Does SSD need a special driver?

Hello everybody,

I installed Intel ssd x-25m 80gb into Thinkpad T61p with flashed bios, but it is as slow as Hitachi 5400 booting only 10 secs faster (55 sec) under Windows 7 64 bit. Do I need to install any special driver for it apart from that Intel utility ?
I tried both AHCI and Compatability modes in BIOS, but there was no difference.

I noticed that in Windows 7 32 bit it works faster but it shows only 3 Gb ram as usable out of 4 Gb installed. Is there any tool to make it see all 4 Gb of ram ?

I will appreciate your help
Regards

 

You need to use 64 bit to see more than 3GB.

S

 

The SSD doesn't need any special drivers. However, boot time may be constrained by the speed at which the CPU can handle the boot process. Even the memory speed may be a bottlenck on an older platform.

However, you may find that the SSD gives improved responsiveness in everyday usage because of the near-zero access times.

John

 

Thanks ! Yes, when booted it seems faster

 

Is there any advantage in 64-bit OS over that of 32-bit aprt from size of RAM given that I have only 4Gb?Can it be true that extra 1 Gb seen by 64-bit system will be used by higher systems requirements resulting in no boost inperformance compared to 32-bit?

 

The main benefit of 64 bit is the ability to address more RAM. However, if you don't need this then my recommendation would be to stay with 32 bit and avoid potential incompatibilities with older software and drivers. Get all your normal programs running and use Task Manager to show the RAM usage.

John

 

Busidor,
Two things come to mind.
(1) Might want to make sure you're SSD is updated with the latest firmware from intel. Make sure you read the instructions throughly. A couple of pointers if my memory serves me:
- SATA harddrive password must be turned off
- SATA controller must be in compatiblity mode or legacy mode, not AHCI during this process
- You have to download an ISO, burn it to optical disk, and book from the disk. You can use Imgburn (free program) to burn the iso to disk.

(2) Are you using a clean install of windows7? If you aren't you may be launching processes that a clean install wouldn't, thus increasing your boot up time.

But 55 seconds isn't so bad. I think my x61s with x25-m intel ssd boots in around 40 seconds.

 

Thanks. I will opt fpr 32-bit then