new ssd

i Just got and installed a Corsair F40 - 40gig SSD on which i want to install my windows 7, and I have a secondary 1tb hdd . I have the windows 7 installation disks. I just want to put the OS and a few of my most commonly used programs on the SSD, and use the HDD mostly for media and other less-used programs. Don't know how to do this, been googling for an hour and am more confused now than when I started.
To start with, when i click computer, I see my HDD but not the SSD, although I can see both in Device Manager.
I don;t even know where to start . All help is appreciated !

 

OK, to start off, do you have a retail copy of Windows on 1 DVD, or a Windows disc supplied as a recovery disc from your PC's manufacturer?

 

i have a retail copy of Windows 7 on a DVD .

 

OK. The process is simple.You boot off of the dvd, and the install process will start. You select Advanced Options when prompted so you can select the SSD as the drive to install Windows onto. Then you have to create a partition on the SSD and format the SSD. From there, the rest of install is automatic.

 

what happens to the windows 7 that already exists on my HDD ?

 

That will remain untouched. After you are done with the installation, you will have two boot options. To boot off the new SSD, or boot your old windows installation. This can easily be cleaned up so you only have 1 boot option (the SSD). Then, your old drive can be reformatted (after you back up your data) to eliminate the old windows installation, and you can start filling the old drive with your backed up data as well as new data.

 

Ok. I have Win 7 now installed on the SSD, am currently transferring files i want to keep from my 1tb internal to my previously unused 500gig internal. This is taking a long time. Once I have transferred everything i want to keep, I assume it is safe to then format the 1tb, getting rid of THAT copy of windows, then replacing the files i moved. Sound reasonable enough or could i be doing something more efficiently ?
btw i appreciate your help, my google searches turned up a wealth of confusion .

 

Your plan sounds right on track. Don't forget to install your antivirus and antimalware right away also.

 

The brave transformation into SSD. I really want to do this. But they don't have enough space for me. I have lot of program.

 

Ok. I'll let you all know the results when im done. It will be late tonight after band practice. Forgot about anti-virus issues, so i disconnected my ethernet until i get all files transferred. Thanks for cutting through all the confusion out there in the GOOGLE wilderness .
The final reboot of the install was so fast, the bootup screen was just a flash - literally!
Bax - I walked around Fry's for an hour contemplating the SSD purchase !
I think it will be worth it in the end !

 

Also Bax, I only got a 40gig SSD . I am only using it for my OS and commonly used things like my browser. Everything else will be going on my HDD's . I guess having the retail win 7 dvd made it a very easy task, aside from my too-large hands physically installing the drive - i dont handle tiny screws and tight spaces very well .
That sounded a bit obscene, didn't it ?
Oh well.
Will report back later.

 

ok all files backed up and my D: drive (the main one I'll use) is formatted and no longer has Windows 7 on it. How do I change the bootup screen to get rid of the second option of booting to a non-existent windows 7 ?

 

Msconfig > Boot tab.

 

ok things are working properly, but everything wants to save to C drive, which hasnt enough room, it is the SSD . I need everything to save to D drive which is my 1tb drive . How do i get D as my "default" drive for everything to save to ? Or perhaps I should rename C to D and D to C and boot from D ? Everything I google on SSD drives is so confusing with different OS's and such . . . ? ?? ? ? ?

 

should I rename my SSD to something other than C and then change the boot drive to the corresponding drive, then change my 1tb HDD to C ?
I see how to rename drives, Ill have to research how to change the boot drive if this is the right thing to do.

 

Things are working well for the most part. So far I have kept the drives names as they were. One issue i'm having is this: I have all my music files on my 500g HD, and when I try to move them back into the music "Library" it defaults to C: drive, where there isn't enough room for the files. In fact, ALL the "libraries" default to C drive, so I haven't yet figured out how to assign a music library, for example, to my D: drive which has gobs of free space .

 

Right-click on the library you want to change, select Properties, and you should be able to change the save location there.

 

It does not allow me to change the drive . Still working on this one, all libraries are going to C: .:confused

 

I have read a dozen or so SSD optimization threads. Pretty much everybody disagrees on the best way(s) to get the most out of your ssd . For just ONE example, look at : http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2072259 (hope its not against the rules to post that link, if so please feel free to yank it)
EVERYBODY is disagreeing with each other . I guess, although this technology has been out for a few years now, there is still no clear cut method(s) to maximizing the use of SSD's . I guess I'm going to have to play around with the settings and do my own benchmarking to see what works best with my particular SSD and system .

I still haven't figured out how to assign my "Libraries" to my D drive .
I can't believe i've stumbled into such a large field of unanswered questions, or I'm not looking in the right places FOR the answers.

