How to trim a ssd

[Gonzo1971]

Hi

I've just built my new system that includes an ssd disk and Windows 7. I've read that trimming is very important. Does win 7 trim it automatically? Or where is the option to do it manually? It's my first approach to win 7 and ssd so i'm bit lost.

Thank's in advance!

 

[Zap]

Win7 = automatic Trim.

 

[Emulex]

as long as you installed to the ssd trim=enabled. if you cloned, could be different depending on the source. best to clean install imo

 

[Gonzo1971]

as long as you installed to the ssd trim=enabled. if you cloned, could be different depending on the source. best to clean install imo

I just instal win 7 Pro from zero on a new and empty OCZ Vertex3 SSD. I've just tried to use the command "fsutil.exe behavior query DisableDeleteNotify" to check if it's enabled but it says that I need Administrator Privileges to run it. But in fact I'm the only user and I've checked and I have administrator privileges. Any idea how to run it? or is there another way to check that the trim is working properly?

Another question. Then Win 7 makes the trim automatically? No need to care about it then? And also can I force it somehow?

Thanks for your answers!

 

[BogdanH]

...Another question. Then Win 7 makes the trim automatically? No need to care about it then?

Yes, Win7 makes trim automatically and you don't need to care about that.

...And also can I force it somehow?

This question assumes that you don't believe Win7 does that automatically
I won't ask what you expect by "forcing" trim... sudden performance increase perhaps? It doesn't work like that.. and especially not for SandForce driven SSD's. I suggest you visit OCZ forum, where many usefull info is available.
Yes, it is possible to force trim with dedicated tool, but that doesn't change things a bit. Think it that way: trim is just a command which OS sends toward SSD, like "now the time is right, you can execute trim". SSD controller gets this message for sure, but it's the controller (SandForce, in this case), who decides what to do.. if there's something needed to be done at all. You force trim, SandForce thinks "..I've heard you, but there's nothing to be done...". You force again, and.. you get the idea.
Above, there's emphasis on SandForce controller, which automatically compresses data when saving. Meaning: only controller knows where and how the data is located and if trim can actually be executed -when that's possible, controller wil do that.

Greetings

 

[Nothinman]

I just instal win 7 Pro from zero on a new and empty OCZ Vertex3 SSD. I've just tried to use the command "fsutil.exe behavior query DisableDeleteNotify" to check if it's enabled but it says that I need Administrator Privileges to run it. But in fact I'm the only user and I've checked and I have administrator privileges. Any idea how to run it? or is there another way to check that the trim is working properly?

Another question. Then Win 7 makes the trim automatically? No need to care about it then? And also can I force it somehow?

Thanks for your answers!

As long as the SSD is detected properly and it supports TRIM, then Win7 should do TRIM automatically. In Win7 even though you're account is an administrator all of your processes run unpriviledged until you escalate them with UAC. To run cmd as admin you have to right-click on it and hit Run as Administrator, confirm via UAC and then anything you run will execute as admin.

 

[taltamir]

I would like to clarify something... windows 7 detecting an SSD only matters for it to automatically exclude the SSD from automatic defragmenting.

Windows 7 ALWAYS Sends a trim command when a file is deleted. It does NOT care or check if you have an SSD or a spindle drive, it always sends it.
Any drive without a severe firmware bug ignores all unknown commands sent to it, so any time you delete a file on a spindle drive win7 sends it a trim command and it ignores it. Any time you delete a file on an SSD win7 sends it a trim command and it performs it.

"fsutil.exe behavior query DisableDeleteNotify" is absolutely unnecessary to perform. "DisableDeleteNotify" = "disable trim". The only way for windows7 to have trim disabled is you manually disabled it for some reason, or if you installed a program that disabled it. I have never heard of either case actually occurring.

The only thing you actually need to do if using windows 7 for an SSD is to enable AHCI (in the bios)... and only because AHCI allows NCQ which vastly improves SSD performance... but ALSO significantly improves most modern spindle drive performance as well. Be warned that if you have installed windows with the bios set to IDE mode, then switching to AHCI requires first enabling the AHCI drive in win7 manually or else the computer will blue screen every time windows tries to run.

 

[Zap]

Windows 7 ALWAYS Sends a trim command when a file is deleted. It does NOT care or check if you have an SSD or a spindle drive, it always sends it.

