SSD is perhaps the most decisive component of the computer when it comes to speed. In simple terms of comparison we can say without fear of dispute that an old PC with a processor of 6 or 8 years ago that monsta SSD is significantly faster than a new PC with hard disk.
As written in two different guides, it is in fact possible to make an old laptop bought a few years ago come back quickly and give new life to an old PC by changing a few parts, including above all the hard disk.
The difference between SSD and Hard disk is more important that while SSDs do not use moving mechanical components, but they are solid memories whose reading is much faster than that of a head on disk.
Who owns a computer with SSD must also change the configuration of Windows in order to optimize the speed of the solid state drive, especially to keep them intact for as long as possible.
The problem with SSDs is that, if misused, they degrade quickly losing that initial speed .
While there is more work to do on Windows 7, Windows 10 offers numerous features that allow SSDs to work at their full potential, but they are not always configurations enabled by default.
Also, compared to a few years ago, the rules have changed to keep the SSD fast and make it last longer .
1) Update the firmware
To ensure the maximum performance of the SSD it is important to keep its firmware updated.
To do this, you need to download and install the unit management program, provided by the manufacturer.
For example, for Samsung SSDs, you can use the Samsung Magician program which in addition to updating the firmware includes all the options to optimize the SSD.
Each SSD manufacturer has its own method for SSD firmware updates, so you need to visit the official websites of the SSD manufacturers and follow the related guides from there.
A useful tool to help us is CrystalDiskInfo, which shows in-depth information about the SSD, including the firmware version.
2) Enable AHCI
AHCI stands for Advanced Host Controller Interface and is a fundamental function to ensure that Windows supports all the functionality of an SSD on the computer.
In particular, it ensures that the TRIM function is active, which allows Windows to correctly use the SSD in the data deletion procedure.
To enable AHCI, you will have to intervene from the BIOS, which is different for each computer.
Firmware management programs like Samsung Magician allow you to activate AHCI from the options.
3) Enable TRIM
On any type of disk, hard disk or SSD, when you delete data, the operating system does not actually delete them, it only eliminates their reference preparing the sectors to be overwritten in case other data is created.
For this reason there are those programs for the safe and complete erasure of files and to erase the free space that overwrite the erased data with meaningless stuff so that nobody can recover them.
This number of data not actually erased is a factor that degrades the life of the SSDs.
Since the space must be cleared before it can be overwritten again in an SSD, it is convenient to enable TRIM support which allows you to write new files more efficiently, cleaning up the available space .
TRIM is supported on Windows 7, Mac and also on Ubuntu Linux.
To check if Trim is enabled, follow these steps:
Go to Start, type cmd in the search box, and, before writing, press CTRL + Shift + Enter together to start the command prompt with administrator privileges.
Then write the command fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify and press Enter.
If the response is DisableDeleteNotify = 0, Trim is enabled while if it is 1, it is disabled.
To activate Trim the command is fsutil behavior set disablenotify 0
4) Verify that system restore is enabled
A few years ago, when SSDs were less durable and more delicate, IT guides recommended keeping system restore turned off to ensure longer longevity.
Today this is a wrong advice, so it is better to leave the recovery activated because it is important to correct sudden system errors.
In another article the guide will enable system restore points in Windows 10.
In short, to modify the System Restore, go to the Start menu, right click on Computer > Properties > Advanced system settings (left)> System Protection tab> select the SSD disk> Press on Configure and activate the restore .
Click OK to save the changes.
5) Defragment the SSD disk
The defragmentation utility is used to arrange the files on the disk in an orderly and contiguous way, placing them all close together and is essential for hard disks.
An SSD has no need for defragmentation because it can access any sector on the disk with the same speed.
In Windows 10, however, the automatic defragmentation utility uses a different optimization system for SSDs and it is therefore recommended to keep it activated.
Disk optimization in Windows 10 is nothing more than executing the TRIM command, therefore useful for the health of the unit.
To verify that it is activated, look for the word Defragment in the Start menu and, in the screen that appears, check that for all the units is written OK.
6) Turn off disk indexing
Windows uses an indexing service to track files and allow the user to search for them faster.
The problem is that indexing constantly updates its database every time files are modified and these continuous writing operations contribute to decrease the life of the SSD.
To disable the Windows indexing service, you must open Computer ( This PC in Windows 10) from the Start menu, right click on the SSD disk, enter the Properties and, at the bottom, remove the indexing option.
click OK to save the changes.
6) Disable the Prefetch and Superfetch functions
"Prefetch" and "Superfetch" are two systems with which Windows stores information about programs that are not in use, but which are often used.
You can do without this functionality even if you need to modify two registry keys.
You must therefore go to the system key editor and go to the path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Current \ ControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager \ Memory Management \ PrefetchParameters
Here the two values " EnablePrefetcher " and " EnableSuperfetch " must both be zero.
Be that as it may, Superfetch is already disabled for SSDs in Windows 10.
7) Configure the write cache
On many SSDs, user-level write cache can adversely affect the drive.
To understand this, you can disable the option in Windows and see how the drive behaves after the change, if the performance improves or deteriorates.
To do this, right click on " Computer " in the Start menu, go to " Properties ", then " Device Manager" .
Here you will find the Disk drives section, right click on the name of the SSD, go to Properties and finally to the Criteria tab.
Here you can enable or disable the " Enable write cache on device " option.
8) Set the "High Performance" power option
This configuration is capable of optimizing both SSDs and hard disks and means disabling energy savings for disk drives.
To change the power options, go to Control Panel > System and Security, go to the " power saving options " and set the High Performance "which is also useful for keeping the processor performance always at maximum.
Despite these recommendations, it's not that the SSD lasts less if you use your computer a little, it wouldn't make sense.
It is only the background automatisms of Windows that, in the long run, can cause the solid disk to be slower and less efficient over time.
Finally, it is very useful to use programs to optimize and manage the SSD, in order to check the state of health and automate the configurations seen above.
