16 replies to this topic

[PINKTULIP]

Hi Guys

I am trying to put an SSD in my desktop, which is the final part in what will be a really good build.

I have a Core i5 on an Asus motherboard with 8gb of ram and 2 x 2Tb HDD's

The windows index scores are great all above 7 except the Primary drive wich is approx 5.

I am sure putting an SSD in the unit will really improve the overall performance, however I am struggling to get my C drive below 200Gb.

I have followed the instruction in Ed Botts 3 part article http://www.zdnet.com...t-are-they/2902

which shows how to move the user profile folders, remove the page file, and hibernation file and restore point data, all of which i have done.

I have also removed any unwanted software, and when I browse the folders individually on the c drive, and add the volumes up. i only get a total of approx 45Gb which is fine as my intention is to put in a 60Gb SSD.

I am currently running defrag on the c drive but not sure what difference this will make.

Any other suggestion to get my c drive under 60Gb would be great.

Look forward to the responses.

Thanks in advance

Pete

[jazzerjay]

I don't believe a defrag is needed and I remember reading somewhere that it wasn't recommended on an SSD, See links below.


http://www.ghacks.ne...fragment-a-ssd/

http://www.micro-isv...ragment-an-ssd/

Although diskeeper has a different opinion.

http://www.diskeeper...rag-an-SSD.aspx


A "typical" server build for my company is OS only on the C drive and then apps and such on D with data on E. Is there nothing else that can be moved to a different drive or partition? Because other than that stipulation, I think you got a pretty good setup there. What about video and audio? On board I would presume?

Jay

[pcdoc]

The best way is a clean install and to do the basic tweaks. Disable Indexing on the OS drive, move your temp locations to a spindle drive, change the page file to a fixed size of about 2 gigs, and adjust you system protection settings to a smaller size. Of course that assumes that you have already reassigned the data folders to another drive which a recommended way of doing things anyway. Anything more than that will not yield you much gain. One of the main issues if the system restore properties are calculated from the drive size. So if you had a 2T hard drive, your reserved area for the recycle bin and system restore could be huge. I usually do a clean install and is highly recommend for an SSD however if you are not, first thing to do is disable or reduce the recycle bin, and temporarily disable the system protection and see if that helps. Then use a good cloning program to copy everything over. You ultimately get better performance and stability if you go the clean install but good luck either way.

[jmwills]

If you go into advanced folder properties and show hidden files, you can remove the cached updates but I agree with the previous post, the root drive with the OS should not take up any more than about 35 gigs or so on a clean install.

[diehard]

I don't have a SSD, but I did relocate my Users folder on my PC to my shared folder on my WHSv1 server. This reduces disk space on the PC and I enabled duplication on the server. Backups are also smaller.

[PINKTULIP]

The best way is a clean install and to do the basic tweaks. Disable Indexing on the OS drive, move your temp locations to a spindle drive, change the page file to a fixed size of about 2 gigs, and adjust you system protection settings to a smaller size. Of course that assumes that you have already reassigned the data folders to another drive which a recommended way of doing things anyway. Anything more than that will not yield you much gain. One of the main issues if the system restore properties are calculated from the drive size. So if you had a 2T hard drive, your reserved area for the recycle bin and system restore could be huge. I usually do a clean install and is highly recommend for an SSD however if you are not, first thing to do is disable or reduce the recycle bin, and temporarily disable the system protection and see if that helps. Then use a good cloning program to copy everything over. You ultimately get better performance and stability if you go the clean install but good luck either way.

OK a clean install sounds like good advice, and I take onboard the other info I have gleaned from SSD discussions on the BYOB podcast with regard to ensuring trim is enabled etc etc, So I get all that.

Is this possible? I do a clean install of windows to the SSD, instead of having to re-install all my apps could I restore just the Program Folder and Program Folder X86 from the backup of this machine from my V1 WHS?

That would make life very easy, as some of my apps are tricky to setup, as I use photoshop and lightroom with a bunch of 3rd party plugins, and also a photo album layout tool called Photojunction which is a real pain to get going.

Thanks in advance.

Heres hoping

Pete

[diehard]

That would not work, you would have the files but they won't run properly because the programs are not actually installed.

[jmwills]

Spend the time to do a clean install and then create a VHD image of the OS so if this ever comes up again, you can restore that image to any drive.

[JediTim]

The best upgrade I performed was my SSD drive. I won't build anotherPC without one. Doing a complete reinstall is your best bet...just ensure you deactivate any programs before you start...such as Photoshop or Lightroom.

[pcdoc]

OK a clean install sounds like good advice, and I take onboard the other info I have gleaned from SSD discussions on the BYOB podcast with regard to ensuring trim is enabled etc etc, So I get all that.

Is this possible? I do a clean install of windows to the SSD, instead of having to re-install all my apps could I restore just the Program Folder and Program Folder X86 from the backup of this machine from my V1 WHS?

That would make life very easy, as some of my apps are tricky to setup, as I use photoshop and lightroom with a bunch of 3rd party plugins, and also a photo album layout tool called Photojunction which is a real pain to get going.

Thanks in advance.

Heres hoping

Pete

Sorry, that will not works. Restoring the program folders will not restore you registry settings. If you do a a clean install, take the extra time to re-install your software fresh. You will be much happier. It will also give you the option of installing games and other less frequently accessed software to a different drive. There is no short cuts here sorry.

[PINKTULIP]

Clean install it is then, thanks chaps, your advice is well received.

Over the years I have been a member of many forums (photography, IT etc) and this is by far the best. The generosity of the participants with there knowledge is second to none, well done guys, and thanks once again.

[pcdoc]

Clean install it is then, thanks chaps, your advice is well received.

Over the years I have been a member of many forums (photography, IT etc) and this is by far the best. The generosity of the participants with there knowledge is second to none, well done guys, and thanks once again.

Glad to hear that and the best of luck. Let us know how it goes.

[dvn]

I'll add one thing, for future reference. Acronis True Image Home 2011 has a clone function which I've used successfully on a couple of occasions to clone a larger drive to a smaller one. I've done this from desktop as well as from the Acronis boot recovery CD which you can create with Acronis.

[JediTim]

I'll add one thing, for future reference. Acronis True Image Home 2011 has a clone function which I've used successfully on a couple of occasions to clone a larger drive to a smaller one. I've done this from desktop as well as from the Acronis boot recovery CD which you can create with Acronis.

I agree...I upgraded from a small SSD to a larger one in my main system as well with Acronis with no issues.

[Dude]

I have set up 4 PC's using the following instructions without any issues. You need to follow them exactly though and take care when editing the registry, but it works a treat
http://www.overclock...-secondary.html

[tinkererguy]

I agree...I upgraded from a small SSD to a larger one in my main system as well with Acronis with no issues.

I agree, have also used Acronis (Acronis® True Image™ Home 2012) to move to SSD, with no issues (and no alignment problems either).

Acronis states SSDs are supported storage media here:
http://www.acronis.c...012/#14833.html

[ImTheTypeOfGuy]

Which version are you guys buying?

True Image Home 2012 PC Backup and Recovery
or
Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus