Updating Firmware on SSDs

To improve the performance of SSDs, you should always install the latest firmware on the device. If the manufacturer makes a new version, you should download and install it, then reboot your PC. Many manufacturers, such as Samsung, offer management programs for their SSDs that measure performance and run firmware updates (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Samsung offers its own management software for its SSDs.

SuperFetch and Prefetch

Many tuning tools enable automatic defragmentation of boot files during startup. This doesn't give you any noticeable performance improvements with normal hard disks, but it is actually harmful for SSDs, which is why you should disable the feature. Open the registration editor (regedit), navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE | SOFTWARE | Microsoft | Drfg | BootOptimizeFunction , and set the OptimizeComplete value to No to disable the function.

The Windows memory manager SuperFetch determines user behavior and immediately optimizes memory so that frequently used applications are temporarily stored in RAM and available quickly. The technology can also distinguish behavior through time; thus, it is possible for office applications to be optimized during office hours and leisure programs or games to be optimized during the weekend. However, this function no longer makes sense with SSDs and puts a strain on the hard disk.

Windows 10 automatically disables this service when installing on an SSD, although you can deactivate it retroactively using the system service manager (services.msc). Also, disable the SuperFetch and Prefetch functions in the registry by opening the registry editor, navigating to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE | SYSTEM | CurrentControlSet | Control | Session Manager | Memory Management PrefetchParameters entry, and setting the EnablePrefetcher and EnableSuperfetch values to 0 .

Optimizing Energy Options

Because SSDs consume less power than magnetic hard drives, an energy-saving mode is of little value for SSDs. Therefore, you can adjust the energy settings of Windows 10 to support SSDs and leave the hard disk enabled. From the start menu, choose Power Options | Power & sleep | Additional power settings . For the currently enabled power plan, click the Change plan settings link and then the Change advanced power settings link. Under Hard disk | Turn off hard disk after , select the value Never in the drop-down box.