How do you run, activate, and ensure Garbage Collect is working?

[Dougx1317]

I have two 60GB Vertex 2 SSD's in RAID 0. I know that I don't get TRIM with RAID 0, but I do get a garbage collect function. My concern is that I don't know how to turn this on or how to check that it is on. I'm not even sure if it can be turned on/off. Does anyone know of a way to check this?

My second concern it that my computer behavior is not allowing it a chance to run. I've read that garbage collection happens when the computer is idle. My computer is rarely idle since I put it to sleep when I'm not using it. Should be leaving it on more when I'm not using it? How long and how often do I need to let it idle?

 

[randomizer]

Log out and leave the computer on the login screen for a few hours a week. That's the best way to ensure it is working. There is no way to turn it on and there is no way to turn it off. You can't check to see if it's working apart from monitoring performance (which just reverses any improvement by hammering the drive with random writes). There is simply no reason why it won't work as long as you give the drive time. GC is done at the SSD controller level, and is entirely independent of and invisible to the OS and other hardware.

 

[cigarjohn]

While talking to Crucial about there garbage collection software for their SSD's, they told me to just either sign-off or log off your computer. Your computer will go in a rest state and the hard drives will shut down. The software will not work if there is any hard drive activity. This is when garbage collection starts working. They said to do it for at least 30 minutes, once a week. But the more the better depending on how much your writing to your drives on a daily basis.

I hope this helps. I you need more information, please call the SSD manufacturer. They will help you out like they've helped me out.


Peace.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

^5 +1 what randomizer and cigarjohn said.

 

[tecmo34]

There is some good recommendations here but lets try and not to bring up 5 month old thread, if we can help it

 

[JohnnyLucky]

AW! Crap! I didn't even see the date.

 

[indian messiah]

on newer ssds it works even if u are not signed off.....just leave it and a rest state