How to TRIM SSD w/ Windows 7?

[x_kzy_xd]

In the review of the Vertex 3, one of the things that Anand does is to TRIM the write after writing incompressible data. How do you manually TRIM a SSD? I ask because I used a Vertex 3 on a non-TRIM-enabled machine, and have now moved to Windows 7. I want to fully TRIM the drive to restore the performance.

 

[Hardlin]

The OCZ forum had a tool lised for the Vertex 2 drives. It may work on the Vertex 3.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...Here-s-a-tool-to-force-TRIM-your-entire-drive

 

[jjmIII]

If your Win7 machine is set to AHCI in the BIOS, it will trim itself.

 

[Skiprudder]

If you install SSDLife http://ssd-life.com/ it will tell you if TRIM is supported and enabled in your system. It's also a pretty neat little program, I like the drive life estimate.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

Anand manually trims them by running a secure erase or equivalent. He doesn't run his benchmarks with Windows installed on the SSD so a secure erase between tests doesn't muck up the test platform and is pretty fast.

 

[x_kzy_xd]

Anand manually trims them by running a secure erase or equivalent. He doesn't run his benchmarks with Windows installed on the SSD so a secure erase between tests doesn't muck up the test platform and is pretty fast.

How do you do a secure erase with Windows 7? I know it's pretty easy with OS X and disk utility, but I can't seem to figure out how to do it in W7.

 

[ViRGE]

For a Vertex 3? Use the OCZ SSD Toolbox.

 

[Modular]

How do you do a secure erase with Windows 7? I know it's pretty easy with OS X and disk utility, but I can't seem to figure out how to do it in W7.

Can you do that with an OS installed? Doesn't it wipe the entire drive?

 

[(sic)Klown12]

Can you do that with an OS installed? Doesn't it wipe the entire drive?

Yes, it should wipe the drive clean and put it into a factory fresh state. You can do this by booting off another drive with Windows on and your SSD as a secondary drive. Then choose Secure Erase option in the Toolbox.
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...box-for-Vertex2-3-Agility2-3-and-Solid3-SSD-s

There was a bug in an older version of the toolbox that would allow you SE the drive when it was active, but when you rebooted you lost all data.

 

[grimpr]

When reinstalling OS, Secure Erase the drive with OCZ's bootable Linux tool, for letting the drives Garbage Collection,automatic trim, to rampup, let the drive idle at the windows 7 logon screen for a few hours.

 

[x_kzy_xd]

When reinstalling OS, Secure Erase the drive with OCZ's bootable Linux tool, for letting the drives Garbage Collection,automatic trim, to rampup, let the drive idle at the windows 7 logon screen for a few hours.

Can you explain in a bit more detail on how you can do that?

 

[LokutusofBorg]

How do you do a secure erase with Windows 7? I know it's pretty easy with OS X and disk utility, but I can't seem to figure out how to do it in W7.

If you delete the partition and recreate a new one with Windows 7 it'll accomplish the same thing as a secure erase, just not as thorough (it doesn't wipe the actual sectors on the drive).

 

[grimpr]

Can you explain in a bit more detail on how you can do that?

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...Bootable-Tools-for-OCZ-SandForce-Driven-SSD-s

Heres the instructions for creating a bootable USB flash with OCZs Tools. Personally i prefer the Linux method and have dedicated a usb flash key for the tools, use secure erase to bring up the drive in a fresh state before OS installs, dont hammer the drive with pointless benchmarks and make use of the drives internal garbage collection idling the drive for some hours in a week at the windows logon screen will keep the performance top notch.

 

[postmortemIA]

most ssds have 3rd party trim software. it does not even need AHCI. I am happily TRIMming on Windows XP and SATA1 controller in IDE mode.