How to run XP on an SSD?

Dear all

I am running Windows 7 on my SSD with the controller set to AHCI mode, so that the TRIM command will be passed through. You can see my full specs by clicking on my avatar; the SSD is a 128 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 and the mobo is an Asus P7P55D Delux.

I would like to run XP off the SSD also. However, I am aware that XP does not pass the TRIM command, and that it misaligns the partition on which it is installed in such a way that the SSD suffers severe write amplification. Between the lack of TRIM and the misalignment, the performance of the SSD will be degraded.

I am looking for some very specific answers to some questions, preferably with links to an article on the subject.

1) Out of curiousity, does the TRIM command cause all of the eligible space to be marked free, or does it have to be issued on a block-by-block or file-by-file basis? I ask because I am guessing that in the former case running Win7 would clean up my disk; in the latter it would not.

2) Is there a way to force XP to be properly aligned, or another workaround? Ideally, I would be able to simply clone my existing XP partition; I really don't feel like re-installing and re-configuring all that software.

3) Will the fabled Intel SSD Toolkit solve my problems? Will it work on a non-Intel SSD? Do I have to run it regularly to clean up the drive, sort of like defrag for a platter drive?

4) What else do I need to know, that I didn't ask, to run XP on an SSD and realize the full potential of the drive?

Thanks in advance
-Peter

Edit:
5) Is there a way to examine a partition and see if it is correctly aligned?
 
I can't answer any of the question, but pose one myself:

Why do you want/need XP?

If you have/had Windows 7 Professional or above, it has a feature to run an XP emulation or virtual PC, but I think the mobo must support it?

I once had a dual boot system, 7 and XP, just to use my All-in-One printer that wasn't supported in 7. It turned out to be more of a PITA than it was worth. I just ditched the printer. I have yet to replace it. And ditched the PC, too.
 


I've got years and years of apps, configurations, and other OS-embedded muck. While I'm installing all this stuff in Win7, or replacing it with more modern equivalents, I like the comfort of being able to run my old, fully-loaded system. It's a nice, slow transition for a nice, slow middle-aged man.

Cute dogs.
 

shagbark

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I need XP because the Windows Explorer in Windows 7 is broken.
I spend a LOT of time - hours every week - classifying and moving thousands of files around by hand in a gigantic directory tree, which requires a Windows Explorer that keeps the entire tree displayed - which is impossible in Windows 7.

As a rule, when someone says, "I want to do X", it is almost never useful to ask, "Why would you want to do X?" Far too many computer fascists think they know what is best for users.
 

Useful information: see posts above!

I'm still booting XP off of my VelociRaptor. I've got Win7 configured enough that I almost never boot XP anymore, so it's not an issue.

If I were going to try to put them both on the SSD, given what I know now, I would install Win7 to the SSD, with all other drives disconnected, and then create a third partition on the SSD and restore my XP partition to it. Use EasyBCD to ensure that I have dual-boot, and see if the SSD craps up from lack of TRIM or not. Since I haven't tried this, I don't know for sure that it will work.
 

bwhiten

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"Useful information: see posts above!"
Yeah seems the topic is almost taboo :)
I noticed not a single "related" answer was forthcoming.
Thanks for your advice. Seems it's time to pull the Win 7 trigger if I want to continue to upgrade HW occasionally.