Windows 7 to improve on Solid State Drive (SSD) performance
Last year we saw the Solid State Drive’s (SSD) first shot at going mainstream with netbooks. They were pretty expensive and still are, but prices have been falling. Even though they were praised for using less power and generating less heat, overall they were disappointing because they didn’t live up to many of our performance expectations.
The Windows 7 team has done a lot to improve support for SSDs, so there’s definitely a lot to look forward to in terms of SSD compatibility. Since Windows Vista, a lot of re-engineering has taken place to improve the SSD support. SSDs are very different from SATA drives, but Vista treated them both the same, and hence, SSDs could never reach the speed they were capable of with Vista.
In Windows 7, Microsoft promises a substantial increase in read and write speed of SSDs. First and foremost, Windows 7 will partition the SSDs more efficiently to lessen the redundant read-write cycles. Also, when Windows 7 detects an SSD, it will automatically disable defragmentation, since defragmenting can reduce the lifespan of Solid State Drives. Read times are usually boosted when drives are defragmented, but since flash memory already has a high read rate and slow write rate, defragment is unideal for SSDs.
Secondly, Windows 7 will also come with a feature called trim which will cut down on the amount of data to be deleted, increasing the SSD’s lifespan and allowing it to delete garbage data in advance. It also uses ATA commands to increase the SSD write speeds.
And thirdly, Microsoft is planning to start a certification program for SSDs. This will probably be an extension of their Windows 7 Capable sticker program. In order to win “the logo of approval,” SSDs must give priority to reading data rather than slow writes and use a native SATA interface.
Finally, Microsoft plans to create a certification program for SSDs. To win the software maker’s logo of approval, SSDs must identify themselves to Windows 7 properly, prioritize data reads over slower data writes, comply with the Serial ATA (SATA) drive interface for faster connections and more, Shu said.
Microsoft seems to be on a continuing trend for not supporting the “new thing”. It is highly unlikely for Windows 7 to support Intel’s newly designed interface to support solid sate technology, the Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface (NVMHCI).
Another challenge for Microsoft is for them to keep Windows 7 small enough so that there’s still enough space on those small SSDs for storage after space is taken up for the operating system itself. Most netbooks ship with an 8GB SSD today. But at WinHEC, Braginski reassured everyone that the entire install of Windows 7 will be smaller than Vista, making 16GB “enough for a good Windows 7 experience.”
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Tags: microsoft, netbooks, SSD, windows 7, windows 7 solid state drive, windows 7 solid state drive performance, windows 7 ssd, windows7
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[...] In Windows 7, Microsoft promises a substantial increase in read and write speed of SSDs. Original post [...]
[...] Microsoft previously announced that Windows 7 will be optimized for SSDs. When an SSD is detected, Windows automatically changes the way it works with hard-drives to better utilize SSDs. Once such improvement is turning off defrag. Defrag has no effect on SSDs due to the unique way SSDs store data. Another optimization is the “Trim” feature, which helps keep the SSDs unused storage area as free as possible to enhance driver wear levelling. There are many other improvements that have been made to utilize SSDs. You can read a detailed article on them here. [...]
[...] in November, we wrote an article about how Windows 7 will improve on SSD Performance. Here are some of the main [...]
Not that I’m impressed a lot, but this is a lot more than I expected for when I found a link on Digg telling that the info is quite decent. Thanks.
[...] in November, we wrote an article about how Windows 7 will improve on SSD Performance. Here are some of the main [...]
And thirdly, Microsoft is planning to start a certification program for SSDs.
…
Finally, Microsoft plans to create a certification program for SSDs.
Not sure changing the verb tense makes this a separate task.
OK we’re here now. I have Windows 7 running on an Intel motherboard with a 3.0 GHz Intel quad processor with 8Gb RAM and a
128Gb Super-Talent SSD and it runs like greased lightning. CrystalDiskInfo reports
TRIM is in operation. Everything loads extremely fast, going into XPM is fast, Internet access is sped up because the antivirus that’s doing a precheck on the sites is launched and runs faster. Its incredible and so is Windows 7.
[...] [...]
[...] Kingston SSD NOW V+ ist eine MLC-SSD der Oberklasse, die vor allen Dingen den Trim-Support von Windows 7 unterstuetzt, was der Lebensdauer und vor allen Dingen der Langzeitperformance nicht abtraeglich [...]
[...] Plextor didn’t mention if the drives ship with Microsoft Windows 7 “trim” support that increases SSD performance in PCs. Additional information regarding trim can be found at Microsoft’s Windows 7 Center support site. [...]
Very interesting post thank you for sharing I just added your website to my bookmarks and will be back.
“Microsoft seems to be on a continuing trend for not supporting the “new thing”. It is highly unlikely for Windows 7 to support Intel’s newly designed interface to support solid sate technology, the Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface (NVMHCI).”
HAHAHA, What a loser. It turned out that ONLY Microsoft supported SSD’s and not only that their TRIM commands. If you want a company that isn’t supporting that, you’d need to go to apple mac and leopard which has no support for SSD.
[...] ShareDigg DiggPemacu keadaan pepejal, Kingston SSDNow V+ generasi kedua ini mempuunyai sokongan Windows 7 TRIM dan kapasiti sehingga 512GB. Ia dikatakan lebih laju dan cekap berbanding generasi sebelumnya dan [...]