Windows 7 inbuilt disk imaging and SSD

[Bubo]

Does anyone use the inbuilt disk imaging in Windows 7 with their ssd? I have read that a useful strategy with ssd's to keep them fresh is to periodically secure erase them then put an image back on. The inbuilt imaging in wWindows sounds ideal, but I have also read that you can only restore an image to a formatted drive. I.e. once you secure erase the ssd you have to put a partition on it and format it before you can restore the image. How do you go about doing this and ensure the partition alignment correct for ssd's?

Everything I've read suggests that when you install windows to a fresh ssd you don't manually create a partition, you let the windows install do it by itself as it knows what it is doing when it recognises an ssd, but does the same apply when you have to manually create a partition?

I guess the answer is to use a 3rd party imaging program, but which will allow you to keep the correct alignment? I have the partedmagic iso and there are a few imaging programs on there but they look a bit complex at this moment in time and I'm still not sure about the alignment thing with them, so was drawn to the inbuilt windows system.

Are there any Noddy guides on the subject?

 

[Dirk]

I think you're right that you need a partition to use the W7 imaging tool to re-install. Acronis works well as an alternative and will keep alignment.

You only need to Secure Erase if you are re-installing anyway or if you have a problem that's causing significant slow downs on your drive. i.e if you've benchmarked it to within an inch of it's life. There's no point in doing a Secure Erase just for the sake of it!

EDIT: spot the deliberate mistake...? I meant Acronis True Image not Partition Magic!

 

[Bubo]

By periodically I was talking like every 6 months, this is what I've seen talked about on other sites anyway as a means to bring your ssd right back to factory speed with all your stuff on it, regardless of how Trim has managed to keep on top of things in the meantime.

Its just that all the advice I've seen says that you shouldn't manually create a partition when installing windows, not even the tool in the instal process itself. I.e. let windows install to a RAW drive, which kind of suggets if you do manually use the part tool on a windows install disk it won't necessarily align the partitions, and probably won't create the hidden one either. So wanted to get clued up for when the times comes.

I've done a bit more research now though and the gparted live cd seems fairly straight forward to correct misaligned partitions anyway, so may rely on that.

 

[Ch3m1c4L]

if you boot into the win7 dvd, and then format the drive it will create both the 100mb and whatever size you say partitions. Then you can image back onto that. I did that with Acronis, since i had originally imaged my win7 install onto the SSD, then realised I had incorrect alignment. If you just image onto a single partition, and dont have the 100mb one, then you will just need to run startup recovery and it will put the boot files somewhere else, making it fine.

 

[Dirk]

By periodically I was talking like every 6 months, this is what I've seen talked about on other sites anyway as a means to bring your ssd right back to factory speed with all your stuff on it, regardless of how Trim has managed to keep on top of things in the meantime...

That doesn't make any sense. If TRIM and GC has done it's thing and your drive is already running at 'Factory' speed, what would you gain by Secure erasing and re-imaging? Just doing a bench run of ATTO once a month will tell you if you're losing performance...although if your drives performance is bad enough to warrant a Secure Erase you will feel the difference in use long before seeing it in a benchmark.

I've run my Vertex since they first hit the market. After the first couple of firmware improvements the speed enhancements were all done and the next updates brought GC and TRIM. Since then i've done an ATTO run every month and the results don't change. The drive is running as fast as it ever did which is as fast as it's capable of running. I've never had to log-off overnight to 'let GC do it's thing' and i've never had to Secure Erase'.

My PC is always on, never logged out, and only restarted when a Windows update requires it. It's used every day so i would say an average usage pattern.

Bottom line is Secure Erase if you need to, not because someone, somewhere says it's the thing to do!

 

[mikeo]

I totally agree with all Dirk's comments. Much common sense being spoken me thinks.

Classic case of "if it aint broken... don't try to fix it".