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Author Topic: Switching to SSD  (Read 3292 times)

PeterAit

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Switching to SSD
« on: August 12, 2011, 06:30:41 pm »

I am considering switching to an SSD for my boot/program drive. Is there any trick to making the change-over? I was thinking I could make a disk image backup, swap the hardware, then boot off my recovery CD and restore the image to the SSD. Is this right?

Also, is there any speed advantage to putting 2 SSDs in RAID 0?

Thanks.
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ErikKaffehr

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Re: Switching to SSD
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2011, 10:58:31 pm »

Hi,

Easiest way is to use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone of the boot drive to SSD and than change the SSD to boot disk. You need to partition it with GUID format to be bootable.

This may help: http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToUpgradeBootDrive.html

Best regards
Erik



I am considering switching to an SSD for my boot/program drive. Is there any trick to making the change-over? I was thinking I could make a disk image backup, swap the hardware, then boot off my recovery CD and restore the image to the SSD. Is this right?

Also, is there any speed advantage to putting 2 SSDs in RAID 0?

Thanks.
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Erik Kaffehr
 

Schewe

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Re: Switching to SSD
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2011, 12:16:37 am »

I am considering switching to an SSD for my boot/program drive.

Note that SSD's should NOT be run at near capacity...the way SSDs allocate block space is fixed (a rather large block size I believe). The way around it is for the drive to decrease the overall capacity of the drive over time. Filling an SSD much past 50% capacity will cause an eventual slowdown of the speed over time. How long that takes depends on the average file size of data being written to the drive.

Modified to correct a spelling error...
« Last Edit: August 13, 2011, 05:06:22 am by Schewe »
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neile

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Re: Switching to SSD
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2011, 02:28:18 am »

I take the opportunity to do a full purge when moving to an SSD. I realize it's not for everyone, but since my OS/app drive is usually just that anyway, it's a relatively painless process and I get a nice fresh clean start.

Neil
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Steve Weldon

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Re: Switching to SSD
« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2011, 11:55:19 am »

I am considering switching to an SSD for my boot/program drive. Is there any trick to making the change-over? I was thinking I could make a disk image backup, swap the hardware, then boot off my recovery CD and restore the image to the SSD. Is this right?

Also, is there any speed advantage to putting 2 SSDs in RAID 0?

Thanks.
a.  You'll get more of a performance boost from adding an SSD as a system/program drive than any other system upgrade, with few exceptions.  You'll love it.

b.  No real trick, but there are a few things you need to setup differently for an SSD.  First, for maximum performance you'll want to change the drive type in your BIOS from IDE to ACHI.  This can make a huge difference so don't put it off.  Next, you'll want to make sure you connect it to a matching SATA (1, 2, or 3 port) or higher.  For instance, a SATA II device should be connected to a SATA II or SATA III port, but never a SATA I.  What SATA ports your system has, or if you'll be upgrading your system soon, should be a consideration when choosing your SSD.

c.  For technical reasons I won't go into, if your system was initially built with Vista or Win7 (or OSx) you'll be fine transferring an image.  If XP there might be some issues and you'll need to check some things. 

d.  Yes, a SATA SSD sets up just like a mechanical HDD so no worries restoring an image.  Just be sure to read 'b.' above.

e.  Yes, you can see huge performance gains by RAIDing SSD's just like mechanical SSD's.  However, there are better options today such as OCZ's Revodrives which do the RAID for you or even the newer fast SATA III breed like the OCZ Vertex 3's.

I just put up a short review that discusses a friends upgrade to an SSD and the choices he made based on the specs of his current system and his personal priorities.  Perhaps you'll find it useful.  He ended up with the Intel 320 Series.
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K.C.

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Re: Switching to SSD
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2011, 03:05:48 am »

Not to rain on Steve's SSD parade, but do realize that SSDs are in their infancy and can have some major glitches like any new technology. Keep a backup of the original drive handy just in case you run into problems. SSD fixes can take weeks, even months.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/238065/intel_to_issue_bug_fix_for_ssd_320_drives_in_two_weeks.html

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Steve Weldon

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Re: Switching to SSD
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2011, 04:53:43 am »

Not to rain on Steve's SSD parade, but do realize that SSDs are in their infancy and can have some major glitches like any new technology. Keep a backup of the original drive handy just in case you run into problems. SSD fixes can take weeks, even months.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/238065/intel_to_issue_bug_fix_for_ssd_320_drives_in_two_weeks.html



Not to worry, my parade even has ticker tape, elephants, and shriners in tiny cars.

SSD's aren't quite in their "infancy", though I suppose it depends on your perspective.  And "major" glitches are another matter of perspective.  Pay attention to any drive manufacturer, motherboards, CPU's, chipsets, well.. anything to do with computers.. and televisions, cars, washing machines, and hair dryers.. and yes.. there are "glitches" of all types.

I think you'll find them less frequent than most major computer parts.  Take the one you posted for instance.  It was so rare Intel themselves had a hard time replicating it.  It happened during a certain sequence of events following a power outage.  It also was totally correctable by using Intels free toolbox and would have the drive back in operation in minutes, though you did need to restore your drive from your backup image.  SO it wasn't like you were stuck without a drive for months.  If you were unlucky enough for the stars to line up and hit your drive, you simply fixed it with their tool kit, restored, and got back to the business of using your computer.

The nice thing about this, is Intel has been right on top of it.  Hard drives that have such issues (and they have many more just due to there's a lot more of them out there, many more models, more numbers, etc) rarely get such attention.  They quietly get new revisions sent out to the stores, RMA's issued, and users take it in stride, perhaps writing off a certain brand for a while.  Crucial C300's for instance are on their 7th firmware revision.  I have three of them.  I didn't lose a single days use from either one of them.

But if you're trying to say that SSD's are so new they have all these issues making them some sort of major risk, or more of a risk than mechanical drives.. then no, that wouldn't be the case at all.   SSD's are as reliable as any other computer component you're likely to use in an average system.  HOWEVER your advice is solid:  ALWAYS keep a backup image of your system drive.  Always keep a backup image of all your data.  In fact, several.  Keep some off-site too.  It's a known fact computer components fail.
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PierreVandevenne

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Re: Switching to SSD
« Reply #7 on: August 17, 2011, 09:06:59 am »

Note that SSD's should NOT be run at near capacity...the way SSDs allocate block space is fixed (a rather large block size I believe). The way around it is for the drive to decrease the overall capacity of the drive over time. Filling an SSD much past 50% capacity will cause an eventual slowdown of the speed over time.

Seems a good approximate value is around 70%, but that depends on the controller and firmware. At some point, garbage collection and trim cease to work optimally. It should also be noted that some disks use controllers who compress data on the fly, some don't. That can lead to very different levels of performance depending on the compressibility of the file. There's one way around it through a process called "reservation" and some drives such as the ones used as cache in multi-level storage systems are almost constantly operating at full capacity (the reservation process is hidden).

But one should remember that hard drives also see their performance diminish at the inside end of their platters where the transfer speed varies between 70% and 50% of the speed at the start of the disk. Less spectacular than SSDs, but nonetheless a significant factor in overall system performance degradation.

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