Installing SSD right now, could use some advice.

[D007]

( Done now, need no advice)

I have been given some very good information so far about these things I think.
I'm not messing with any of the things that are supposed to increase longevity or anything.
I am enabling AHCI mode in bios.. But enable it in UEFI? Idk that one.. XD

I'll also disable scheduled defrag from inside windows I guess, from inside defrag I assume.

I see a bunch of places I can enable AHCI in bios though.. I enabled it only on the sata 3 port my ssd is attached to.
is that right?

What I did though so far is a standard install of the OS to the SSD.
My 1 TB still has the OS on it as well.. I wonder if I can access both, if both are plugged in..
Likely have to boot individually from both storage units I guess.

Glad my g/f believes in laptops..lol.. That's what I'm on right now..
Thanks yas.

I enabled the option for sata mode in bios on the x58 gigabyte mobo, the top option.. I got this message.. bios not up to date?
I didn't get this message when I just had AHCI enabled on the sata port my SSD is attached to..
Should I be changing ICH SATA control mode to AHCI from IDE? If I do, I get that error message..

[D007]

Ok, I'm about to reinstall everything I guess.. I can't seem to find t he answer for this..

[INSTG8R]

Not taken this plunge yet myself. But I can offer a few things. I still have my old OS drive in my PC as my "storage" and I keep the old OS so I can get at anything I want on the new OS and never have to go "Oh Sh1T" I forgot to save copy/that. Now unless you have it plugged in when you install the OS you will not be able to boot from it(Which is exactly what you want) After the OS is installed you can plug it back in and it will just be a "regular" disk.

As for the AHCI issues. Yes you should be enabling it on the ICH(Intel ports) Did you make this switch AFTER you installed the OS? If so that would make sense as to why it's throwing that error. The OS has to be installed in AHCI mode.

Of course obvious "tidy ups" Latest BIOS installed on the MoBo? I have a "Tool Box" USB drive I keep for installs with the latest Intel Chipset drivers(First thing in after OS install) I also have the "Floppy F6" Drivers for SATA/RAID as well. Win7 makes it pretty easy giving you the option to load drivers at the screen where you pick the disk to install on. Might as well get it using the right drivers from the beginning. Any other drivers you will need "right away"(My Intel NIC in my case)

[D007]

ahh ffs.. im starting over.. ty.. ^^

[INSTG8R]

NP had a few "looped" installs last round messing with RAID, oh and forgetting to unplug the old OS drive(Dual Boot)
Hey at least A:Win7 is pretty quick to install B: Your doing it on an SSD so it's even quicker

[Solaris17]

Been reviewing SSDs for awhile.


first AHCI EVERYTHING EVERY CONTROLLER EVERYTHING

for best performance make sure it is on the highest speed chennel. like P0 SATA/3GB/s or something.

Nest format the entire drive in windows. it will make a 100mb or so partition. this is fine. this holds SSD alignment info as well as some other filesystem stuff.

then install windows. NEVER ever run a SSD in IDE mode.

[D007]

lol think I just managed to make like 20gb of space magically disappear off the SSD.. Maybe it's something system related but I could of sworn it had more then 236 gb on it.. 256 me thinks..lol.. Man, I'm dangerous..

lol nvm.. 238 is what it has after format..

[Solaris17]

Originally Posted by D007

lol think I just managed to make like 20gb of space magically disappear off the SSD.. Maybe it's something system related but I could of sworn it had more then 236 gb on it.. 256 me thinks..lol.. Man, I'm dangerous..

is it a 256gb ssd? because that sounds about right. i lose like 70gb when i format my 1tb drive.

[INSTG8R]

Originally Posted by Solaris17

Been reviewing SSDs for awhile.


first AHCI EVERYTHING EVERY CONTROLLER EVERYTHING

for best performance make sure it is on the highest speed chennel. like P0 SATA/3GB/s or something.

