Setting up a Windows 7 SSD is done in several steps. For stable operation in the BIOS, the settings for the SATA controller must be set to AHCI mode. If you leave the IDE, then some operations for removable media may not be available. In addition, the installation of the operating system on the SSD must be accompanied by a change of mode.
If you decide to install Windows 7, then there will be no problems, since the installation on the SSD is no different from the HDD. The fact is that the new version of the shell for personal computers has been slightly changed, and all the necessary drivers necessary for the correct operation of the operating system, including AHCI, are already integrated in the structure of the installation files.
However, setting up an SSD as the installation base for Windows XP requires special attention, since the required drivers are not available in this version, so a blue screen may appear during OS installation. This is due to the fact that the installation disk could not find the storage medium.
In this case, it is recommended to find another version of Windows XP in which the AHCI driver will be built. In addition, after the OS is installed, you should independently find utilities for proper operation, since the XP version is not able to find such drivers in automatic mode.
Configuring Windows 7 for the SSD is not required, since after the first service pack, a driver search is not necessary - the OS will do it itself. It is recommended that you remove other storage media during system installation. Otherwise, the installation may fail, and the SSD will be configured with errors.
To save disk space, you should turn off automatic defragmentation and call it as necessary. The fact is that installing the OS on an SSD, as a rule, is done for the reserve or for data mobility. Therefore, there is no need to use all the standard functions of the system, as this reduces the free space.
Configure SSD so that the media is as unloaded as possible. It is recommended that the creation of recovery control points and hibernation be excluded . If you need to install additional software, you can use the version of the same OS installed on the HDD-drive, where all the necessary functions are included.
However, it is not recommended to disable the
swap file, as some versions of the OS create it anyway, and if they cannot create it on their own, then they start to generate errors. Therefore, setting up an SSD involves a swap file, but you can reduce its size.
All these settings are relevant if the disk is small. At the same time, disabling the above functions does not affect the system performance in any way. Therefore, the setting should be made meaningfully.
There is an opinion that the SSD-media after frequent overwrites deteriorates and quickly fails. There is some truth in this, but it is worth noting that such media are designed for a huge number of cell rewriting cycles, and with frequent changes of information, disks will last up to 20 years. With a less active dubbing mode - up to 50 years.
At the same time, ordinary HDDs, although they do not have a fixed service life, are equipped with moving parts, which can fail more quickly than “eternal” SSDs. Therefore, the choice is up to the user.