How to properly install an operating system on an ssd. To do this, open the “my computer” folder

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Hello! Decide to prepare an article in which you will talk about how to correctly install Windows 7 on an SSD drive, and how to configure Windows 7 after installation SSD drive so that it works for a long time and without problems. I recently bought a laptop, took an Asus K56CM and immediately bought an SSD drive for it OCZ Vertex 4 by 128 GB, I really wanted to feel all the speed that the SSD gives.

In our case, the model of laptop/computer and SSD drive does not matter; my instructions can be said to be universal. I will write what needs to be done immediately after SSD installation drive into a computer and how to set it up operating system after installation on SSD.
If this is your first time encountering an SSD, then you are probably wondering why there is such attention to setting up the operating system for these drives compared to conventional ones. hard drives. I will now explain everything in simple words.

SSD drives have a limited failure time compared to hard drives. Simply put, they have certain number rewrites. Now I won’t say what this number is, it varies and what is true and what is not is difficult to understand. For example, for my OCZ Vertex 4 in the characteristics it was written that the operating time between failures is 2 million hours. And the operating system writes a lot during operation, deletes and writes again various temporary files, etc. Services such as defragmentation, indexing, etc. serve to speed up the system on normal hard drives. And they only harm SSD drives and reduce their service life.

In fact, installing Windows 7 on SSD almost no different from installing on HDD. But after installation, you will need to make some adjustments to the operation of Windows 7, but there is nothing complicated there, we will do everything using the utility SSD Mini Tweaker 2.1.

What should you do before installing Windows 7 on an SSD drive?

Well, first you need to install an SSD drive in a laptop or computer, it doesn’t matter. I will not describe this process. There is nothing complicated about this, and this is a topic for another article. Let's say that you have already installed the SSD, or it has already been installed.

If you will use a regular hard drive in your computer next to the SSD drive, then I advise you to disable it while installing Windows 7, this is so that you do not get confused when choosing a partition to install the OS, but this is not necessary.

All you need to do before installation is to check if our solid state drive is working in AHCI. To do this, go to the BIOS; if you don’t know how, read the article How to enter the BIOS. Next, go to the tab "Advanced" and select the item “SATA Configuration”.

Select an item “Sata mode selection”, a window will open in which we select AHCI(if you had another mode enabled). Click F10 to save settings.

Now you can begin installing Windows 7. The installation process on a solid-state drive is no different from installing on a hard drive. I just want to give you one piece of advice:

Try to install the original image of the operating room Windows systems 7, or Windows 8. I recommend installing only one of these operating systems, because only seven and eight can work with SSD drives. Do not use different assemblies, and if you install Windows assembly 7, or Windows 8 downloaded from the Internet, then try to choose an image close to the original.

We install the operating system. You may find the following articles useful:

How to record Windows image to disk? We create installation disk with Windows 7 (XP, Vista, 8)
How to set the BIOS to boot from a drive or flash drive
How to install Windows 7
How to partition a new hard drive when installing Windows 7
Installing Windows 8 as a second system next to Windows 7 on the same computer

Once the operating system is installed, you can proceed to setting up Windows for SSD.

Setting up Windows 7 to work with an SSD drive

More precisely, Windows 7 will work anyway, our task is to make sure that our solid-state drive lasts as long as possible and without various errors.

As I already wrote at the beginning of the article, for Windows optimization for a solid-state drive, we will use the SSD Mini Tweaker utility. Everything is allowed unnecessary options disable it manually, but in the SSD Mini Tweaker program this can all be done in a few clicks. You will only need to manually disable indexing of files on local drives.

First we need to download SSD Mini Tweaker. Download version 2.1 from the link below:

SSD Mini Tweaker 2.1 Versions for x32 and x64.

There is no need to install the program, just extract it from the archive and run it.

Launch the SSD Mini Tweaker utility.

You can tick all the boxes, or rather, it’s not possible, but it’s necessary. I have checked all the boxes, except that you can leave only SuperFetch; disabling this service may increase the startup time of programs. Check the boxes necessary services, and click the “Apply changes” button. Almost everything, in the same utility there is a “Manual” item, this means that you need to manually disable services. There are two of them, disk defragmentation on a schedule and indexing the contents of files on the disk.

If scheduled defragmentation is disabled automatically after the changes we have made, then indexing of files on the disk must be disabled manually on each local partition.

Disable indexing of file contents on disk

Go to “My Computer” and click right click to one of local disks. Select “Properties”.

A window will open in which you need to uncheck the “Allow the contents of files on this drive to be indexed in addition to file properties.” Click “Apply”.

Another window will appear, click “Ok”.

We are waiting for the process to complete.

When you do this procedure on drive C, you will most likely receive a message stating that you do not have rights to change system files. I just clicked “Skip all”, I think that if you skip a few files, then nothing bad will happen.

That's all, setting up Windows for a solid-state drive is complete. You know, many people say that these are different myths, that nothing needs to be turned off, etc. Maybe so, but if they came up with it, then it means it’s necessary and I think that in any case it won’t hurt.

It seems that I wrote everything I wanted, if you have additions, comments, or something is not clear, then write in the comments, we’ll figure it out. Good luck!

Hello dear friends, today I would like to tell you how to install Windows on an SSD drive and perform the important initial setup.

Solid state drives are becoming more and more popular every day due to their phenomenal operating speeds compared to hard drives.

Half a year ago, I assembled a system unit for myself, with good performance components, but I didn’t buy an ssd, which I now regret!

Then they cost twice as much, but who knew that everything would turn out like this, the fall of the ruble, rising prices and other political clownery, but that’s not about that now.

Well, I couldn’t resist and bought an ssd, I couldn’t resist the temptation. This disc I decided to use it as a system one, that is, the operating system and programs are installed on it. All other data is stored on the hard drive.

Comrades, I’ll tell you, this is the bomb! Booting the system from pressing the power button to loading the desktop takes seven, ten seconds, and on the HDD it was a minute and a half.

Programs open and run much faster. Photoshop with a bunch of plugins opens in a couple of seconds, previously you had to wait about ten. In general, there are a lot of advantages, I recommend it to everyone!

Installing Windows 7 on SSD

First of all, connect the drive to the computer. I won’t tell you how to do this, it’s all simple! The main thing is that your motherboard supports SATA III, to which you need to connect, otherwise on SATA II you won't achieve maximum performance from this type of drive.

Next, it is necessary to BIOS set the operating mode for our SSD AHCI. Since everyone's BIOS is different, the settings will accordingly differ slightly. For example, I need to go to the tab Configuration, then select SATA Controller working mode, and select from the drop-down list AHCI. Next you should click F10, to save your changes.

Now we can start Windows installation 7 on SSD. She's the same as normal installation, which I wrote about in detail in my article.

Setting up an SSD under Windows 7

In principle, after installation, the system will work normally, but we need to extend its life solid state drive, disable some system functions that adversely affect the operation of the SSD itself.

To do this you need to download the program SSD Mini Tweaker 2.4 for x32 and x64 bit systems. Launch the program, and in the window that opens, check all the boxes as in the picture below:

Disabling scheduled defragmentation on SSDs

Click on the button Set up a schedule . A settings window will open where you need to click on the button Select drive:

In the window that appears, uncheck our SSD drive and press OK .

Disable indexing of file contents on an SSD.

Click on the inscription Disable indexing of file contents on disk . In the window that appears, uncheck the box and click OK .

A confirmation window for changing attributes will appear. Check the box as shown below and click OK .

After this, a message may pop up stating that you do not have enough rights to perform this operation for some files. Click Skip for all! Due to several system files nothing will happen.

After completing all the above settings, click Apply changes , close the program and restart your computer.

Well that's all, now you know how to install Windows on SSD, as well as perform its initial setup.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions regarding this article, write in the comments, we will try to figure it out.

If you decide to purchase solid state SSD drive, there may be several reasons for this:

You are not satisfied with the speed of your HDD.
Do you need fast work windows and certain types of applications, games.

