baoweezie

Distinguished
Apr 26, 2011
6
0
18,510
hi i just bought a crucial realssd c300 and i read up on alot of forums that said i needed to enable AHCI mode first before installing windows on the ssd, the problem is, on vaio laptops the BIOS menu is very limited, i could only change the date and time, boot order, and turn intel virtualization technology on, i have a vaio cb series that was just recently released, i checked to see if TRIM was enabled in the cmd and it was.

what i am planning to do is to install the os and some programs on the ssd and buy a hard drive caddy for the dvd slot to use my hdd that came with the laptop for storage of music and stuff, can i just install the os on the ssd and then format the hdd and just plug it in, would it be recognized as a hard drive then or do i have to change some settings first in order to use it as a hard drive?


any help on both questions would help me alot
 
Solution
You should be fine doing as you propose. Install the SSD as the primary and install the OS. Only after the OS is installed should you connect the HDD. Since TRIM support is enabled, I would assume your Viao is good to go for AHCI support as well.

Good luck!

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
You should be fine doing as you propose. Install the SSD as the primary and install the OS. Only after the OS is installed should you connect the HDD. Since TRIM support is enabled, I would assume your Viao is good to go for AHCI support as well.

Good luck!
 
Solution

baoweezie

Distinguished
Apr 26, 2011
6
0
18,510


After I install everything on the ssd, when I plug in the hdd in the DVD slot with the caddy would it be plug and play or do I have to change some settings? I basically want the hdd to be my storage area for the user folders like my documents, music, etc.
 

baoweezie

Distinguished
Apr 26, 2011
6
0
18,510



hey i installed windows and everything worked out, there is one thing that is confusing though, my ssd is 128gb but how come it only shows as 102gb in windows? i understand that hdds are not always the exact amount as advertised space wise and im pretty sure ssds are the same, but 26gb? thats alot, did i do something wrong? i have the crucial c300
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
There is the issue of how the OS and hardware vendors count (1000 vs. 1024) and measure disk space. Also, Win 7 probably carved out a small "reserved" space for boot/system files.

For grins, you can go into Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management to see how your system is configured.

Good luck! You did good!!!
 

baoweezie

Distinguished
Apr 26, 2011
6
0
18,510
the ssd has 100MB thats system reserved and 16.3GB for the recovery partition, the rest is the os and everything, is the recovery partition normally that large? or did i do something wrong?
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
Depends on what is in the recovery partition. Sounds like when you installed the Sony recovery/install disk(s), it created a large enough area to place all of the normal recovery files. Should not be a big deal.

Just manage what you install to the SSD and HDD (where you should install stuff that the speed of the SSD is not as important). You will be good to go.

Good luck!
 

Katera

Distinguished
Mar 29, 2011
5
0
18,510
How does it run with the SSD vs the HD? I am getting ready to buy a new Vaio S and want to do the same thing. I was just wondering if you notice much of a speed difference.
 
i just finished installing a 256 GB samsung 470 series SSD in my sony vaio VGC desktop (VGC-JS230J) - and all i can say is WOW. Boots up in 15-18 seconds, programs that used to take 30-45 seconds to load (UPS shipping program, quickbooks, adobe photoshop) no load in 3-8 seconds, plus the computer's caseback is now much cooler by maybe 10-15 degrees

i'm now regretting selling my 6 yr old sony vaio S laptop on ebay - could have installed one in it and saved a bundle over buying a new laptop

plus, i've been monitoring current draw (i'm on a kick to see how much i can reduce my electric bill) - desktop went from 80 watts to 50-53 watt draw when browsing, or working a program, in idle (display lit up but no activity) around 30 watts

while the SSD is TRIM supported, and i am running windows 7, it'd still be nice to get into CMOS to confirm AHCI is enabled