So what's the official checklist for setting up a new X-25M?

[CurseTheSky]

I know this has been discussed before in detail, but I can't find a solid, straight-forward checklist after digging through a few posts.

My new G2 X-25M should be coming in tomorrow, and I want to get it set up as soon as possible. I'll be installing Vista x64 on it for now, then migrating over to Windows 7 when it's released.

I know I'll need to enable AHCI in BIOS, but is there anything else that needs to be done for a fresh install, or any steps that must be omitted? For example, should I forgo letting Windows format the drive, or do I need to do align the partition or anything of that sort?

Thanks.

 

[Majic 7]

According to this thread all you have to do is disable defrag. http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=233378 And of course enable AHCI.

Maybe by the time I am a diamond member I will be able to complete a post without having to edit. Always find something.

 

[jimhsu]

Both Vista and 7 align properly. If you don't want the so-called 100MB "recovery partition", format in Vista first before installing 7.

 

[AnalyticalGuy]

This looks informative:

Microsoft: Support and Q&A for Solid-State Drives
http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archi...-state-drives-and.aspx

 

[gavane]

Pre-Windows settings:

Enable AHCI

Post-Windows 7 settings (as per the article):

Windows 7?s default behavior is to operate efficiently on SSDs without requiring any customer intervention.

Windows 7 will disable disk defragmentation on SSD system drives.

If the system disk is an SSD...then Superfetch, boot prefetching, application launch prefetching, ReadyBoost and ReadDrive will all be disabled.

...all of the partition-creating tools in Windows 7 place newly created partitions with the appropriate alignment.

Additionally, Windows 7 expects user settings that disable write caching to be honored by write caching SSDs just as they are on traditional disks.

In fact, given typical pagefile reference patterns and the favorable performance characteristics SSDs have on those patterns, there are few files better than the pagefile to place on an SSD.

 

[AnalyticalGuy]

I'm thinking about putting together a system with at least 12GB of RAM, Windows 7, and either an Intel G2 160GB SSD or two Intel G2 80GB SSDs in RAID 0.

So I expect to have RAM to spare. And to have a RAM disk (using a SuperSpeed product).

I would be inclined to:
1) Put my Temp folder on the RAM disk and let it vanish during shutdown.
2) Turn off the page file, given that I will have RAM to spare.
3) Turn off System Restore, and use Norton Ghost for backups of my Windows system partition.

First, do those "optimizations" seem to make sense?

Second, do any other optimizations come to mind for the system described?

Third, does partitioning an SSD have the potential to affect write performance?

 

[gavane]

Originally posted by: AnalyticalGuy

I'm thinking about putting together a system with at least 12GB of RAM, Windows 7, and either an Intel G2 160GB SSD or two Intel G2 80GB SSDs in RAID 0.

So I expect to have RAM to spare. And to have a RAM disk (using a SuperSpeed product).

I would be inclined to:
1) Put my Temp folder on the RAM disk and let it vanish during shutdown.
2) Turn off the page file, given that I will have RAM to spare.
3) Turn off System Restore, and use Norton Ghost for backups of my Windows system partition.

First, do those "optimizations" seem to make sense?

Second, do any other optimizations come to mind for the system described?

Third, does partitioning an SSD have the potential to affect write performance?

I don't know much about RAM disks so I can't comment on that. I know some Windows apps look for a page file and don't function too well without one, so a small one might be better than none at all.

Personally I always turn off System Restore; it sends chills down my spine to think of all the mess that I can cause by wanting to 'restore' back. An image is definately a better alternative for the sake of file structure.

I wouldn't think a logical partition would affect the performance of the drive either.

 

[Majic 7]

Thanks for the MSDN information on 7. Nice to have something definitive.

 

[AnalyticalGuy]

Perhaps the ultimate answers regarding page files can be found here...

http://blogs.technet.com/markr...008/11/17/3155406.aspx