SSD Questions

Once again I have some questions about my SSD. I have a 256 GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD. I have my user folders on a 2 TB Seagate SSD. I'm looking to optimize the performance. In my bios, it says that my system boots in AHCI mode (See images). The registry also has the appropriate value set to zero. When I open Samsungs software, SSD Magician it says that I'm not booting in AHCI mode (See images).

My other questions are about OS customization:

1. This software recommends that I allot 23.8 GB of space for over provisioning. I have plenty of space left on the drive so do you think this would be a good idea or should I adjust the amount?
2. I have 16 GB worth of RAM. What would be good parameters for my virtual memory or should I just let windows handle it?
3. Should I deactivate Prefetch/Superfetch?
4. Should I activate Write-Cache Buffer Flushing?
5. How should I adjust System Restore?

Some of these settings I can judge for myself, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions on them.

ROBO731 said:

Once again I have some questions about my SSD. I have a 256 GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD. I have my user folders on a 2 TB Seagate SSD. I'm looking to optimize the performance. In my bios, it says that my system boots in AHCI mode (See images). The registry also has the appropriate value set to zero. When I open Samsungs software, SSD Magician it says that I'm not booting in AHCI mode (See images).

I'm glad to see that it's in AHCI mode.

ROBO731 said:

My other questions are about OS customization:

1. This software recommends that I allot 23.8 GB of space for over provisioning. I have plenty of space left on the drive so do you think this would be a good idea or should I adjust the amount?
2. I have 16 GB worth of RAM. What would be good parameters for my virtual memory or should I just let windows handle it?
3. Should I deactivate Prefetch/Superfetch?
4. Should I activate Write-Cache Buffer Flushing?
5. How should I adjust System Restore?

Some of these settings I can judge for myself, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions on them.

1. I don't know if over-provisioning is necessary, so I'll let someone answer that who has the definitive answer. However, I thought the days of needing to over-provision were long gone.
2. I recommend disabling the Page File entirely. It will free up about 16GB of space and it will also show you if you really need the Page File.
3. I recommend disabling both, but I don't remember why. I think it has something to do with those only benefiting hard drives.
4. You can, but if you have a power failure, then you could lose data (I don't know how much or if it's all of your data, but it sounds risky to me). Therefore, if you have an Uninterruptable Power Supply, then go ahead and enable it. Otherwise, I wouldn't enable it.
5. I have System Restore disabled, but I would leave it enabled at its default setting if you feel you'd like to be able to use it just in case.

Thanks for the suggestions. So do you think that the message from Samsung Magician is wrong? I think it's either wrong or maybe because I also have my HDD.

1. Okay, I'll wait for someone else to chime in.
2. I have disabled the page file for the SSD, is there any benefit to enabling a page file on my HDD?
3. I deactivated prefetch and superfetch. I don't think that SSDs use this feature. How will this affect my HDD?
4. I have enabled "Write Cache Buffer" which improves performance and I also enabled Write-Cache Buffer Flushing which helps prevent data loss in the event of a power failure.
5. I forgot that I have already configured System Restore, by turning it off for this drive.
6. What is the benefit of disabling the Indexing Service/Search?

A page file is needed on the C drive to capture Dump files if your system ever crashes and you need that info.
Some programs require a page file or you can get an error.
I always have a 200MB min. page file on C, and a larger one on another non-OS spinner...
Hasn't caused me any problems, and doesn't use too much space imho.
I've never had Win increase the space used from the minimum I set, but that could depend on the programs a person uses...

ROBO731 said:

Thanks for the suggestions. So do you think that the message from Samsung Magician is wrong? I think it's either wrong or maybe because I also have my HDD.

1. Okay, I'll wait for someone else to chime in.
2. I have disabled the page file for the SSD, is there any benefit to enabling a page file on my HDD?
3. I deactivated prefetch and superfetch. I don't think that SSDs use this feature. How will this affect my HDD?
4. I have enabled "Write Cache Buffer" which improves performance and I also enabled Write-Cache Buffer Flushing which helps prevent data loss in the event of a power failure.
5. I forgot that I have already configured System Restore, by turning it off for this drive.
6. What is the benefit of disabling the Indexing Service/Search?