Nest format the entire drive in windows. it will make a 100mb or so partition. this is fine. this holds SSD alignment info as well as some other filesystem stuff.

then install windows. NEVER ever run a SSD in IDE mode.

Good advice. Not having touched one yet I can only go with what I know

[D007]

Originally Posted by Solaris17

Been reviewing SSDs for awhile.


first AHCI EVERYTHING EVERY CONTROLLER EVERYTHING

for best performance make sure it is on the highest speed chennel. like P0 SATA/3GB/s or something.

Nest format the entire drive in windows. it will make a 100mb or so partition. this is fine. this holds SSD alignment info as well as some other filesystem stuff.

then install windows. NEVER ever run a SSD in IDE mode.

Will do, glad u mentioned that.. I was considering to leave ide mode on the ESATA. AHCI for everything then? Even where like the dvd drive is connected?

[Solaris17]

Originally Posted by D007

Will do, glad u mentioned that.. I was considering to leave ide mode on the ESATA. AHCI for everything then? Even where like the dvd drive is connected?

yup ahci everything. windows cant do 2 diffirent modes. so if you have a drive connected to channel 2 and the os drive on channel 1 its going to cause some problems. AHCI performs better and doesnt effect optical devices at all. just prevent headaches in the long run.

[D007]

Thanks a bunch for that timing.. I was right on the installation screen, getting ready to install.. I'd of had some f'd up stuff..

[INSTG8R]

I disable the "extra" Controllers anyway.Marvell, Jmicron, Firewire. Not gonna use them might as well disable them. Yours even has a Floppy controller. KILL IT! Less junk crowding up the IRQ's IMO.

[Solaris17]

Originally Posted by INSTG8R

I disable the "extra" Controllers anyway.Marvell, Jmicron, Firewire. Not gonna use them might as well disable them. Yours even has a Floppy controller. KILL IT! Less junk crowding up the IRQ's IMO.

press any key to boot from jmicron network boot controller

10
9
8
7
6 (omfg hurry up)
5
4(i want to play skyrim YESTERDAY)
3
2
1(fucking finally!)

4 hours later

network boot rom: Disabled


hahahahaha i win!!!!

F10> Y> enter

[D007]

lol thanks..

I stopped getting that error after I reinstalled, having AHCI enabled "everywhere" 1st..
Yep.. TY.. XD

I wonder if I could install steam to the HD and games to the SSD.. Idc about steam friends list and steam load time.. I care about the game load time..
I also don't like how active steam is and I don't like the idea of it being so active on the SSD if that is the case.

[Solaris17]

Originally Posted by D007

lol thanks..

I stopped getting that error after I reinstalled, having AHCI enabled "everywhere" 1st..
Yep.. TY.. XD

I wonder if I could install steam to the HD and games to the SSD.. Idc about steam friends list and steam load time.. I care about the game load time..
I also don't like how active steam is and I don't like the idea of it being so active on the SSD if that is the case.

yes you can.

install 1 game and then you create a shortcut to the game folder but move them to another drive. its called a symbolic link i think.

EDIT i guess ill look in my computer and show you how.


STEP 1: Go to your computer



STEP 2: Go to your C: drive and to the Steam folder, look for the folder "steamapps"



STEP 3: Now cut and paste to the drive you want the games installed on. Now go back to the "Steam" folder on the C: drive. I used my SD card since im running my laptop with my SSD on it ATM, but follow these steps of creating a shorcut INSIDE your steam folder. Create a shortcut.



STEP 4: Navigate to "steamapps" folder on your game drive. select the folder but NOT any of the folders or files IN IT.



STEP 5: Look and make sure the path is correct and click next



STEP 6: MAKE SURE the name of the shortcut is EXACTLY the same as the ORIGINAL steamapps folder even the case. Then click finish.



STEP 7: We will pretend my SD card is the inside of my steam folder. You should now have a shartcut called steamapps it should NOT say "shortcut to" before it and when you mouse over it it should be the PATH to the other drive the ACTUAL folder is located at.




your done. MAKE SURE STEAM IS OFF BEFORE YOU DO THIS.

