Samsung 470 install

[jimbo11mcm]

I am getting ready to install a 128gb Samsung 470 in my HP DV6500 laptop. The 470 is coming in a couple of days. It seems, after reading a lot of forum responses, that a clean install of Win7 is the best thing to do. I only have one drive in the laptop. Am I correct in assuming that it is set to AHCI? I went into the bios and there doesn't seem to be any way to change or identify the Bios setting. I am assuming that Win7 will optimize the SSD during the install, turning off defrag, etc. I will post the procedure when I get it.

 

[sub.mesa]

You can test whether NCQ/AHCI is working with a benchmark like AS SSD or CrystalDiskMark. The 4K-32/64 read score needs to be 10 times as high as the normal random 4K read (queue depth=1). If you are running in IDE emulation mode and do not have access to NCQ, the 4K-32/64 score will be about the same as the normal 4K read score.

 

[Emulex]

yah but doesn't the samsung 470 have really poor QD performance? This may not be the best test if that is the case.

 

[jimbo11mcm]

Went into the device manager and found a AHCI controller, so I am pretty sure this laptop is set for AHCI, since it came with Vista. No way to see in the bios or change the setting, so I think I am okay with getting ready to install the Samsung 470 SSD.

 

[jimbo11mcm]

Got the 128GB SSD yesterday. Install in HP laptop is a snap. I tried to restore an image I had made.( from my Win7 Rescue Disk). The MY Passport that the image was on, could not be recognized. It just did not show up. I guess when I put in the new SSD, there were no drivers for the My Passport. I tried a different Passport with a Paragon backup and again my computer would not see the USB My Passport. I finally gave up and did a complete new install of Win 7 64 bit.( I had a full install, not an upgrade) Install went smoothly. Trim is enabled automatically and I checked that it was. The Passports are now recognized as the drivers were loaded from Win 7.

I am now trying to find the Samsung SSD toolbox to check the drive performance. Anyone know how to get it?

Overall, the Laptop now starts from scratch to a full Windows homepage in about 35 seconds, as opposed to the previous of 1 minute and 25 seconds. Programs load quite quickly and it is quieter. A little expensive, but you can't take it with you when you go!!!