Keep Your Windows PC Fast: The Secret to a Speedy SSD
We've all been there. You get a brand new Windows PC, and it's lightning fast. Programs open instantly, file transfers are a breeze. But over time, something changes. Your once-speedy machine starts to feel sluggish. Opening applications takes longer, and everything just feels... slower.
While many factors can contribute to a PC slowing down, one of the most common culprits, especially in modern systems, is the Solid State Drive (SSD). Yes, SSDs are significantly faster than traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), but they aren't immune to performance degradation over time.
Why Do SSDs Slow Down?
Several factors can cause an SSD to lose its initial speed:
Filling Up: As an SSD gets closer to its full capacity, its performance can decrease.
Fragmentation (of a sort): While not the same as HDD fragmentation, data on an SSD can become scattered, which can impact speed.
TRIM Command Issues: This is a big one. The TRIM command is crucial for maintaining SSD performance. When you delete files, Windows tells the SSD that those data blocks are no longer needed. The TRIM command allows the SSD to internally clean up these blocks, making space for new data to be written quickly. If TRIM isn't working correctly or running automatically, the SSD can think blocks are still occupied, even after files are deleted, leading to slowdowns. This is surprisingly common in Windows for various reasons.
The "Keep Your C Drive Clean" Strategy
One effective way to combat SSD slowdown, particularly on your main Windows drive (usually the C drive), is to keep it as clean as possible. The idea is to minimize the amount of data being constantly written, deleted, and moved on the primary system drive.
How can you do this?
Move User Folders: Redirect your Downloads, Documents, Pictures, and other user folders to a secondary drive (another SSD or an HDD). This prevents frequently changing files from constantly impacting your C drive.
Change Installation Directories: When installing programs, if the option is available, choose to install them on a drive other than your C drive. While not possible for all applications, many allow you to specify an installation path.
By doing this, you reduce the wear and tear on your primary SSD and minimize the "fragmentation" and TRIM command reliance on the drive where your operating system resides.
Taming the TRIM Command
As mentioned, the TRIM command is vital. Windows is supposed to run it automatically on a schedule (usually weekly). You can check its status and manually run it:
Open File Explorer.
Right-click on your C drive (or the SSD you want to check).
Select Properties.
Go to the Tools tab.
Click on Optimize.
Here, you'll see your drives and when they were last optimized (trimmed for SSDs). You can select your SSD and click Optimize to run the TRIM command manually.
Even if Windows shows it was recently trimmed, sometimes a manual run can help.
Is Your SSD Slow? Benchmark It!
If your Windows PC feels sluggish, and you suspect your SSD might be the reason, you can test its read and write speeds using benchmark software. This will show you if its performance is close to the manufacturer's specifications.
A popular and reliable tool for this is AS SSD Benchmark. You can download it from TechSpot here: https://www.techspot.com/downloads/6014-as-ssd-benchmark.html
Run the benchmark and compare the sequential read and write speeds to what your SSD is rated for. If the numbers are significantly lower, it could indicate an issue. Often, simply running the TRIM command and restarting your PC can restore performance. If the problem persists and your SSD is relatively new, there might be other issues, but TRIM is a great place to start troubleshooting.
I have also made a video in this topic so watch the video down below for more information.
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