 

If you're googling for info on SSDs, be very careful what you believe. Way too much of what is posted is either a rumor, or extrapolated from conclusions that are questionable at best or even worse, it applied to the first generation of SSDs and not to the current one. And SSD technology has changed a lot in the past two years. A lot.

Do you have a link to the spec sheet for the F40? I might be able to find some actually useful info for you.

 

I just got part-way through the first posting that other forum, the OP's talking through his rear end most of the time.

The way I free up drive space is by using Windows methods to begin with; MOVE all your Documents, Downloads, Music, Movies and Picture folders to a new containing folder on the HDD. Make the new folder first then drill down to your 'special' folders via C:\Users\Username\ . The special folders have pretty little icons attached and an extra tab called 'Location' when you check the properties of the folders. It's from the Location tab that you move the folders.

Libraries are another type of 'special' folder - all they contain is links to the original files.

 

No spec sheet. I bought it at Fry's and it came in nothing but a box that says "Corsair Force Series F-40 40 gig Solid-State Drive". Nothing but the drive inside the box, I was able to find this : http://www.storagereview.com/corsair_force_f40_review_40gb

 

Okay, satrow made me curious so I skimmed the post in the other forum and I'm going to respectfully disagree that the person is entirely talking out of his rear. Setting BIOS to AHCI mode and doing a clean reinstall is good advice. The rest of it though, you can ignore. It's a year old, and most of it no longer correct or relevant.

So as for configuring your F40, what is it you want to accomplish with it? Or to phrase it slightly different, what is the drive doing wrong, that you need to reconfigure?

 

Well, at first, having no specs, instructions, or seemingly reliable information available on the internet, I wasn't sure how to go about setting up the SSD . I have since, mostly through trial and error, gotten things up and running - however, i never did get the AHCI mode thing accomplished, and never could find if my MB BIOS supports it .
Motherboard
Manufacturer MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD
Model DKA790GX (MS-7550)
Version 1.0
Chipset Vendor AMD
Chipset Model 790GX
Chipset Revision 00
Southbridge Vendor AMD
Southbridge Model SB700
Southbridge Revision 00
System Temperature 35 °C
BIOS
Brand American Megatrends Inc.
Version V1.9
Date 09/21/2009
Really I'm not so sure if i want to do yet another reinstall of the OS just to enable AHCI, since some of the information i read said that it would be necessary, and other information told me a regedit could enable AHCI and I would NOT have to re-install Windows 7 . So again, with so much misinformation out there, I can't honestly even tell you exactly what AHCI mode is FOR . I know my computer now boots up faster than I can finish sitting in my chair and get comfortable . Can't really say the drive is DOING anything wrong. I am having trouble getting my Library files to save to my 1tb D drive, however, which makes a substantial change in how I go about using my media files. I'd like to get that issue ironed out for sure.
I can also tell you that I can easily see spindle drives being obsolete in a year or two as the cost of SSD's continue to drop and the capacities continue to climb .
I guess, at this point, my questions are about AHCI, why do I need it, how do I know if its enabled or not already - etc . And how to get my Library folders to attach themselves to my D drive instead of defaulting to C, where I do not have the space for several hundred gigs of media files.

 

OK AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) is preferred for use with SSD's as it enhances performance. To enable it AFTER you have installed Windows 7 do this registry edit THEN reboot into your motherboard's BIOS, turn on AHCI, Win 7 will load it's AHCI driver do 1 more reboot and you're all set. Did it to my system (cloned my existing Win 7 from a SATA HDD to a SSD).

"Enable the AHCI driver in the registry before you change the SATA mode of the boot drive. To do this, follow these steps:

Exit all Windows-based programs.
Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesMsahci
In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.

After this you’ll have to restart your computer, go to BIOS and enable AHCI. When you log in to Windows again, you’ll notice the installation of drivers for AHCI. Another restart will be required to finish the driver installation.

As satrow said go to C:\Users\Public\ , Right click on any of the folders (Libraries, Public Documents, etc), click Properties and one of the tabs says Location. Click on that and change the path for that folder to another drive (like from C:\Users\Public\Documents to D:\wherever you choose).

Sam

 

Like I said earlier, Libraries are special folders that are full of links:

And some pretties on how to move your My Documents folder.

 

More importantly for Win7 users who don't RAID their SSD, IDE mode drivers don't support TRIM. By setting it to AHCI mode Windows loads the AHCI driver that has TRIM support. AMD's latest SATA driver should have TRIM as well, I know recent Intel drivers do.

