Ideas for customizing the OS with SSD please ?

Nice, but half of these things have nothing to do with SSD performance.

Hi blah ... (380 degrees ?)

I wanted a complete list with and without SSD relevant settings.

Cov said:

Hi blah ... (380 degrees ?)

I wanted a complete list with and without SSD relevant settings.

Sorry, the title of the thread threw me off.

Hello! The 380 is arbitrary, don't mind it.

Um, perhaps add customize folder view options.
Start -> control panel -> appearance and personalization -> folder options -> view -> check: show hidden files, folders, and drives. uncheck: hide extensions for known file types. uncheck: hide protected operating system files.

1. Temporary Internet Folder: Under Internet Explorer go to the “Tools”, then to which will bring up Internet Options, then go to Browser History and hit “Settings”, Go to Current Location and hit “Move Folder” then proceed to move the folder to your alternate location, IE secondary Drive or a None SSD or OS drive.

2. Move the “Temp and Tmp” files: Go to \My Computer\\Properties\\Advanced\\Environment Variables\, then highlight the "temp or tmp" depending on which one you’re working on, pick the variable, click edit, and Change the path to another hard drive if they are located on the Solid State with the “Variable Value Field”.

3. PIO Mode: Make sure the SSD is not running in PIO mode. To verify that go into the Device Manager, open IDE ATA / ATAPI controllers and double-click all Primary and Secondary IDE Channels. Verify that there are no signs of PIO Mode under the Current Transfer Mode entry in Advanced Settings. It should list Ultra DMA Mode 5 by default on there.

I just checked and it even says Ultra DMA Mode 6

Cov said:

1. Temporary Internet Folder: Under Internet Explorer go to the “Tools”, then to which will bring up Internet Options, then go to Browser History and hit “Settings”, Go to Current Location and hit “Move Folder” then proceed to move the folder to your alternate location, IE secondary Drive or a None SSD or OS drive.

2. Move the “Temp and Tmp” files: Go to \My Computer\\Properties\\Advanced\\Environment Variables\, then highlight the "temp or tmp" depending on which one you’re working on, pick the variable, click edit, and Change the path to another hard drive if they are located on the Solid State with the “Variable Value Field”.

3. PIO Mode: Make sure the SSD is not running in PIO mode. To verify that go into the Device Manager, open IDE ATA / ATAPI controllers and double-click all Primary and Secondary IDE Channels. Verify that there are no signs of PIO Mode under the Current Transfer Mode entry in Advanced Settings. It should list Ultra DMA Mode 5 by default on there.

I just checked and it even says Ultra DMA Mode 6

It's your thread, just edit it into your original post, lol.

Sorry if I sound ... direct, but I really wish you'd spend less time compiling tips from retarded sites and more reading documentation.


• How to modify UAC
This has no bearing on performance, SSD or not.

• How to disable Page File
Disabling page file has several implications, none of which you have considered. Inability to boot in case of emergency is one. Additionally, you convinced the OS to crash all your applications instead of slowing them, down upon reaching the limit. This is equivalent to uninstalling the seatbelt to lighten the car. SSDs are recognized as such and minimal swapping occurs on them. Also, by nature, swapping is last-resort.

The best I can do on this topic is advice to move the swapfile on another drive, magnetic, to save SSDs, but really, you end up swapping in any significant amount then your cash is misspent on a SSD. You should be purchasing more RAM.

But if your aim is performance then you should be swapping on a SSD, since it's WAY faster.

• How to disable System Restore
Seatbelts. If you must, lower the storage limit. An unrecoverable system is not very fast.

• How to turn off Search Indexing
That's just vile, OK? Sorry. First, on a SSD indexing takes neigh nothing. Secondly, the ability to instant-search speeds up productivity tenfold at the expense of 2 points in some synthetic benchmark. A full index on a serveral-terabyte storage class saves you minutes in waiting time. You will never recover those minutes by disabling indexing. You also lose the advantages of libraries.

Let's not forget that a PC spends 99%+ of its resources waiting for you to do something. The time it takes for it to search a file (keeping you busy) does not equate the the time when you surf the web and the indexing service creeps on your almost-idle drives.

It's like time on the twe sides of the bathroom door. One is critical, the other is not.

• How to turn off Remote Differential Compression
RDC is designed to help with network transfers. You assumed that nobody has networks or does transfers through them. Also, I can't find any other evidence to such gains.

· How to remove the recycle bin
Right click desktop › Personalize › change desktop icons › untick recycle bin

This does nothing to remove the recycle bin. This hides the icon from the desktop. Total impact zero. Additionally, you can't empty the bin and, as a result, have less free space. This equates in reusing the free cells on a SSD more often than if you would have more free space.

In the long run, this damages the SSDs. You can just lower the limit or don't delete to Recycle Bin.

· How to disable defragmentation & Superfetch
Superfetch is good, even on SSDs. RTFM. Also, correctly installed/recognized SSDs are not defragmented.

Additionally, the data that background taks optimize is minimal. Windows does not perform a defrag on idle, just an optimisation of boot files. Impact on SSD life is minimal.

· How to change title text of Internet Explorer
That helps.

· How to change border padding for windows
Ditto. Plus, now it's ugly.

• Windows uses 20% of your bandwidth, here's how to get it back
Don't you think someone would complain if someone (else) would eat 20% of something? Open a damned book. Really, that's just ... people do this all the time and complain afterwards.

QOS is a setting of how much Windows will reserve from a FULLY LOADED LINK when an application that requests Quality of Service needs it. To put things into perspective, applications that do stuff like streaming need a constant stream of data more than they need bandwidth. Your legal downloads of things that are not what I think they are need bandwidth. If you watch TV online or chat via skype, then they need a few K, but they need it before the movie ends.

Such applications can reserve PRIORITY over a certain percent of the link, so if they need it, they get it from the torrent file. That means that when Skype sends a packet, it is moved to the front of the queue, delaying your Torrent packet by 1/100 second. This you don't notice. You would the other way around.

Just like setting CMD.exe to real-time priority doesn't make the CPU go at 100%, setting skype to have 10% reserved will not limit the link, it will simply allow it to take up to 10% from other applications should they fight over bandwidth.

Stop copy-pasting stuff you don't understand, that's why your IPTV works like it's been assembled in Amish Country. And that's why after "tuning" a system to high performance the forums are full of people blaming the drivers, the net, the moon and anyhting other than the registry it modified.

• How to access the Disk Management Console Tool
Start › diskmgmt.msc

Here's a thought: Right-click on "My Computer" or "Computer", depending on OS, and choose "manage". That will give you access to Disk Management as well as just about everything else you need. It works with the start menu "Computer" as well as any shortcuts!

• Turn off automatic update
Yeah. Who needs patches? Also, it takes up a bundle.

· How to clean the HDD / SSD
Start › cleanmgr (or use CCleaner)

Right-click on C:, properties, clean up.

· How to access Resource Monitor
Start › Resource Monitor

Nice. Also, Start > everything else.
Oh, one more thing. That feature with start and type whatever you need? It's based on indexing. See how turning stuff off kinda brakes other stuff?

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Look, it's not personal, but the point is that the only reason these things are out there is because people copy and paste it without opening a book, looking them up or at least trying to filter them. The more you copy them, the more people will think that since it's everywhere, it must be true.

And because nobody takes the time to disassemble them, more people think they are fine since nobody had a problem with them.

Save for disabling defrag on the SSDs, there's little of the above that helps, some are downright the oposite of what someone should do to their PCs.

I know it seems like you are helping, I know you want to do good, but you are not.

Save yourself the trouble and stop modifying the OS on a whim and you'll understand why some people didn't have to reinstall Windows since 2003 while others think it's like unrefrigerated meat and needs throwing away after 3 months.

If you want to help performance, save for some RAM or a new CPU. You'll never out-bench or outperform a superior system via tweaks.

- probably true - even if a bit harsh..
- tweaking shouldn't be done if you're not 100% sure of the outcome..

- any advice on usage of SSD's should contain info on moving folders off the SSD and onto storage HDD's
- keeping the SSD clean and reserved for those progs and apps that you really want going at **"Ludicrous Speed" is most important..

- I'd put the OS,and all that it entails (- including the swapfile) on the SSD, for faster booting
- from then on, then it's really horses for courses - whatever suits your own requirements..

- I have MSOffice2000(a total of 7 programs) with the MSOffice2007Standard upgrade(4 programs) and the Corel GraphicsX4/Painter11(5 programs) suite on the SSD, for fast access..
- now that's already a sizeable chunk of SSD space, but it suits my particular needs regarding speed of access, etc
- however, any saves from these progs are sent to the storage HDD, to avoid build-up..

- particular games that seem to prefer a fast environment are also installed to the SSD (X3:Terran Conflict is a good example of this, in my case..)
- some games simply thrive in the SSD environment - Farcry 2 is amazingly fast in 64-bit via the solid disk..
- other, slower-paced games don't really benefit from the speed - unless you're simply impatient by nature..
- a slow-paced game like Medieval II and its expansion are probably better installed on the HDD due to size of the database (17 gig!!)
- Football Manager is another good example of a game to install on the storage HDD, as it too has a very large database..

- any folders that have a tendency to grow like topsy can also be moved off the SSD
- the My Pictures, My Music and My Video folders can be easily moved to the storage HDD,
- Windows Media Player automatically remembers the storage location and responds accordingly..

**(- thanks to Mel Brooks' SpaceBalls for that reference..!!)

Hi, in fact I leave the 80GB SSD for the OS, Word and 1 PC game only.

All the storage of videos, music, pictures, documents or any other software is on my WD10EADS.

Sometimes, when I intend to use the internet only, I disconnect the WD10EADS, resulting in the most economical and quitest PC system I ever had in my life.
I just wished the damn Zotac board would allow the CPU to be undervolted.

Also do I notice that the NB gets rather hot. Anything I could do about it ?

By the way, you know the Windows Experience Index has changed:

.. for CPU from 6.6 (E8400) to 7.3 (Q9550)

.. for RAM from 6.8 (4 GB) to 7.3 (8 GB)

.. for primary HDD from 5.3 (HDD) to 7.7 (SSD)


Don't know how reliable these numbers are, but still interesting.