Thinkpads Forum

I just received my first SSD, an Intel 520 120GB OEM. It came with power and data cables but I guess (just saw a youtube video), that I just remove the HD and replace it with the SSD.

Intel has an Acronis utility I can download that will evidently let me clone the HD to the SSD (I have external HDs and also a HD caddy for the T60). The T60 came with a 60GB HD and the XP install I have on it is evidently the original one it came with in December 2006 (I bought it new from Lenovo the last week of November 2006). It's working, probably not optimally at this point. I have recovery disks. Should and can I make a fresh install on the SSD or should I clone the existing OS to the SSD?

The T60 has a T5500 processor, which would support Windows 7 64 bit. I have that running on my T61. I'd rather keep using XP on the T60, though. I don't want to just dive into this and make mistakes. Suggestions, hints, explanations appreciated.

The thing about installing XP either via the recovery discs or a XP disc is they won't align the partition properly for best performance. I would suggest using a Vista or Windows 7 install disc to make the install partition, then installing XP with a XP disc if you've got one. That'll give you the best performance.

I have an XP disk but I want to run XP with the COA on the machine, not require another license. Isn't there a way I can do that and still have an aligned partition? I saw posts suggesting some free utilities, such as gParted. I think Intel might have a utility that will do this also.

Do I need to update the BIOS? Is there a special BIOS I need? BIOS settings I need to make? I saw something about activating AHCI.

You may be able to install with your disc, then use the key from your machine. As I recall and it's been a while, I used to install XP from any disc as long as it's the right version, then use the key from my machine. I would install XP as a trial. All versions have a 30 day trial, then use the Windows utility to change the key. I did it many times and it always activated over the internet, but it's been so long, I could be wrong. Maybe there's someone here who remember better than I.

A XP disc lacks the SATA drivers needed for the hard drive. You can put it in compatibility mode until you get the drivers on there, then flip it over to AHCI.

You shouldn't need a BIOS update to use the SSD.

Download Parted Magic and burn the iso file to bootable CD, put in the ssd in your primary hard drive bay and the Parted Magic CD in your CD / DVD drive

Boot your T60 with your Parted Magic, format the ssd drive using NTFS so you don't have to align the partition table after you have installed the WinXP (either fresh install using windows setup CD / recovery disc / cloning method )

I've done this method on Corsair ForceGT 180GB ssd on my PC
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after that, install WinXP, update the SATA controller ( click here ) and do anything you want after the AHCI is installed

hope that help

A couple of things.

No native TRIM support in XP. Consider upgrading the OS. If that's not an option, get yourself a copy of the Intel SSD Optimizer Toolbox and run it sparingly.

Consider turning off paging. If necessary, max out your RAM. If you have to page and if it's possible, page to a spinning hard drive.

Do not use gparted to set up the partitions on the 520. Much of the information on the web about gparted fiddling to ensure alignment does not work and in fact cannot be made to work. Easiest suggestion is to use a Win Vista or 7 install disk, borrowed if necessary, just to partition the SSD. I've never tried Parted Magic, which is suggested above. It may work for aligning but I would verify afterward using another tool.

You'll be pleased with how the 520 perks up the T60. You might be more pleased if you put this SATA3 drive in a newer machine.

at both ends wrote:A couple of things.

No native TRIM support in XP. Consider upgrading the OS. If that's not an option, get yourself a copy of the Intel SSD Optimizer Toolbox and run it sparingly.

Consider turning off paging. If necessary, max out your RAM. If you have to page and if it's possible, page to a spinning hard drive.

Do not use gparted to set up the partitions on the 520. Much of the information on the web about gparted fiddling to ensure alignment does not work and in fact cannot be made to work. Easiest suggestion is to use a Win Vista or 7 install disk, borrowed if necessary, just to partition the SSD. I've never tried Parted Magic, which is suggested above. It may work for aligning but I would verify afterward using another tool.

You'll be pleased with how the 520 perks up the T60. You might be more pleased if you put this SATA3 drive in a newer machine.

The T60 has 2GB of ram.

How do I turn off paging? In the OS? BIOS? What's that about? I've heard of paging but I'm drawing a blank.

Why is usage of the TRIM functionality in Intel's Toolbox best done "sparingly?" I heard that it can be set up to do it automatically. Is that not a good idea? What is the issue, wear?

I do have a Win7 (64 bit) install disk.