However, installing an SSD into a computer or laptop and then filling it with information is not enough. It is also necessary to optimize its operation with the operation of your OS.

Let's look at the main methods for optimizing an SSD drive.

AHCI SATA

Technology that allows the TRIM function to be used for various SSDs. It is enabled at the BIOS level of your PC or laptop.

Enable AHCI SATA:

Opening command line using the key combination win + R.
Enter the command: “regedit” (access to the registry).
Go to the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → SYSTEM → CurrentControlSet → Services → storahci.
Change the value of the ErrorControl subkey to 0 (default 3) by calling the context menu and clicking the “Modify” option.
Go to the branch called “StartOverride” and change its value to 0 (default 3).
Restart your PC (laptop), go to BIOS/UEFI (how to enter BIOS, see separately for the model of your laptop or PC motherboard). In the “storage configuration” section, and in the “SATA port” subsection, set AHCI, or in the “SATA RAID/AHCI Mode” section, set AHCI (For different BIOS versions, their sections and subsections).
Check if the function works in Windows. Go to the following path: Control Panel → Device Manager → IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. The device should appear in the last subsection: “Standard SATA AHCI Controller”.

TRIM function

Default this function enabled on windows 7 and higher, however, it is better to manually check whether this function works. The meaning of TRIM is that after deleting files, Windows transmits information to the SSD drive that a certain area of the disk is not used and can be cleared for writing. (V HDD data remain and the recording is made “over” the existing one). Over time, if the function is disabled, the drive's performance will drop.

Checking TRIM on Windows:

Launch the command prompt by pressing the key combination win + R.
Enter the command: “fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify”.
If after entering the message “DisableDeleteNotify = 0” is displayed, then the TRIM function is enabled, if “DisableDeleteNotify = 1”, then TRIM does not function. If TRIM does not work, enter the command: “fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0”, then repeat steps 2 and 3.

Defragmentation

This feature helps optimize and speed up HDD operation, but for SSD, it has a detrimental effect. For SSDs, the “automatic defragmentation” feature is disabled by default. To check if it works:

Press the win + R combination.
In the command line window, enter the command: “dfrgui” and click “OK”.
In the window that opens, select your SSD and look at the “Schedule optimization” item. For our SSD it should be disabled.

Indexing

Windows feature that helps you perform quick search files on the disk with large amounts of information, however, increasing the write load on the SSD. To disable it:

Go to the section “This computer”, “My computer”, “Computer” (it’s different for each OS).
Select your SSD and context menu select “Properties”.
In the window that opens, uncheck the box next to the option: “Allow the contents of files on this disk to be indexed in addition to file properties.”

Search service

Its function creates a file index, thanks to which finding various files and folders is faster. However, the speed of the SSD is quite enough to abandon it. To disable it you must:

Go to the following address: Control Panel → System and Security → Administrative Tools → Computer Management.
Go to the tab: “Services”.
Find a service " Windows search" and in the "Startup type" tab select "Disabled".

Hibernation

A mode that allows you to save content random access memory on the hard drive, so that the next time you turn it on, information and open applications from the previous session.

When using an SSD, the meaning of this function is lost, since the drive starts up quickly anyway. And “Hibernation”, creating “write-overwrite” cycles, reduces the lifespan of an SSD disk.

Disabling hibernation:

Launch cmd.exe again using the key combination win + R.
Enter the command: “powercfg -h off”.

Write caching

This feature improves the performance of your SSD. When enabled, NCQ writing and reading technology is used. NCQ - accepts multiple requests simultaneously and then arranges their execution order in such a way as to achieve maximum performance.

To connect you need:

Open the command line with the combination win + R
Enter the command: “devmgmt.msc”.
Open « Disk devices", select SSD and select "Properties" in the context menu.
Go to the “Policies” tab.
Check the box next to the option: “Allow recording caching for this device.”

