Windows SSD optimization guide
Posted: 23 Mar 2023, 06:13
This is basically a successor to this post.
Before you install Windows, set your computer to AHCI mode. Unless your computer is very old or very locked down, the option should be somewhere in the BIOS. This makes the SATA controller function like an actual SATA controller and is much faster for SSDs.
This may cause problems if you wish to use 2000/XP, but you can always just integrate your ACHI controller's driver or the generic driver, or use an ISO that already includes the driver. If Windows is already installed, the method to swap it is complex and can result in needing to reinstall. I suggest reinstalling anyways in this case.
Go to the Start Menu and right click My Computer (or if on 8+ open a explorer window and right click This PC) and select Properties. Click System protection on the left side. In the window that opens, click Turn off system protection, then Apply and OK. (For XP go under the System Restore tab in System Properties, and click Turn off system restore)
Then go one below, Advanced system settings. (For 2000/XP it's under the Advanced tab in System Properties) Under Performance click Settings, go to the Advanced tab, click the Change button. Untick Automatically manage paging file size for all drives. Click whichever drive has the page file,then click No paging file, and then click Set. You can set a custom page file on a HDD or less used SSD, or if you have a lot of RAM you can go without a page file entirely. Afterwards click OK, then OK, and then OK on the last window. (For 2000 it will pester you if you don't have a large enough page file)
Then Windows key + R, services.msc, enter/OK. Find these services and set them to disabled, Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider, Offline Files, Superfetch, Volume Shadow Copy.
Then one last tweak for Vista/7 users is to open the Start Menu, type defrag, and click Disk Defragmenter. In the Disk Defragmenter window, change the settings to disable Scheduled Defragmenting. 8+ is smart enough to optimize SSDs instead of defragmenting them, and 2000/XP is taken care of by the registry file.
Now run the two files attached to this post. In the second post there will be a list of each command and registry entry and what they do if you wish to pick and choose or manually apply them.
Sources:
https://board.eclipse.cx/viewtopic.php?t=71
https://web.archive.org/web/20150710065515/http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/windows-7-tweaks-for-modern-ssds-3374812/
https://web.archive.org/web/20131017235648/https://www.maketecheasier.com/12-things-you-must-do-when-running-a-solid-state-drive-in-windows-7/
https://ckirbach.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/how-to-optimise-windows-xp-for-ssd-solid-state-disk-operation/
Before you install Windows, set your computer to AHCI mode. Unless your computer is very old or very locked down, the option should be somewhere in the BIOS. This makes the SATA controller function like an actual SATA controller and is much faster for SSDs.
This may cause problems if you wish to use 2000/XP, but you can always just integrate your ACHI controller's driver or the generic driver, or use an ISO that already includes the driver. If Windows is already installed, the method to swap it is complex and can result in needing to reinstall. I suggest reinstalling anyways in this case.
Go to the Start Menu and right click My Computer (or if on 8+ open a explorer window and right click This PC) and select Properties. Click System protection on the left side. In the window that opens, click Turn off system protection, then Apply and OK. (For XP go under the System Restore tab in System Properties, and click Turn off system restore)
Then go one below, Advanced system settings. (For 2000/XP it's under the Advanced tab in System Properties) Under Performance click Settings, go to the Advanced tab, click the Change button. Untick Automatically manage paging file size for all drives. Click whichever drive has the page file,then click No paging file, and then click Set. You can set a custom page file on a HDD or less used SSD, or if you have a lot of RAM you can go without a page file entirely. Afterwards click OK, then OK, and then OK on the last window. (For 2000 it will pester you if you don't have a large enough page file)
Then Windows key + R, services.msc, enter/OK. Find these services and set them to disabled, Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider, Offline Files, Superfetch, Volume Shadow Copy.
Then one last tweak for Vista/7 users is to open the Start Menu, type defrag, and click Disk Defragmenter. In the Disk Defragmenter window, change the settings to disable Scheduled Defragmenting. 8+ is smart enough to optimize SSDs instead of defragmenting them, and 2000/XP is taken care of by the registry file.
Now run the two files attached to this post. In the second post there will be a list of each command and registry entry and what they do if you wish to pick and choose or manually apply them.
Sources:
https://board.eclipse.cx/viewtopic.php?t=71
https://web.archive.org/web/20150710065515/http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/windows-7-tweaks-for-modern-ssds-3374812/
https://web.archive.org/web/20131017235648/https://www.maketecheasier.com/12-things-you-must-do-when-running-a-solid-state-drive-in-windows-7/
https://ckirbach.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/how-to-optimise-windows-xp-for-ssd-solid-state-disk-operation/