Connecting an SSD to a laptop

Installing a solid state drive in a laptop is somewhat easier than in a computer. The difficulty here is usually to open the laptop lid.

In most models, the hard drive bays have their own cover, so there is no need to completely disassemble the laptop.

We find the required compartment, unscrew the bolts and carefully disconnect the hard drive and insert the SSD in its place. As a rule, all the connectors here are rigidly fixed, so to disconnect the drive, you need to move it a little to the side. To connect, on the contrary, slightly move it towards the connectors. If you feel that the disc is not inserted, then you should not use excessive force; perhaps you are simply inserting it incorrectly.

Ultimately, having installed the drive, all that remains is to securely fix it, and then tighten the laptop case.

Conclusion

Now, guided by these short instructions, you can easily figure out how to connect drives not only to a computer, but also to a laptop. As you can see, this is done quite simply, which means that almost anyone can install a solid-state drive.

Nowadays, SSDs are no longer a curiosity, but mandatory equipment for any productive computer.
Although mechanical HDDs have not yet completely disappeared from desktop systems, to speed up a disk system, installing an SSD as a system drive is more of a necessity than a luxury.

So, if you have already read our article, selected and purchased an SSD, then all that remains is to install it.

First of all, we determine the place in the system unit for installing the SSD.
Included in delivery some SSDs come with special 2.5" -> 3.5" adapters for installation in a standard bay.

But if you become the owner of an SSD without such an adapter, then you can install it in any place convenient for this.
For example, I decided to install my Crucial M4 128Gb SATA III 6Gb/s on the side and secure it with regular vinyl clamps.

It is better to connect the SSD to the SATA III 6Gb/s port, if your motherboard has one.
My ASUS P8P67 LE has two such ports, and they are designated as SATA6G_1 And SATA6G_2

Also included with my motherboard are two special SATAIII 6Gb/s cables

If you do not have SATA III ports and cables, you can connect a regular SATA cable to a SATA II port.

Don’t forget to also connect the power supply to the SSD, the connector from the power supply for connecting SATA devices:

So we have already installed and connected our SSD. Moreover, if you connect an SSD, then only to the first numbered SATAIII or SATAII port. We will install the OS on our SSD and boot from it first.

Go to settings Advanced/SATA Configuration and see the connected devices.
In this case, my HDD is connected to the first SATA II and the SSD, which is connected to the first SATA III.
IMPORTANT! Don't forget to switch the SATA controller to mode.

And we set our SSD as the first boot disk. Otherwise, the system will continue to boot from the HDD.

Then we save all the settings we have made by clicking . And at the same time we make sure that the SSD is installed first boot HDD .
You can leave the CD/DVD first to install Windows. Or leave the SSD first, only at the first boot one time (via ASUS boards) select boot from CD/DVD.

Important!
On many Internet resources, when installing an SSD, they advise cloning, copying, transferring, restoring from an image (and similar perversions) the C:\ HDD drive with Windows installed.
But this should under no circumstances be done!!!
Before installing an SSD, be prepared to completely install Windows from scratch.
Since, when Windows is installed on the HDD, then, accordingly, all its services are launched for the HDD to work. But if you transfer such a system to an SSD, then many services will not only not help you work faster, but in addition will contribute to the rapid wear of the new SSD (for example, defragmentation).
In order for an SSD to work correctly and for a long time under Windows, it must be installed from scratch on a clean SSD.
And then.
After all, this article is not about how to install an SSD in a computer, but how to CORRECTLY install an SSD in a computer :)

We start the installation of Windows 7, in my case it is Windows 7 x64, since I have 8Gb of RAM installed.
We make basic language and time settings for Windows 7 and get to the point of selecting a disk for installing the OS.
We see ours not marked SSD (Disk 0) and sections of our HDD (Disk 1).
Select unmarked Disk 0 and press Disk setup