I didn't know that. Learn something new every day.

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

Not to derail but just wanted to make sure I don't miss out on learning something new myslelf....

There is no way to TRIM in Win Vista right? No 3rd party app/windows mod to allow for it, even if it is just a run-once thing?

 

[Nothinman]

Not to derail but just wanted to make sure I don't miss out on learning something new myslelf....

There is no way to TRIM in Win Vista right? No 3rd party app/windows mod to allow for it, even if it is just a run-once thing?

I don't see why it wouldn't be possible, you just need an app that understands NTFS in order to get a list of the free pages and then sends a TRIM command to the drive for them. Whether something like that exists or not, I have no idea.

 

[Mark R]

Not to derail but just wanted to make sure I don't miss out on learning something new myslelf....

There is no way to TRIM in Win Vista right? No 3rd party app/windows mod to allow for it, even if it is just a run-once thing?

The manufacturers may provide something to do it.

Intel provides a TRIM tool for XP/Vista (but it's limited so it only runs on Intel drives). You can run it on a schedule once per week to keep your drive optimised.

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

My drive is an OCZ Vertex 2, but thanks I'll look into it!

 

[Gonzo1971]

As long as the SSD is detected properly and it supports TRIM, then Win7 should do TRIM automatically. In Win7 even though you're account is an administrator all of your processes run unpriviledged until you escalate them with UAC. To run cmd as admin you have to right-click on it and hit Run as Administrator, confirm via UAC and then anything you run will execute as admin.

How do I see that W7 is detecting the SSD not a normal HD?
What's the UAC abbreviation means?

Thank you for your help!

 

[Dahak]

What's the UAC abbreviation means?

It stands for User Account Control, and what it does as Nothinman mention all of the actions run at a user level account and anything that requires changing system protected files or locations will prompt you to allow those changes. ie when installing programs it will popup a window asking if ok.

It is was designed to help eliminate issues where people sometimes mistakenly delete or mess up system settings. Also it suppose to help prevent some types of malware from installing, but I have still seen it happen.

 

[taltamir]

How do I see that W7 is detecting the SSD not a normal HD?
What's the UAC abbreviation means?

Thank you for your help!

Go to "disk defragmenter", it will show your spindle drives as last run on schedule while the SSDs would show "never run"

 

[Gonzo1971]

Go to "disk defragmenter", it will show your spindle drives as last run on schedule while the SSDs would show "never run"

Then my Win 7 does not recognize the ssd. I had to turn of the run on schedule for my ssd. Any clues on how can Imake win 7 to recognize it? I've updated the storage drivers to the latest ones. The SSD is conected to an Asus P8Z68 Pro Mobo in the intel Z68 SATA6 port (not the marvell)

 

[taltamir]

Then my Win 7 does not recognize the ssd. I had to turn of the run on schedule for my ssd.

I highly doubt it failed to recognize it as an SSD. (and do recall that recognition doesn't matter for trim; but it does for other things)

Windows does not disable the scheduled defragmenting, as defragmenting is not scheduled on a per drive basis. Instead it will run the defrag program on schedule, find only SSDs, and shut down without defragmenting them. If a drive is added later it will be defragged / excluded based on whether it is an SSD or not..

Note how my two SSD based partitions are showing as "never run" while my spindle HDD shows it has been. This tells me it correctly identified it as an SSD and is excluding it.
Note that it IS possible to manually force it to defrag the SSD via that menu by pressing the defrag disk button (which is a silly oversight) so please don't do that.

 

[Gonzo1971]

I highly doubt it failed to recognize it as an SSD. (and do recall that recognition doesn't matter for trim; but it does for other things)

Windows does not disable the scheduled defragmenting, as defragmenting is not scheduled on a per drive basis. Instead it will run the defrag program on schedule, find only SSDs, and shut down without defragmenting them. If a drive is added later it will be defragged / excluded based on whether it is an SSD or not..

Note how my two SSD based partitions are showing as "never run" while my spindle HDD shows it has been. This tells me it correctly identified it as an SSD and is excluding it.
Note that it IS possible to manually force it to defrag the SSD via that menu by pressing the defrag disk button (which is a silly oversight) so please don't do that.

Thanks! Great explanation! I will check when I'm back home. Printouts are very helpful!