HDD & games question

[Nevakonaza]

I thought this would be the right place to post...

I have the OS + antivirus installed to my 60GB SSD and nothing else,everything else is installed to a seperate 250Gb hard drive.

Now GTA IV and all my other games are installed on my 250Gb drive,so if i format the SSD and re-install windows...will all my games still work from the 250Gb without the need to re-install the game or will there be some sort of problem?

 

[stormy13]

Some will and some won't. Only way to find out is on a clean install try running the games from their exe's. If it runs then it is just a matter of creating a shortcut and putting it in the games Explorer folder or on the desktop (or wherever you want it).

If it doesn't then yes it will have to be re-installed. For some there is a way around this that I have done for the few of my games that won't work on a clean Windows install. I went searching and found the necessary registry entries for the games and have them all saved in a .reg file. Then on a clean Windows install I just merge the file, create (actually already have them made in the game(s) folders) the shortcuts and good to go.

If you want to try and track down the registry entries official or fan sites area good place to start. Can't say if they have it for them all, but EA is pretty good about having manual uninstall instructions for a lot of their games (I ran a single BF2 install for about 3 years and across XP, Vista and 7 this way). It can be a bit of work to find some of them, but still faster depending on the game(s) than having to re-install them all.

If they are Steam games I believe this is what you need to follow,

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8794-YPHV-2033

if it isn't pretty sure someone will be along with the correct tutorial.

 

[spyknee]

You do not format SSD's from OCZ.
You need to perform a Sanitary Erase before a clean install.
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?186-Vertex-Agility-Turbo-Solid-V2-Summit-Colossus-and-Z-Drive-with-Microsoft-OS.

 

[Nevakonaza]

@stormy13 THANKS il read through that!

You do not format SSD's from OCZ.
You need to perform a Sanitary Erase before a clean install.
Indilinx - Vertex, Agility, Turbo, Solid V2, Colossus and Z-Drive with Microsoft OS.

Never knew about that sanitary erase,...does normal formatting hurt the SSD then because i formatted it before installing windows before?

Btw i downloaded Sanitary erase,it seems it only opens within windows? how can i format the SSD if its in use? :huh:

btw i noticed that apps for Indilinx ocz drives,Mines the new Sandforce Ocz vertex 2 drive..better than the old indilinx controller.

 

[Wishmaster]

Formatting will not hurt the drive.

Sanitary Erase simply 'resets" all the blocks to an Empty Status.

Youll need to place SE on a thumb drive.

Boot from the Windows DVD and at the install Screen press Shift+F10 to open the cmd prompt.

type:
diskpart
then:
list volume
(make note of the thumb drive letter)

exit disk part

type: [thumb drive letter] / sanitary_erase.exe

It will guide you through the rest.

Ive done this once or twice on my OCZ drive, never made any difference. But its a secondary drive.

I have never done anything more than a normal format for my other SSD that has the OS.
I havent noticed any differences, and its still just as fast after multiple re-installs months later (at least according to AS SSD benchmark) as the day I bought it.
But my OS SSD is a Intel so that may be a difference, I don't know.

 

[Nevakonaza]

Formatting will not hurt the drive.

Sanitary Erase simply 'resets" all the blocks to an Empty Status.

Youll need to place SE on a thumb drive.

Boot from the Windows DVD and at the install Screen press Shift+F10 to open the cmd prompt.

type:
diskpart
then:
list volume
(make note of the thumb drive letter)

exit disk part

type: [thumb drive letter] / sanitary_erase.exe

It will guide you through the rest.

Ive done this once or twice on my OCZ drive, never made any difference. But its a secondary drive.

I have never done anything more than a normal format for my other SSD that has the OS.
I havent noticed any differences, and its still just as fast after multiple re-installs months later (at least according to AS SSD benchmark) as the day I bought it.
But my OS SSD is a Intel so that may be a difference, I don't know.

awesome thanks that helped alot
i have a 4gb flash drive so ican transfer that sanitary eraser over to that and do what you said when i re-install windows again

 

[spyknee]

SE resets the drive to factory fresh, very necessary.
Since you are re-installing the OS, check for FW updates. You want at minimum FW 1.5.
Using the thumb drive is a common method. SE operates as a windows app and is installed in a windows machine to work.
You can use a second machine with SE on it. Hook up SSD to it an SE the drive.
Your using an Intel chipset so the thumb drive should work.
I strongly suggest going to the OCZ Vertex forums before doing anything. They have FW updates, SE all available for DL. Plus mucho valuble SSD info.

 

[Wishmaster]

Think we are up to FW1.6 now BTW for our OCZ drives.