Crucial now have a utility for their new SSDs.

[Kippa]

Just realised that no one else had posted about it. Samsung and others have had utilities for their SSDs for quite a while, but Crucial haven't had one until now. The new crucial utility is called 'Storage Executive Client' and can be downloaded from here : http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/support-storage-executive

I just used it earlier to update the SSD firmware and it went smoothly. I don't think it supports really old Crucial SSDs though they do support the latest ones.

 

[soccerballtux]

plz splain wut duz

 

[Kippa]

It shows SSD drive details such as Current usage, total bytes written to the drive, detailed SMART info and other stuff. You can update the firmware from inside the program and you can also wipe the drive as well.

 

[Dahak]

Good to know, I always wondered why Crucial did not have a utility like this

 

[ArisVer]

Nice of them, and it was about time as they have to catch up with the others in the software department. I searched their European site and could not find this, maybe it's only posted in their UK site.

I don't think it supports really old Crucial SSDs though they do support the latest ones.

The Crucial Storage Executive is compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 7 or newer, and works with the Crucial M500, M550, MX100, MX200, and BX100 SSDs.

 

[ronbo613]

It's posted on the US website as well:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/support-storage-executive

I'm going to install it and check it out.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I see no mention of a feature similar to the "controversial" Samsung RAPID.

Over the last six months, I'd experimented with a caching program called "Primo-Cache" on my laptop. Some of the criticisms of Primo were off the mark -- for instance, that it didn't do "block-level" caching -- but it does.

I have just two strategies in storage configuration for my Sandy or later systems:

Use a larger SSD (512GB or larger) for boot/system/programs.
Use a hard-disk for video capture and file storage where file access doesn't affect performance.

I'd previously had a small SSD configured for ISRT with IRST, and it worked fine.

My latest system-build only has a 256GB Samsung SSD boot-system disk. Right now, it also contains a 500GB WD Blue HDD, to which I've installed my first game download.

The laptop uses a Crucial MX100 with Primo.

So I'm contemplating some options for the second system, which was set up in AHCI mode to use the RAPID feature as I may have wanted it to.

1) I could reconfigure the system in RAID-mode so that I can use a small SSD with the HDD and ISRT. This would prevent use of RAPID.

2) I can connect the small SSD and the HDD to a spare PCI-E controller with a Marvell controller chip. Then I can use Marvell's Hyper-Duo to do the caching. This would also be in RAID mode for that particular controller.

3) I can leave everything in AHCI-mode and install Primo-CAche. Then I would configure an "L3 cache" in Primo to cache the HDD to the small SSD.

(3) seems to be the most convenient of the options. Whether it would somehow "collide" with RAPID, I can't say. But I could disable RAPID, create an equivalent RAM-cache for the Sammy drive in Primo, and create an SSD-cache for the HDD in Primo.

[Any thoughts or insights on my prospects are welcome -- just don't "diss" the Primo-Cache program. It didn't miss a lick in my 90-day trial usage, and so I bought the 3-PC license for it. The laptop is a 2007-vintage Centrino-Duo, works perfectly with its wireless-N connection, and just seems . . . . fast . . . for such an old executive-style lappie.]

 

[aviator79]

The Crucial Tool shows that a new firmware fpr my MX100 is abailable, but the update does not work. "Folder C:\Users\***\AppData\Local\Temp\1420748913463-0 is an invalid firmware update directory!". But I can't change the directory.

 

[ronbo613]

It's a pretty straightforward, basic SSD utility that runs in a web browser. Drive info, SMART data, firmware updates and secure erase, just what one would expect in a basic SSD utility.

 

[halw]

It's posted on the US website as well:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/support-storage-executive

I'm going to install it and check it out.

No Mac or Linux support.

 

[Elixer]

No Mac or Linux support.

It is writen in JAVA, and has a web interface, so it should work on those...

Utility is too cumbersome to use, crystaldiskinfo is better for SMART monitoring.

 

[Kippa]

I am just glad that Crucial now supports a drive erase if I wanted to do a 100% clean OS install.

 

[Elixer]

I am just glad that Crucial now supports a drive erase if I wanted to do a 100% clean OS install.

They always supported a secure erase, in fact, all SSDs support the secure erase command.

 

[halw]

It is writen in JAVA, and has a web interface, so it should work on those...

Utility is too cumbersome to use, crystaldiskinfo is better for SMART monitoring.

From product page --
"The Crucial Storage Executive is compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 7 or newer, "

Download is an '.exe' file.

 

[greenhawk]

The Crucial Tool shows that a new firmware fpr my MX100 is abailable, but the update does not work. "Folder C:\Users\***\AppData\Local\Temp\1420748913463-0 is an invalid firmware update directory!". But I can't change the directory.

The program is playing it safe and not allowing the update to be done on the OS drive while in windows.

Best move the drive to another machine (as a normal drive) and try again if the MX100 is the OS drive.

 

[razel]

Wow. That app runs as a web server. You can freely change the localhost to 127.0.0.1 and it still works. Luckily they were smart enough to not let it be accessible via IP address or computer name.

However closing your browser doesn't exit it. It stays running in the background on your system tray and needs to be right click to exit there. I hope they eventually simplify it or more likely this originated as an enterprise app hacked down for consumer use.