[bkeller]

I would like to be able to install a new SSD and have the system software place all frequently used programs and files and directories there - primarily as read-only files. It seems we want to use SSDs to improve performance, but we have to avoid writing to them too much because of the wear-out factor. Ideally I would like to have all files stored on my hard drives and have some also stored on the SSD for faster loading. Should such files ever be updated, I would want the hard drive copy updated as well as the one on the SSD, but most files on the SSD would be read-only (programs mostly for faster boot). It might be best if Windows supported a form of soft linking of files like Unix does so a file on the hard drive could just be a link to the file on the SSD.

I have not seen any Windows built-in management for SSDs that would do this. Is there a simple way to add an SSD and have all boot programs and frequently run applications placed on the SSD? Can we get a feature article in PCWorld to tell us how to do this?

Brion

[smax013]

bkeller, on 07 June 2011 - 07:24 PM, said:

I would like to be able to install a new SSD and have the system software place all frequently used programs and files and directories there - primarily as read-only files. It seems we want to use SSDs to improve performance, but we have to avoid writing to them too much because of the wear-out factor. Ideally I would like to have all files stored on my hard drives and have some also stored on the SSD for faster loading. Should such files ever be updated, I would want the hard drive copy updated as well as the one on the SSD, but most files on the SSD would be read-only (programs mostly for faster boot). It might be best if Windows supported a form of soft linking of files like Unix does so a file on the hard drive could just be a link to the file on the SSD.

I have not seen any Windows built-in management for SSDs that would do this. Is there a simple way to add an SSD and have all boot programs and frequently run applications placed on the SSD? Can we get a feature article in PCWorld to tell us how to do this?

Brion

The basic way to do this is to install a SSD in your computer as the "boot drive". It would hold the OS and many, if not most or all, applications. Then you have a second large "traditional" hard drive that holds all the files and any applications you do not want installed on the boot drive.

This is easy to do for desktops.

For laptops, it is more problematic unless your laptop supports two hard drives.

[LiveBrianD]

smax013, on 08 June 2011 - 01:17 PM, said:

bkeller, on 07 June 2011 - 07:24 PM, said:

I would like to be able to install a new SSD and have the system software place all frequently used programs and files and directories there - primarily as read-only files. It seems we want to use SSDs to improve performance, but we have to avoid writing to them too much because of the wear-out factor. Ideally I would like to have all files stored on my hard drives and have some also stored on the SSD for faster loading. Should such files ever be updated, I would want the hard drive copy updated as well as the one on the SSD, but most files on the SSD would be read-only (programs mostly for faster boot). It might be best if Windows supported a form of soft linking of files like Unix does so a file on the hard drive could just be a link to the file on the SSD.

I have not seen any Windows built-in management for SSDs that would do this. Is there a simple way to add an SSD and have all boot programs and frequently run applications placed on the SSD? Can we get a feature article in PCWorld to tell us how to do this?

Brion

The basic way to do this is to install a SSD in your computer as the "boot drive". It would hold the OS and many, if not most or all, applications. Then you have a second large "traditional" hard drive that holds all the files and any applications you do not want installed on the boot drive.

This is easy to do for desktops.

For laptops, it is more problematic unless your laptop supports two hard drives.

I have heard of some that allow a PCI-E SSD for booting as well as a regular 2.5" hard drive. btw I'm referring to the 11" hp dm1z

[bkeller]

smax013, on 08 June 2011 - 01:17 PM, said:

bkeller, on 07 June 2011 - 07:24 PM, said:

I would like to be able to install a new SSD and have the system software place all frequently used programs and files and directories there - primarily as read-only files. It seems we want to use SSDs to improve performance, but we have to avoid writing to them too much because of the wear-out factor. Ideally I would like to have all files stored on my hard drives and have some also stored on the SSD for faster loading. Should such files ever be updated, I would want the hard drive copy updated as well as the one on the SSD, but most files on the SSD would be read-only (programs mostly for faster boot). It might be best if Windows supported a form of soft linking of files like Unix does so a file on the hard drive could just be a link to the file on the SSD.

I have not seen any Windows built-in management for SSDs that would do this. Is there a simple way to add an SSD and have all boot programs and frequently run applications placed on the SSD? Can we get a feature article in PCWorld to tell us how to do this?

Brion

The basic way to do this is to install a SSD in your computer as the "boot drive". It would hold the OS and many, if not most or all, applications. Then you have a second large "traditional" hard drive that holds all the files and any applications you do not want installed on the boot drive.

This is easy to do for desktops.

For laptops, it is more problematic unless your laptop supports two hard drives.

I realize I could re-install Windows7 and many applications, but I was hoping there would be a simpler way to add the SSD and run some kind of update that would copy the files from the existing hard drive to the new SSD. Also, I'd like to be able to have the SSD be a high-speed copy of the files such that if the SSD fails, I could still boot from the hard drive without missing a beat. Perhaps what I'm really after is a hard drive with a built in SSD with software managing the SSD as a huge cache for faster access to the hard drive info. I could see it placing read-only files into the SSD after learning that these files are use often. This is what I'd like to see made available for a separate SSD added to an existing system. Avoiding a re-install would make it easier for most people as well.

[waldojim]

bkeller, on 10 June 2011 - 08:36 PM, said:

I realize I could re-install Windows7 and many applications, but I was hoping there would be a simpler way to add the SSD and run some kind of update that would copy the files from the existing hard drive to the new SSD. Also, I'd like to be able to have the SSD be a high-speed copy of the files such that if the SSD fails, I could still boot from the hard drive without missing a beat. Perhaps what I'm really after is a hard drive with a built in SSD with software managing the SSD as a huge cache for faster access to the hard drive info. I could see it placing read-only files into the SSD after learning that these files are use often. This is what I'd like to see made available for a separate SSD added to an existing system. Avoiding a re-install would make it easier for most people as well.

OK, first, most SSD's support 3,000 to 5,000 write cycles. In a recommended SSD + traditional scenario, you would grab (ideally) a 128GB or larger SSD to install the OS and most applications to. Then make specific modifications to Windows to kill off disk caching and hibernation features.

At this stage, your SSD will actively work to protect itself, caching writes as needed, making block writes, and changing where it writes too (wear leveling).

Once done, your SSD should last between 5 and 10 years.

If you are still worried about it, there are manufacturers out there selling 'hybrid drives', they automatically decide what needs to go in the SSD based on usage patterns.