crucial M4 128 gb ssd setup advice .

rossiboy001 · 30 Mar 2012 at 13:55

Hi after some deliberating , I have recieved now a crucial m4 128gb ssd , I understand I have to update the firmware .
Question is do i do this before anything else , I have just unpacked the ssd , plugged it into an existing 775 desktop i have , to check it is working , and it shows up in the bios fine .
However it is just out of the box , so it doesnt show in windows , Do i have to format it first and do as i would with any normal mechanical drive , should i do the firmware first . if indeed it will work , before i format it , Do , i need to format it at all ?
Iv got the firmware sitting on my desktop , ready to run the application through the windows utility , rather than burning disks .
I will be using it for a new ivybridge build , but thought ill connect it to another pc and sort this first , so its ready to go .
Thought illd ask you guys first before i mess it up and do it wrong way round .
many thanks in advance .

kmax86 · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:01

make sure sata mode is in AHCI
also im guessing you can update the firmware even without formatting it first
so after plugging it in update the firmware
format it in storage management
and it will be ready to use
(assuming you wont be using as a boot drive)

EDIT: i believe its better to use the bootable media in updating firmware. You can use usb sticks instead of burning cds

rossiboy001 · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:04

Thanks kmax86 , Im new to ssd stuff , whats AHCI , how do i do that please ?

stulid · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:08

You will find in the BIOS the SATA controller maybe has a few modes (IDE, RAID and AHCI)

Also run the Windows Experience Index to disable disk defrag, or do it manually yourself.

kmax86 · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:09

its in the bios options it is needed to ensure the ssd will run at its speed
also i think you cannot change it when windows is already installed (if it needs to be changed) but there are registry hacks that will allow you to

rossiboy001 · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:09

stulid said:
You will find in the BIOS the SATA controller maybe has a few modes (IDE, RAID and AHCI)

thank you im going to have a dip in there now and look for it .

rossiboy001 · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:27

kmax86 said:
its in the bios options it is needed to ensure the ssd will run at its speed
also i think you cannot change it when windows is already installed (if it needs to be changed) but there are registry hacks that will allow you to

Hmm , Iv had a look i cant find no sata options to change this in bios , perhaps its in the boot menu , which ill go have a look in .

with what your saying , I wont be able to do this anyway , so am i just best leaving it and putting it back into the box for a month until the rest of the hardware for my build is available .
But even then I dont understand , Because your supposed to do all this before you install windows right ?
But if i just put everything together , when I do the build , I understand the windows installation disk will format it as it goes along installing , But the update wont get done until its all up and running right ?

kmax86 · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:38

check it first
because when I installed my ssd as my games drive the sata mode is already in AHCI even though my windows was installed on a hard drive

you could still use the ssd if it is not in ahci it just wont be achieving its speed

rossiboy001 · 30 Mar 2012 at 15:52

Thanks , I just worked out that the desktop 775 foxconn G31MX doesnt support this type AHCI , it and raid are not listed , its an OEM budget board im using here , Ill have to take apart another desktop I have which will let me , though thats a pain , as this one is the easy"st accessable , without fiddling under tables and getting tangled in wires .
I may just leave it , but I suppose the main thing , the bios picks it up so i can assume its live and not faulty , which is important , so can re box it up for a month until ivybridge .
So Ill treat it as a virgin ssd with the new build , So is this correct that when i put everything together , before installing windows i should just go into the bios and change to AHCI first , then install windows , then when the computer is up and running install the firmware ?
cause im sure what has been confusing me is the iv overviewed other posts , that seem to suggest that the firmware update is best done before loading installing windows ?

beejjacobs · 30 Mar 2012 at 18:31

rossiboy001 said:
Thanks , I just worked out that the desktop 775 foxconn G31MX doesnt support this type AHCI , it and raid are not listed , its an OEM budget board im using here , Ill have to take apart another desktop I have which will let me , though thats a pain , as this one is the easy"st accessable , without fiddling under tables and getting tangled in wires .
I may just leave it , but I suppose the main thing , the bios picks it up so i can assume its live and not faulty , which is important , so can re box it up for a month until ivybridge .
So Ill treat it as a virgin ssd with the new build , So is this correct that when i put everything together , before installing windows i should just go into the bios and change to AHCI first , then install windows , then when the computer is up and running install the firmware ?
cause im sure what has been confusing me is the iv overviewed other posts , that seem to suggest that the firmware update is best done before loading installing windows ?

I suggest you update firmware before installing, simply because you can lose data [though its unlikely] and it's quicker with less/no data on too

craarc · 30 Mar 2012 at 23:23

with regard to AHCI mode u dont need it and especially if you want to boot to ide later or you use multiple boots

http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/optimization-guides/the-ssd-optimization-guide-2/

depends on if your ssd is to be the only boot drive tbh not always a given

rossiboy001 · 31 Mar 2012 at 10:21

craarc said:
with regard to AHCI mode u dont need it and especially if you want to boot to ide later or you use multiple boots

http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/optimization-guides/the-ssd-optimization-guide-2/

depends on if your ssd is to be the only boot drive tbh not always a given

Thanks , interesting reading , iv saved that page for future . Yeah on this particuler instance it is my intention to be the only boot drive . Iv got other PC"s , which have more than one OS on like ubuntu , which I have used to recover the OEM backups of W7 , when changing around MB"s ect .
But on this one Iv got a retail copy of W7 , So one OS will suffice , as I can always use the disk, should any issues , So one drive this SSD will be fine for the only boot , everything else can be just storage on the mechanical drives . I dont mind waiting the few extra seconds for games , and other media to kick in from them .
Have managed to update the firmware in connecting it to my 775 q6600 , with a blackops x48 board , the update was straight forward , though testing ACHI mode after , kept crashing the system, when watching youtube and playing music , but thats another issue , ill have to look into . Though not important as im waiting for z77 gigabyte UD5 iv got my eye on for this SSD and new build .
Just one more quick question , Iv forgot , last time I did a fresh install ,. I forgot to format the HD , but I recall w7 instillation does this as it goes along . Im expecting its the same for this SSD right ? so no need to perform this until then ?

KraniX · 31 Mar 2012 at 10:56

rossiboy001 said:
Just one more quick question , Iv forgot , last time I did a fresh install ,. I forgot to format the HD , but I recall w7 instillation does this as it goes along . Im expecting its the same for this SSD right ? so no need to perform this until then ?

Yeah you get the option when installing W7 but you don't actually need to select anything, just click next and the install will continue, basically does it for you. I just did this last night when setting up my new M4, loving the SSD, should have bought one ages ago but the price now makes it a no brainer.