What should I do? Intel X25-M

Alfie said:
Worth mentioning I just found out you need to use HDDerase 3.3 as 4.0 will not work on intel drives.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's why I said version 3.3 in my post ;-) !!

If you google you can find a bootable ISO image with HDDErase 3.3 which someone prepared precisely for using on Intel SSDs!

Matthew
 
mdovey said:
Not necessarily.

Although the firmware update should leave any data/OS already installed on the SSD intact, there is always a possibility (as those who tried the last firmware update) that something will go wrong and you'll lose the data on the disk.

it would be somewhat disheartening to spend a day or so installing and OS and applications, only for the firmware update to go wrong leaving you to install the OS and applications all over again!

Of course, you should back up before you begin (Macrium Reflect Free is a good tool for doing this and will preserve the optimal SSD partitioning if you need to do a reinstall. This would also be a good tool to use to make an image of the disk prior to a HDDErase so that you can quickly restore afterwards).

Matthew
Click to expand...

Not a worry for me, I'm more than happy to start fresh every couple of months even and I never keep anything important on my boot drive.
 
Alfie said:
Yeah, that's what i'll do.

Here is my plan of action.
  • Install windows 7 on the SSD from new.
  • Wait for the new firmware.
  • HDD erase the drive.
  • Install the new TRIM firmware.
  • Install Windows again.

Is that ok or should I install the firmware before HDDerasing?

Thanks for your patience with me :)
Click to expand...

It's ok, but I think it's overkill.

The new firmware will be out in a few days (hopefully). You've not used the drive yet, so even if you left it a couple of weeks before you put the new firmware on the drive (so you know it's safe!) - you've only had Windows on a couple of weeks at most.

Seriously, the degradation in that time is going to be hardly noticeable - and I would plan to;
  • Install Windows on SSD now
  • Install new firmware when available and satisfied it's safe
  • Install new Intel Toolbox
  • Run Manual "TRIM" Tool
  • Let TRIM do it's stuff and enjoy

:)
 
Alfie said:
Yeah, that's what i'll do.

Here is my plan of action.
  • Install windows 7 on the SSD from new.
  • Wait for the new firmware.
  • HDD erase the drive.
  • Install the new TRIM firmware.
  • Install Windows again.

Is that ok or should I install the firmware before HDDerasing?

Thanks for your patience with me :)
Click to expand...

OK, here is what I would suggest you do


Wait 24 hours (there a good possibility that a new firmware will be made available today/tomorrow or at least an announcement of a delay)
Assumng no new firmware:
Install Windows 7 on the SSD from new
Run benchmark immediately after install and note results
Wait for new firmware
Backup Windows 7 (using something like Macrum Reflect Free)
Update new Firmware
Run Intel SSD Toolbox
Run benchmark and check against previous results
If the performance is fine, then just continue using Windows...
Otherwise Run HDDErase, and then restore the Macrium Reflect image

Matthew

P.S. What I'll actually do (I have Win7 on a X25-M G2) is similar to ChileanLlama steps - the extra steps are really there just to give you peace of mind, since you seem so concerned about performance ;-)
 
Last edited:
cheers lads. Turns out all this TRIM and degredation business is a massive dose of scaremongering then. Off I go to install on the SSD :)

and I wouldn't plan to;
Click to expand...
do you mean "would plan to?"
 
mdovey said:
OK, here is what I would do


Wait 24 hours (there a good possibility that a new firmware will be made available today/tomorrow or at least an announcement of a delay)
Assumng no new firmware:
Install Windows 7 on the SSD from new
Run benchmark immediately after install and note results
Wait for new firmware
Backup Windows 7 (using something like Macrum Reflect Free)
Update new Firmware
Run Intel SSD Toolbox
Run benchmark and check against previous results
If the performance is fine, then just continue using Windows...
Otherwise Run HDDErase, and then restore the Macrium Reflect image

Matthew
Click to expand...

LOVELY
 
Yep got a ninja-edit in there :D

A lot of talk about TRIM is scaremongering, sure it's good to have, but even with a dirty drive, which will take the average person ages (week, months even years), it will still feel faster than a mechanical HD.
 
Oh an benchmarking tools...these can be wildly unreliable and give you a different figure each and every time you run them. Please be wary of results before erasing and restoring.
 
Alfie said:
Worth mentioning I just found out you need to use HDDerase 3.3 as 4.0 will not work on intel drives.
Click to expand...

There was only a incompatibility with HDDErase 4.0 on the Intel X25-M Generation 1 Solid State Drives which had the 8610 firmware version. The Intel X25-M Generation 1 Solid State Drives which have been updated to the newest firmware (8820), HDDErase 4.0 works absolutely fine. HDDErase 4.0 also works absolutely fine on the Intel X25-M Generation 2 Solid State Drives.