I could put this SSD in my T61 (T7700 core 2 duo with 4GB RAM), which is running Win7 64 bit (installed from the aforementioned install disk). Maybe should get a lesser SSD (i.e. SATA I) for the T60?

First thing to do is max out the RAM by adding at least a 1GB stick.

Paging is what the OS does when memory is short to swap small pieces of RAM out to a disk and then swap them back in when they're needed to continue executing an application. The OS sets aside an area on the disk to handle this swapping which, if you've got a bunch of things running simultaneously, can become quite busy. In extreme situations, the computer will spend all its time moving blocks of RAM to and from disk and get nothing useful accomplished. Response times go to hell and the disk gets thrashed unmercifully. That's why the first suggested remedy for a computer that's acting badly is almost always adding RAM.

Thrashing an SSD in the very same small portion of the disk is a recipe for early failure. Theoretically, modern SSDs should spread this work all over the disk, but theory and reality don't always jibe.

In XP, you turn off paging like this: Start -> My Computer -> View system information -> Advanced tab -> Performance Settings -> Advanced tab -> Change virtual memory -> No paging file followed by as many OKs or Applys as you need and finally a reboot.

You TRIM sparingly because every write on an SSD brings it closer to end of life. SSDs are for data that is read often, needs to be read fast, and that's written rarely. An OS is an obvious candidate. Setting a TRIM schedule of once a month is probably good enough. Setting a similar interval for operating system updates isn't a bad idea either.

As for a SATA I for the T60, I doubt you'll find one nowadays. You really can't buy used because you have no idea what you're getting. Whatever you get is likely to be SATA II at least, so look for good value for your money. Having just pulled a very reliable but two year old X25-M out of a T420, I just went looking to see if there are bargains to be had on a now two generation old line. Ha! New, they're more expensive than most new models from any manufacturer, Intel included.

Good luck.

at both ends wrote:
You'll be pleased with how the 520 perks up the T60. You might be more pleased if you put this SATA3 drive in a newer machine.

Before I pop in this SSD I'm going to wait for one thing. Sunday there was an ad in the paper and Target had a special on a Gateway/Acer laptop for $259:

http://www.target.com/p/gateway-15-6-la ... m=NE56R27u

My local store tells me they may have more in tomorrow, so I'll call them in the morning. I could, I suppose, slip the SSD in that machine and clone the OS using Intel's Acronis utility. It has 4GB RAM, HDMI out, reasonably good graphics, from my perspective the iffy thing would be how long it would last. I bought an Acer cheap ($330 IIRC) about 3 years ago from Best Buy and it self destructed from normal use (never leaving my kitchen table) shortly after the one year warranty expired. If I buy the linked laptop, I'll keep my T60 as it is, at least for the time being. It seems like a long shot, I expect them to tell me they won't get any more, but will see. That machine runs Windows 8, so I suppose it would take full advantage of the SATA III SSD. Then, I guess I could put its 500GB HD in the T60 instead of it's 60GB.

Muse wrote:... Why is usage of the TRIM functionality in Intel's Toolbox best done "sparingly?" I heard that it can be set up to do it automatically. Is that not a good idea? What is the issue, wear?...

From Intel's Toolbox FAQ :
"Q8: How often should Intel SSD Optimizer run on an Intel SSD? How long does it take to complete? Can overuse cause problems?
A8: Intel recommends running Intel SSD Optimizer once per week. The total execution time for running Intel SSD Optimizer is approximately a few seconds. There is no known risk of harm to the SSD due to continuous repeated use; however, running Intel SSD Optimizer more than recommended may waste system resources."

In the greater picture of terabytes of data being written to an SSD during its lifetime, the number of 3-second TRIM events is of no consequence whatsoever.

you can migrate your os to your new ssd through Paragon or AOMEI Partition Assistant: http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/topic/mi ... n-software

you can also extend/shrink/move partitions: http://www.disk-partition.com/resource/ ... dows7.html

As I recall, I used Macrium Reflect Free Edition (http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx) for cloning the partitions from one SSD (a TRIM-not-supporting Intel X25-M G1) to another (a TRIM-supporting OCZ Vertex 2) for my T60. I use Windows 7 Professional 32 bit (it came with the machine when I bought second-hand - the previous owner had an opportunity to get a Lenovo upgrade from XP with COA and disks).