 

I already attempted to enable AHCI, so i checked and my regedit is correct, its when i go into BIOS on reboot that I cant find anything thats seems related to AHCI, or how to enable it . I have explored all the menus I could find and simply do NOT see anything about AHCI . I might just be tired, but this was the second time today ive searched the menus. Google isn't really helping out with this problem, either. .
I ain't mad, though. I've made progress and learned quite a bit in the last 2 days .
So how do i find and enable AHCI in BIOS ?

 

Hello,
On page 3-13 of the manual it states that "Raid Mode" can be set to ACHI. It is in a submenu of "On-Chip ATA Devices" under "Integrated Peripherals"

 

Ah thank you t-gell im going to look for it right now.

 

YES!! Got it, TGELL Thank you ! Sometimes I think if it werent for MG, id be walking around in animal skin underwear carrying an abacus .
I found "integrated peripherals", then "on chip ata devices" and switched to AHCI . I had to insert my retail WIN 7 disk, because i got a screen telling me that due to recent changes in hardware or configuration windows could not start . After that it was all good, and now the drive is even FASTER . The "welcome" screen never even shows itself it goes straight from the MSI graphic to desktop (no progress bar, nothing) . I wasn't too sure all this was gonna be worth it, but if I have no major failures, i can tell you this is the way to go, with the SSD at least for startup. When prices go down some more, i'll likely get a larger capacity one. But for now, booting up from off to desktop in about 5 seconds is just amazing .
Now, after some coffee, I'm going to work on those library files.
Another win for MG.

 

As satrow said go to C:\Users\Public\ , Right click on any of the folders (Libraries, Public Documents, etc), click Properties and one of the tabs says Location. Click on that and change the path for that folder to another drive (like from C:\Users\Public\Documents to D:\wherever you choose).

It is not allowing me to make any changes in the location. I suspect a permissions issue, but I have changed settings so that this account is supposed to have full access and permissions for everything .
I'm still working on it, but please if someone knows something feel free to throw it out there.
Thanks again to everyone for all your help !

 

Ok i got it. Not sure how I got it to work (i just got out of bed) but i did. Thanks a TON, y'all ! . If any of you have anything to add to what has been posted already please feel free, and also please know how much I appreciate the help i get from y'all - it's absolutely priceless. Thanks to EVERYONE that helped me out here ! :major

 

Modern technology is wonderful-when it works


Sam

 

Ooops, just noticed I'd put the wrong link in for Move My Documents in #26 this is the one I wanted to put.

This whole SSD thing has forced a big rethink on installation and setup procedures; it comes at a time when we're moving, or have moved, to a newer OS with new features, so it's a lot to expect anyone to figure out the 'best' route to go if they've previously used a big HDD to run Windows at close to 'stock' settings.

One more thing I'd suggest is to limit the paging file on the SSD to somewhere between 100MB and 1GB (I currently use 100MB on my netbook with mini Gen1 SSD) so that, in event of a BSOD, the minidumps will be created and saved for diagnosis purposes. I would then create a fixed paging file of 4092MB min. and max. to the HDD.

 

One more suggestion, going back to the whole thing about optimizing the SSD: Since you have it in AHCI now, just start using the thing. Observe how it behaves and keep an eye on performance. If it starts acting up, then you can start to tweak and reconfigure to make sure it's not one of your settings that's causing issues (like the paging file changes satrow is talking about). But if it's working properly and you're happy with it, just leave it alone.

 

FED UP,
Glad to help and happy to hear you have resolved your issue. My internet has been down most of the day. :cry

For your future reference, here is the support page for your drive.

http://www.corsair.com/solid-state-drives/force-series/cssd-f40gb2.html

 

Groovy !
Worked on this much of the weekend. Couldn't have done it properly without help from MG members. Thanks again to all .

 

Thanks for the info, I'm also planning on the SSD route.

 

It was worth it to me. Not as difficult as I thought it would be. Physically, the power plug and the data cable. Windows 7 installed quickly, and with a little file shuffling, a HDD format, and a little BIOS tweaking, I now have a computer that boots up insanely fast. I should time it . I will actually do that next time I power down, and post the results .

 

The computer was OFF. (not asleep, not hibernating). I pressed the power button and the "stopwatch" start button on my cellphone at the same time. I got my BIOS/POST beep at about 8 seconds, my desktop appeared and was functional at 35:23 seconds .

 

kinda wonder what this app says about your startup time, my best is around 1:08, though, typically it is 1:32.

http://majorgeeks.com/Soluto_d6634.html

 

Neat program. Heres a screenshot of the results on my first try, its too late tonight to play with it, but I'll toy around with it tomorrow.

http://www.picrandom.com/images/soluto1stb.png

 

Nice, now I'm looking forward to newegg having the vertex 3 240 Gig ssd drive. Come on, come on! Just want two. Though, one should be fine!