PC on speed with SSD: What you should know about Windows 8

When it comes to performance, solid state disks (SSDs) and Windows 8 cut a fine figure together. SSDs store information on chips instead of magnetic disks. This makes them quieter than their hard disk predecessors, significantly faster at up to 550 megabytes and less susceptible to faults.  They have also become more affordable and the choice of products has increased for the buyer, as you from providers such as Reichelt.de can recognize. Nevertheless, it's worth finding out more about tuning and tools.

SSD with Windows 8 and automatic optimization - yes or no?

What confuses many people: Should you store your SSD under Windows 8 really run with the Windows drive optimization Storage Optimizer? It is generally known that this is harmful to the SSD, as optimization also includes defragmentation. And this can potentially damage the SSD's flash memory due to frequent memory access.

The answer to this question is nevertheless "yes". Although Storage Optimizer is still responsible for defragmentation, it only does this for magnetic disks - so there is no danger. It handles the SSD differently: It sends it a "Trim" command, which causes the SSD to know which sectors are no longer needed. This allows the controller of the Sold State Disk to continue using the free blocks optimally, which benefits the write speed. The SSD also receives a trim command from Windows 8 when data is deleted - but often it cannot execute this immediately because it is writing data itself. Nevertheless, the automatic drive optimization should ensure that the SSD always remains "trimmed". It therefore makes sense to leave it activated.

Does Windows 8 recognize your SSD?

However, it is important that Windows 8 also recognizes the SSD as such. To ensure this, simply right-click on the SSD icon, then go to "Properties", "Tools" and "Optimize". If the SSD still does not appear as a "solid-state drive" under "Media type", but still as a hard disk, we recommend activating the Windows system evaluation - which can be found under "Performance information" and "Tools".

Useful tools for SSDs under Windows 8

In general, Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 work very well with SSDs. However, it is sometimes possible that one or two settings are not quite "right". To find out and correct this, there is a useful tool: the "SSD Magican" from Samsung.
Under "OS Optimization" there is a useful tutorial on configuring Windows services. Among other things, the tool recommends that you switch off "Superfetch" - deactivating the search index, however, is optional according to the tool. The trim command mentioned above is important for the service life of an SSD - you can use the freeware tool "CrystalDiskInfo" under "Properties", for example, to check whether it is actually activated.

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