[hat]

I had to enable the Marvell controller on my board, as those ports were the only SATA 6Gb/s ports. I made sure they were set to run as AHCI (but the SSD still says IDE everywhere in the bios ). I have my OS and programs loaded on it. I'm reusing my system drive, a 500GB Black, which previously had the OS, programs, and games on it. Now it has just games. It's silly how long it takes Steam to load now while the rest of my system is ready to go.

[D007]

Originally Posted by Solaris17

yes you can.

install 1 game and then you create a shortcut to the game folder but move them to another drive. its called a symbolic link i think.

Yea, a nice link here to do that. ^^

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=2181335

[Solaris17]

Originally Posted by D007

Yea, a nice link here to do that. ^^

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=2181335

damn beat me to it.

[D007]

Originally Posted by hat

I had to enable the Marvell controller on my board, as those ports were the only SATA 6Gb/s ports. I made sure they were set to run as AHCI (but the SSD still says IDE everywhere in the bios ). I have my OS and programs loaded on it. I'm reusing my system drive, a 500GB Black, which previously had the OS, programs, and games on it. Now it has just games. It's silly how long it takes Steam to load now while the rest of my system is ready to go.

Yea I just had my first "Oh shit" moment.. This thing is fast!
Load time? where?.. Jebuss, I blink and my desktop is fully loaded and ready to go!

Originally Posted by Solaris17

damn beat me to it.

Who needs a Valve guide when you have a Sol guide.. With pictures!!

Sol, thank you again Man. I am going to follow that guide you just posted, step by step. Right this minute actually. You guys are life savers.. Thank u all.

[silkstone]

I posted this in your other thread, but i'm gonna put this here again. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226...dows-or-linux/

This is the easiest way to make symbolic links (for files) and junctions (for folders) and is not limited to moving only steam games. You can use it to move cache folders, temp directories or anything else that you like.

Personally, i keep steam on my SSD and then move the games i play the least onto my HDD. I use junctions for the folders and then symbolic links for the files from my HDD into my steam directory.

Edit - SOL, the difference between a symbolic link and a junction for a folder only really matters when using networked computer, right?

[D007]

Originally Posted by silkstone

I posted this in your other thread, but i'm gonna put this here again. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226...dows-or-linux/

This is the easiest way to make symbolic links (for files) and junctions (for folders) and is not limited to moving only steam games. You can use it to move cache folders, temp directories or anything else that you like.

Personally, i keep steam on my SSD and then move the games i play the least onto my HDD. I use junctions for the folders and then symbolic links for the files from my HDD into my steam directory.

OOh, that is a very nifty app for making links there.. thank you. ^^

[Solaris17]

Originally Posted by silkstone

I posted this in your other thread, but i'm gonna put this here again. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226...dows-or-linux/

This is the easiest way to make symbolic links (for files) and junctions (for folders) and is not limited to moving only steam games. You can use it to move cache folders, temp directories or anything else that you like.

Personally, i keep steam on my SSD and then move the games i play the least onto my HDD. I use junctions for the folders and then symbolic links for the files from my HDD into my steam directory.

Edit - SOL, the difference between a symbolic link and a junction for a folder only really matters when using networked computer, right?

Correct

[silkstone]

Originally Posted by D007

OOh, that is a very nifty app for making links there.. thank you. ^^

To move your my documents, my pictures, etc. Remember you can do this through the right click menu.

Right click > properties > Location > Move

[Solaris17]

Originally Posted by silkstone

To move your my documents, my pictures, etc. Remember you can do this through the right click menu.

Right click > properties > Location > Move

thats what i did on my desktop. my entire user folder was on another drive i just changed the location in the folder properties. you cant do it with the user folder itself iirc but you can do it with all "library" folders my music my movies my documents downloads etc.