Setting up an SSD for the first time

[Freddie1980]

I've never used an SSD before and I'm not sure how I'm meant to setup one. Is there a setting on the motherboard BIOS I need to change to get it work at its best performance? If I update the firmware will I need to reinstall Windows?

I've got an Intel 320 40Gb SSD and Western Digital 500Gb HDD for storage. How do I make sure everything gets backed up onto the HDD as Windows routes all of your documents via the C:\. Is there some sort of registry edit I need to do?

Sorry for the noob questions but I'm a complete novice when it comes to SSD's.

 

[Duke]

There is nothing really different you need to do compared to a mechanical drive. For the best speed you need to make sure the drive is set to AHCI in the BIOS but can just load Windows after that. It is worth putting the latest firmware on - most are non-destructive (i.e you won't lose the data) and some can be done by a bootable CD, others via Windows, so it depends on the make and model. You should be able to find out the info you need from reviews, manufacturers website/forum.

In terms of back up, you can just go to the properties of the folders and get it to put your doc folders etc on the storage HD - if that is what you're asking?