You can download HDDErase 4.0 below:

HDD Erase 4.0

Once you have downloaded HDDErase it, simply copy the contents over to a bootable flash drive. If you haven't currently got a bootable flash drive, if you follow the instructions on this page here, you should have one in a couple of minutes.

After you have done the above, if you restart your system and go into your BIOS and set the SATA controller to IDE - Compatible or Legacy mode and restart your system. Then boot from your flash drive and once you have control over the keyboard type in HDDErase and then follow the on screen instructions. The Secure Erase command will only take a few seconds to complete. Once you have used the secure erase command on your drive, don't forgot to set the SATA controller back to either IDE - Enhanced or AHCI mode.

Once you have updated the Intel X25-M Generation 2 Solid State Drive to a firmware which allows TRIM support, you can forget about HDDErase completely. All you simply have to do is format your solid state drive and it will automatically be TRIMed.

ChileanLlama said:
A lot of talk about TRIM is scaremongering, sure it's good to have, but even with a dirty drive, which will take the average person ages (week, months even years), it will still feel faster than a mechanical HD.
Click to expand...

Very much so. I feel certain aspects of solid state drives such as the performance degradation have been slightly over exaggerated and don't actually reflect reality.
 
As I seem to have aquired some people who actually understand SSD's in here I have a couple of questions (these are the last, I promise):

1)AHCI or IDE mode? does it need to be in a particular mode when updating firmware, and which mode is best for performance in general use?

2)Are there any drivers to install once windows is on there? Will the intel inf chipset drivers do the job or are the windows drivers best?

Thanks :)
 
Alfie said:
Yeah, that's what i'll do.

Here is my plan of action.
  • Install windows 7 on the SSD from new.
  • Wait for the new firmware.
  • HDD erase the drive.
  • Install the new TRIM firmware.
  • Install Windows again.

Is that ok or should I install the firmware before HDDerasing?

Thanks for your patience with me :)
Click to expand...
Could you not Ghost the disk just before you erase it to install the TRIM firmware. That way you should be back up and runing very quickly?
 
Alfie said:
As I seem to have aquired some people who actually understand SSD's in here I have a couple of questions (these are the last, I promise):

1)AHCI or IDE mode? does it need to be in a particular mode when updating firmware, and which mode is best for performance in general use?

2)Are there any drivers to install once windows is on there? Will the intel inf chipset drivers do the job or are the windows drivers best?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

AHCI mode is best performance.
For flashing you can use either mode iirc, not that it's hard to switch your bios back to achi long enough to run the fasher program then go back to AHCI.

The default windows drivers in Win7 are the only ones atm that will pass TRIM commands through automatically when you delete files. If you put the latest Intel drivers on you get a bit better performance, but can only use TRIM via the Intel SSD management tools - you can just schedule this to run in the background once a night so it's no biggie.
 
Fire Wizard said:
There was only a incompatibility with HDDErase 4.0 on the Intel X25-M Generation 1 Solid State Drives which had the 8610 firmware version. The Intel X25-M Generation 1 Solid State Drives which have been updated to the newest firmware (8820), HDDErase 4.0 works absolutely fine. HDDErase 4.0 also works absolutely fine on the Intel X25-M Generation 2 Solid State Drives.

You can download HDDErase 4.0 below:

HDD Erase 4.0

Once you have downloaded HDDErase it, simply copy the contents over to a bootable flash drive. If you haven't currently got a bootable flash drive, if you follow the instructions on this page here, you should have one in a couple of minutes.

After you have done the above, if you restart your system and go into your BIOS and set the SATA controller to IDE - Compatible or Legacy mode and restart your system. Then boot from your flash drive and once you have control over the keyboard type in HDDErase and then follow the on screen instructions. The Secure Erase command will only take a few seconds to complete. Once you have used the secure erase command on your drive, don't forgot to set the SATA controller back to either IDE - Enhanced or AHCI mode.

Once you have updated the Intel X25-M Generation 2 Solid State Drive to a firmware which allows TRIM support, you can forget about HDDErase completely. All you simply have to do is format your solid state drive and it will automatically be TRIMed.
Click to expand...

This post was in my mind when posting earlier. Can you add it to the SSD sticky Fire Wizard?

Very much so. I feel certain aspects of solid state drives such as the performance degradation have been slightly over exaggerated and don't actually reflect reality.
Click to expand...

...and prospective purchasers worrying about firmware updates as well :D
 
Not if you want TRIM to work. Only the MS drivers supplied in Windows 7 currently pass the TRIM command from the OS to the drive. Intel need to provide updated drivers that support TRIM.
 
I would have thought they'd have had them ready for the Win7 launch, there was a recent beta of the new Intel Storage Manager but even that didn't include TRIM.

So sorry, but no idea - hopefully sooner rather than later!
 
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