Prefetch and Superfetch

Prefetch– a technology with which frequently used programs are loaded into memory in advance, thereby speeding up their subsequent launch. At the same time, on disk space a file of the same name is created.

Superfetch– a technology similar to Prefetch with the difference that the PC predicts which applications will be launched by loading them into memory in advance.

Both features are of no use when using an SSD. Therefore, it is best to turn them off. For this:

Open the command line using the key combination win + R.
Execute the command: “regedit” (go to the registry).
Follow the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → SYSTEM → CurrentControlSet → Control → Session Manager → Memory Management→ PrefetchParameters.
Find several parameters in the registry subkey: “EnablePrefetcher” and “EnableSuperfetch”, set their value to 0 (default 3).

SSD Mini Tweaker utility

All of the above actions can be performed manually, but programmers have created programs called tweakers, the purpose of which is to customize the Windows OS, as well as its individual components, with a few clicks. One such program is SSD Mini Tweaker.

SSD Mini Tweaker– a program, a type of tweaker, that allows you to optimize your SSD without much effort.

Advantages:

Complete Russification.
Works on all OS starting from Windows 7.
Free.
Clear interface.
No installation required.

other methods

Manipulations such as moving browser caches, swap files, temporary Windows folders, backing up the system from an SSD to an HDD (or disabling this feature) are useless, since although they increase the lifespan of the SSD, they limit the potential of its use.

Thus, by performing the simple manipulations listed above with your OS, you can extend the life of your drive, as well as configure it to maximum performance mode.

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 main and extra space for storing information. Many users use solid state storage as system disk, which can significantly speed up Windows.

Installing an SSD in a laptop

New models of solid-state storage devices have large volume storage memory 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 your choice.

To install the operating system, purchase models with a memory capacity of up to 120 GB. This solution has affordable price and speeds up system loading and operations related to system files by 5-6 times. Larger solid-state storage capacity is designed to store multimedia files high quality 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 presence of the necessary adapters allow you to install an SSD in the connector for optical drive. This solution allows you to expand space on your laptop and save data from 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, it is necessary to remove back cover 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 HDD replacement on an SSD or installing an additional drive, you need to make subsequent settings in 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 quick reading data. 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 earlier versions Windows 10 and subsequent updates, this section was called “Disk Optimization”, where defragmentation was redesigned to modern systems. In Windows 10, there is no need to disable this process.

Disabling the page file

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

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 high speed 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.

Currently, an ever-growing number Windows users and other operating systems as the main drives in personal computers and laptops choose SSD. 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's obvious that this type carriers 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 SSD disc, 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 BIOS to the latest available version and check that SATA mode was exhibited at AHCI. At this point, the preparatory stage of setting up the system moves to the next stage.

Installing media into your computer

When installed in a personal computer case desktop computer It is necessary to take into account the fact that the SSD drive has a 2.5-inch form factor. This means that there must be a suitable compartment in the rack design system unit or the use of special mounting brackets-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 mount with a recess, which will reduce the likelihood of failure correct 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 There are SATA connectors, since there are no adapters for the data cable.

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 have been completed of this algorithm. If after reconnection the media is not recognized by the system, then there is a high probability that the device is incompatible with your motherboard or a malfunction of one of their devices.

Installing Related Software

You can proceed directly to the installation of the Windows operating system. Features this process from installation software products on HDD practically does not exist. The steps are almost the same, starting from formatting the disk, etc. The only important thing is correct setting 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. It can be like a CD or DVD, bootable flash drive. To select, you can use BootMenu (keys F10-F12 depending on the brand of computer) or select as the first device required media SSD in 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.). Important point: if you install the system on completely new disk, then it will not be divided into logical sections. 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.

More interesting for the user may be the option of cloning an existing operating system onto a new medium. This method very convenient because SSD media have high integration with the system and will allow the operating system to start without problems. Latest versions tools allow you to clone a large set Windows versions 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 boot device, but the 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 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, you will be prompted hard formatting disk. Therefore, in case of transition from Windows, it is recommended to copy important information to a third-party independent medium.