defrag an ssd

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  1. Posts : 180
    XP windows Professional
       #1

    defrag an ssd


    does anyone know if you can "defrag" an ssd ? thanks
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  2. Posts : 3,371
    W10 Pro desktop, W11 laptop, W11 Pro tablet (all 64-bit)
       #2

    It's recommended that you never defrag an ssd since an ssd purposely spreads writes over the entire disk to prevent over utilizing the same data cells.
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  3. Posts : 21,004
    Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
       #3

    Actually if I am not sadly mistaken Windows "sees" SSD's and turns off the defrag. Depending on the brand most SSD's have their own optimizing software but it can be overdone a bit.

    But to check see this Disk Defragmenter Schedule- Turn On or Off

    another good tutorial is this Optimize Windows 7
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  4. Posts : 4,161
    Windows 7 Pro-x64
       #4

    strollin said:
    It's recommended that you never defrag an ssd since an ssd purposely spreads writes over the entire disk to prevent over utilizing the same data cells.
    Ditto 100%. While you can force a defrag on a SSD, it is not advised since the drive firmware won't make the files contiguous anyway because of the way files are written to a used SSD.

    When a SSD is new, all writes go to unused cells first. As files are deleted, the cells are marked available but won't be reused until all cells are used. This is part of the wear leveling process so a group of cells aren't used over and over while others aren't used at all. This is why a SSD is fastest when new. Everything gets written to new areas. And a good reason not to go overboard on SSD Benchmark testing.

    On used SSDs, the entire disk is used so defragging will just reuse cells in whatever order they are available. There's no guarantee that the cells will be contiguous in anything but 512 byte blocks within a 4k segment. Hence, the file data won't be contiguous. All you're doing is taking away from the usage limit of the drive. (Wear on cells.)
    Last edited by carwiz; 07 Jul 2014 at 08:29. Reason: correction - underlined
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  5. Posts : 4,161
    Windows 7 Pro-x64
       #5

    I might mention that a worthy item to add to the Optimize Windows 7 link posted by John (ICit2lol) would be to move Windows' temporary and internet cache files off of a SSD. Files that are constantly being deleted and rewritten should not be on a SSD unless it's the only drive you have.
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  6. Posts : 21,004
    Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
       #6

    Hmm I think we tend to worry about wear and tear on SSD's most are quoted for use for a very long time 1.5 million hours SSD life? - SSD - Storage

    Solid-state drive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia < see wear levelling
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  7. Posts : 4,161
    Windows 7 Pro-x64
       #7

    Yes, I've seen the tests but they do wear out and they do slow down. I've had mine installed since January of 2011 and it's down 3% of usable life. Granted, it will outlast this PC (and probably me) but why push it? :)

    The point is; A defrag on a SSD does nothing for file data continuity.
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  8. Posts : 21,004
    Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
       #8

    carwiz said:
    Yes, I've seen the tests but they do wear out and they do slow down. I've had mine installed since January of 2011 and it's down 3% of usable life. Granted, it will outlast this PC (and probably me) but why push it? :)

    The point is; A defrag on a SSD does nothing for file data continuity.
    Hmm well I wasn't disputing anything anyone said just that I and another well known member were just saying the other day that the optimizing stuff is really overly done.
    I meant to not infer that I know everything about them or that everyone else knew little about them.
    I'll just butt out.
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  9. Posts : 1,846
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64, & Mac OS X 10.9.2
       #9

    I dont honestly get all this scare mongering and worrying.. any computer component can die at ANY time.. yet you never hear "will using my monitor a lot make it break quicker?" or "should I only use word on my $700 i7 to stop it working too hard!?"

    if it breaks it breaks.. thats the be all and end all of it. you could get 100000000000000 hours use, or 1000.. nobody can put a figure on the life span as no 2 drives will ever do the same amount of work.

    I treat my ssd like any other hard drive.. I dont worry about it and I dont treat it like im treading on eggshells.

    all my date is backed up multiple times, so any failure will just result in the cost of a new drive and the time it takes to reinstall windows!
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  10. Posts : 3,371
    W10 Pro desktop, W11 laptop, W11 Pro tablet (all 64-bit)
       #10

    For the most part, I also treat my ssds as "just another drive". However, in regards to defragging, it's not a matter of making the ssd last longer, it's simply that running defrag on the ssd will not create files that are contiguous due to the way writes are spread across the drive so defragging an ssd is pointless.
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