how do I format/reinstall windows whilst minimizing writes on an SSD?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

i upgraded to a crucial M4 from a kingston V+100, fresh install of Win7, and it (Windows, not the SSD) has been nothing but trouble.
it was a botched from the beginning with problems (mostly self inflicted), and

i'd like to start fresh again by reinstalling. normally on a HDD, i format and then do the full install.
is this recommended for an SSD as well (namely the formatting)?



second (and related) question. the kingston SSD, i'm going to use it for installing apps, games, etc.
it was the old system drive and is filled up with the previous OS/apps/games.
do i format or just delete?
i guess if the first question is answered, this one is too as well.

 

[zCypher]

I wouldn't worry about it unless your daily load involves tons of writes. You're much more likely to run into other issues before running wearing out your SSD with too many writes.

You can format the drive fresh and reinstall OS, it really is not a problem. I would leave the other drive unless you need the space. Always nice to have another bootable drive in case something goes wrong on the current boot drive. It has been super convenient for me on a number of occasions. This is of course a moot point if you keep an image of the boot drive on a separate disk.

What kind of problems did you run into and are you sure it was Windows and not the SSD?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

yeah, pretty sure it's the OS or a driver or something along those lines, and not the SSD.
maybe the motherboard (its a new build, i7 2600 and Biostar Z68).

1 out of maybe 7 or 8 boots results in a hard lock (right before logon screen), sound card (SB x-fi... yeah i know) drivers uninstalls itself EVERY restart so i have to reinstall the driver every time I boot up.
doesn't wake from sleep, so I HAVE to shut it down every night or leave it on 24/7.

now even after installing the SB drivers, there's still no sound. forced to use onboard audio.
still would like to get S3 sleep working. found that setting the drives to never sleep helped a bit. gets a little farther from sleep mode but still hangs once in awhile.

 

[paperwastage]

about the worry of writes to SSDs : you shouldn't have to. SSDs will balance the wear amongst the cell

SSD wear rates benchmark (writing the drive with random data until it dies)
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?271063-SSD-Write-Endurance-25nm-Vs-34nm

otherwise, you can try to find Windows 7 SP1 isos (available ISO download from Microsoft's digitalriver), and/or create slip-streamed W7 SP1+updates

 

[Zap]

Don't even worry about wearing out an SSD.

 

[MobiusPizza]

When you perform format (which is necessary in fresh install), do quick format only. Never do full format in SSD