Hi! SSDs are all the rage. Indeed, everyone thinks they are excellent products, and they are constantly praising them. In fact, their performance is excellent. They offer higher read and write speeds. Therefore, they offer better operating system performance. They are currently available in SATA and PCIe formats. In addition, the latter provides better performance thanks to NVMe and M.2 connector. It is a key part of the computer. Logically, we want it to last as long as possible. For this, it is vital to perform maintenance work. This does not ensure that it does not get full of garbage. In short, the ideal is to be able to extend its lifetime. Read on to find out how to configure Windows 10 to protect an SSD.
Configuring Windows to protect an SSD.
Several tools are available to check the life of the SSD. Indeed, there are programs such as Crystal Disk Mark or Hard Disk Sentinel. Their function is to perform performance tests and check the status. However, we can also take actions in Windows 10 to extend the life of the SSD. These tasks will allow us not to force the storage system to perform tasks that consume unnecessary read/write cycles. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Disable hibernation on the computer.
This feature causes the system memory to store the information about running programs on the SSD. This way, when the system is restarted, the system will pass that information back to the system memory. Undoubtedly, an option that can be useful. However, this task consumes write cycles that we could save in order not to damage the SSD eventually. Consequently, it is advisable to disable the hibernation option. With this in mind, it is necessary to launch a Command Prompt with administrator privileges. To achieve this, just type CMD in the search bar and select the appropriate option.
Then run the following command:
powerrcfg.exe/hibernate off
Modify the paging file
Occasionally, a program requires more physical memory than the system can provide. In such a case, Windows resorts to a paging file. Also known as virtual memory, this file allows storing information on these applications in the storage system. Ideally, you should have enough RAM to avoid having to resort to virtual memory. If so, we can disable this function. Consequently, we will avoid unnecessary write processes on the SSD. If you do not have enough RAM, you can also resort to a mechanical hard disk. This way you can generate the page file in that location. This means that you do not have to delete it. To learn how to edit and delete this file, please have a look at our tutorial.
Disable disk defragment
On traditional hard disks, defragmentation is a very useful maintenance task. However, the situation changes with SSD disks. Keep in mind that SSDs have no mechanical parts. Therefore, data localization does not affect its performance. In fact, by consuming P/E (Program-erase) cycles, its lifetime is shortened. Follow these steps to disable this option. First, type defragment in the search bar.
Next, the unit optimization options are opened. Please click on Change settings.
To deactivate it completely, please uncheck all the checkboxes.
Ultimately, we have seen How to configure Windows 10 to protect an SSD. In addition, we can also try other tasks to extend the life of this element. For example, keep the unit’s firmware up to date. Or reduce the manipulation of the cache and temporary files. So long!