The Macrium tool offered at the beginning of the cloning process to align the new partitions on the target disk SSD-friendly. After the cloning and the booting with the Vertex 2, I checked if TRIM's enabled or not: Windows 7 (and CrystalDisk Info) both said yes, which is fine by me.

I suppose if you use a tool like Macrium (or other which allows you to do the proper alignment via the cloning process), you shall be fine with XP, you only need find a substitute for the TRIM function. (The already mentioned Intel Toolbox seems like a viable alternative, sadly it doesn't support my X25-M G1 according to Intel.)

Your link is very nicely written up.

I have a couple questions however. BTW, The computers i have are all T61s with 4GB RAM running XP-P 32 bit, all with 100 or160 GB regular Hitachi HDDs. I'll migrate to an SSD after i get the machines running in SATA mode correctly, and get the BIOS updated on the 8897 and 8898 machines.

I have a couple T61 6463s that have the middleton BIOS and the SATA drivers already installed that i bought from TuuS (These are great, my wife loves hers, Thanks!).

But i want to put a clone from my 8897 (which has all the apps we need) and the T61 8897 & its HDD has neither the middleton BIOS (which doesn't matter) or the AHCI drivers.

I found the install package ok and extracted the files.

Question is: will the machines boot and run if the SATA ACHI driver is not installed but it is enabled in the BIOS??? I'm asking because I put another clone of the T61 8897 in my wife's T61 6463 before i returned from leave, I did not change the BIOS to compatibility mode, but it seems to be working fine. Hmmmm. I don't want my wife's machine to hang on her with me 7,000 miles away. For the one over here, I also read on Lenovo's learn more page that the machine can hang if it is set to compatability and there is no IDE driver in the loaded setup. since i don't have her 8897 to check the BIOS, I'll experiment and post results.

Again, thanks for a well written write up.

aoitenshi wrote:Download Parted Magic and burn the iso file to bootable CD, put in the ssd in your primary hard drive bay and the Parted Magic CD in your CD / DVD drive

Boot your T60 with your Parted Magic, format the ssd drive using NTFS so you don't have to align the partition table after you have installed the WinXP (either fresh install using windows setup CD / recovery disc / cloning method )

I've done this method on Corsair ForceGT 180GB ssd on my PC
---

after that, install WinXP, update the SATA controller ( click here ) and do anything you want after the AHCI is installed

hope that help

cadillacmike68 wrote: Question is: will the machines boot and run if the SATA ACHI driver is not installed but it is enabled in the BIOS??? I'm asking because I put another clone of the T61 8897 in my wife's T61 6463 before i returned from leave, I did not change the BIOS to compatibility mode, but it seems to be working fine. Hmmmm. I don't want my wife's machine to hang on her with me 7,000 miles away. For the one over here, I also read on Lenovo's learn more page that the machine can hang if it is set to compatability and there is no IDE driver in the loaded setup. since i don't have her 8897 to check the BIOS, I'll experiment and post results.

Again, thanks for a well written write up.

if from the start you are using normal SATA controller (IDE / Compatibility ), then you cannot switch to AHCI unless you install Intel Matrix Storage Manager

but if from the start you are using AHCI mode (you must be using Win7 ), then it is no problem to switch back to IDE / Compatibility mode
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problems will rise ( BSOD ) if you are using WinXP and tried to activate AHCI mode without installing the Intel Storage Matrix Manager driver

I've read somewhere that SSD will work great using AHCI mode then IDE mode, because in IDE mode, you can shorten the life of your SSD

I had run my T61 using IDE mode while using WinXP Pro x64 and the transfer speed is 40% slower than AHCI mode But if you can work with IDE mode, that's not a problem .. I recommend you to use the AHCI mode when you get the chance to use it

Correct me if I have wrong opinion

Lenovo must have built my wife's T61 9987-03U (made in Aug 2008) with the SATA drivers installed. That was a machine that we bought new in September 2008.

I took a clone of her drive that I made last Dec (Dec 2011) and put it in my 6363-Y64, which was already set to AHCI mode and it booted right up.

This would also explain why it worked in my other 6463 that had the BIOS set to AHCI as well.

Well that helps. It's an earlier driver so i'll have to update to the latest Intel Matrix driver and refresh a lot of other drivers as well, but at least i got the machine running on a known good build. I was going to use a more recent clone (made in Nov) but i had stripped a few items off that build to conserve disk space on my wife's machine (she had nearly filled a 100GB drive with itunes tv show downloads!!) and wanted all the other programs there.