1. Cool beans. hehe
2. If you find that some program needs the Page File, then create a small one on your solid state drive.
3. I think Prefetch and Superfetch are only for launching programs.
4. No, enabling Write-Cache Buffer Flushing presents the risk of data loss in the event of a power failure. Disable it to avoid this risk.
5. Oh, ok. :)
6. I don't know of any benefit to disabling Indexing/Search. I leave it enabled because of the benefits it provides to the user-friendliness of Windows 7.

essenbe said:

Your picture of Bios shows you have a Hatchi Hard Drive plugged into Sata port 1 and shows no SSD. The SSD should be in sata port 1 where the Hathci is currently plugged in. I suspect you have an ASMedia controller on the board, and your SSD is plugged in there which may be why it is not showing as AHCI mode.

Good catch. For some reason, I read it as this: "SSD Magician it says that I'm booting in AHCI mode (See images)." (that is, I didn't see the word "not").

That changes everything and it tells me that you're correct: the solid state drive is plugged into one of the SATA ports that are controlled by either the Marvell or ASMedia controller (whichever the case may be for this specific ASUS motherboard). It needs to be plugged into one of the brown SATA ports!

I have noticed that some strange things happen with the drive, like the option to eject the drive and something which happens at boot which didn't with my HDD. I was going to ask about it, but it looks like you guys hit the nail on the head. I'll adjust next time I shut down.

TwoCables said:

ROBO731 said:

Thanks for the suggestions. So do you think that the message from Samsung Magician is wrong? I think it's either wrong or maybe because I also have my HDD.

1. Okay, I'll wait for someone else to chime in.
2. I have disabled the page file for the SSD, is there any benefit to enabling a page file on my HDD?
3. I deactivated prefetch and superfetch. I don't think that SSDs use this feature. How will this affect my HDD?
4. I have enabled "Write Cache Buffer" which improves performance and I also enabled Write-Cache Buffer Flushing which helps prevent data loss in the event of a power failure.
5. I forgot that I have already configured System Restore, by turning it off for this drive.
6. What is the benefit of disabling the Indexing Service/Search?

1. Cool beans. hehe
2. If you find that some program needs the Page File, then create a small one on your solid state drive.
3. I think Prefetch and Superfetch are only for launching programs.
4. No, enabling Write-Cache Buffer Flushing presents the risk of data loss in the event of a power failure. Disable it to avoid this risk.
5. Oh, ok. :)
6. I don't know of any benefit to disabling Indexing/Search. I leave it enabled because of the benefits it provides to the user-friendliness of Windows 7.

Well, here's what the software says about Write Cache Buffer and Write-Cache Buffer Flushing:

If you are using the Windows Write-Cache Buffer and experience a loss of power or a device failure, any data stored in the cache memory could be lost or corrupted. Windows Write-Cache Buffer Flushing should be enabled to ensure data integrity. In particular, this feature is important if your SSD is being used in a server application. When using an SSD and HDD together, this feature should also be turned on.

Right now, I have both enabled.

Here's what it says about the Indexing Service/Search:

Windows automatically indexes the contents of data files stored on the disk in order to produce very fast keyword search results.
In addition to taking up extra space on the storage device, this feature requires frequent read/write operations.

However, I like having fast searches so I think I'll keep this enabled.

I've also created a 1 GB page file as essenbe suggested as well as a 1600 MB page file on my HDD and I also adjusting system restore according to your suggestion. I'm not short on space right now so it's not really a big deal.

Thanks for all the help guys.

I was confused earlier. The option says "Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on this device". If you enable this, then it turns off write-cache buffer flushing. If you disable it, then write-cache buffer flushing is allowed to stay on.

I was thinking that you wanted to enable this option so that it turns off write-cache buffer flushing which is exactly what you don't want to do. So do not place a check mark on this option.