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About to replace my boot drive with SSD...

J

JYeager11

Gawd
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
563
I'm purchasing my first SSD drive this week. It's a Crucial C300 128GB, and will serve as my new C: drive. I'm not porting a disk image onto it, I'm re-installing the OS and all the programs one by one.

Two questions :

1. I've heard that some SSD firmware updates are destructive -- ie, they delete everything on the drive. Is this something I need to take into account before installing everything, with the C300? How would I go about updating the firmware before the thing even has an OS on it?

2. Is it true these things are so light they don't even require a special 3.5" mount (in other words, like the salesman tried to tell me, that you can screw them in the rack directly, on one side only, and they'll hold even though the other side is just floating)?

Thanks.
 
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Looking at crucial's firmware page shows that if you have a fw version 0002 or above you should not lose any data during the fw update. That being said, if you're doing a full install you might as well do the update before you even start installing the OS.

SSD's have no mechanical moving parts and are very light, so yes you could just mount it in with just two screws. Though that's not something I would do personally (nor would I ever "mount" a ssd with duct tape, as some have done)
 
Neb said:
Looking at crucial's firmware page shows that if you have a fw version 0002 or above you should not lose any data during the fw update. That being said, if you're doing a full install you might as well do the update before you even start installing the OS.
Click to expand...
Gotcha, but... don't laugh... how do I do that? :confused: Do I need to create a bootable CD, or should I plug the C300 as a secondary drive, and use my existing boot/os drive to go get the firmware (and follow the instructions that I'm sure Crucial provides from that point on)?

SSD's have no mechanical moving parts and are very light, so yes you could just mount it in with just two screws. Though that's not something I would do personally (nor would I ever "mount" a ssd with duct tape, as some have done)
Click to expand...
So you would definitely shell out the extra $15 to get a 3.5" mount, then?
 
JYeager11 said:
1. I've heard that some SSD firmware updates are destructive -- ie, they delete everything on the drive. Is this something I need to take into account before installing everything, with the C300? How would I go about updating the firmware before the thing even has an OS on it?
Click to expand...

Yes, there is the risk of a firmware update "destroying" the SSD and its contents, but in most cases, it's a rare risk. The manufacturer's website is the best place for instructions on updating the firmware, but you may want to perform a Google search to determine (or find) the current, stable version.

JYeager11 said:
2. Is it true these things are so light they don't even require a special 3.5" mount (in other words, like the salesman tried to tell me, that you can screw them in the rack directly, on one side only, and they'll hold even though the other side is just floating)?
Click to expand...

I never tried that trick. They're 2.5" drives, and some of them come with their own 3.5" adapter or bracket. Then again, finding one is relatively cheap. That said, I can't tell whether or not the C300 comes with one.

JYeager11 said:
Gotcha, but... don't laugh... how do I do that? :confused: Do I need to create a bootable CD, or should I plug the C300 as a secondary drive, and use my existing boot/os drive to go get the firmware (and follow the instructions that I'm sure Crucial provides from that point on)?
Click to expand...

Crucial's own instructions use a bootable CD.

JYeager11 said:
So you would definitely shell out the extra $15 to get a 3.5" mount, then?
Click to expand...

First, find out whether or not it comes with one. The best place to find your answer seems to be the Crucial forum, but I don't have time to search.
 
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JYeager11 said:
Gotcha, but... don't laugh... how do I do that? :confused: Do I need to create a bootable CD, or should I plug the C300 as a secondary drive, and use my existing boot/os drive to go get the firmware (and follow the instructions that I'm sure Crucial provides from that point on)?


So you would definitely shell out the extra $15 to get a 3.5" mount, then?
Click to expand...

The page I linked to has Crucial's bootable cd along with all the instructions you need. You'll need to boot off the cd anyway, so don't bother plugging in the c300 until you're ready to flash. Out of personal habit I unplug all other drives before flashing, though you probably don't need to do that.

You don't need to pay $15 for a 3.5" mount, tiraides above linked a somewhat cheap one. I don't think my C300 came with a mount, but I can check later tonight to make sure.
 
I have a four bay hotwsap cage, so that's what I use for my mount :) Hope you enjoy your new shiny C300!
 
just installed my first SSD yesterday, c300 even... just the 64GB version... Mines just sitting a flat part of my case, not mounted to anything....
 
Holding the thing in my hand right now. It's ridiculously light, but comes with absolutely nothing, not even SATA cables. Just the drive, and a small paper flyer.

The part number is CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1

On the top right of the box, which looks exactly like the image above, it says "Hard drive replacement".

Is all of this normal? Am I holding the right thing here?
 
Neb said:
The page I linked to has Crucial's bootable cd along with all the instructions you need. You'll need to boot off the cd anyway, so don't bother plugging in the c300 until you're ready to flash. Out of personal habit I unplug all other drives before flashing, though you probably don't need to do that.
Click to expand...


Hm, no way to update them using a flash drive instead of a CD?
 
You probably could use a bootable flash drive, but formatting it may be different from trying to make a bootable Windows flash drive.
 
Once I have Windows installed on the RealSSD C300, I will have two drives with Windows on them. Will the BIOS automatically give me a choice of which to go into at reboot, or is there something special I need to configure in the BIOS to enable dual-booting?
 
If that's what you're aiming for, make sure to disconnect the other windows drive before installing windows on the new drive. Windows has a bad habit of not installing the boot sector on the same drive that the OS is getting installed on. Installing on two different drives won't really be a dual-boot, so you'll probably have to hit the boot menu key while booting to get the choice listed.
 
Neb said:
Installing on two different drives won't really be a dual-boot, so you'll probably have to hit the boot menu key while booting to get the choice listed.
Click to expand...
Then what do I have to do to get it to dual-boot?
 
Probably install onto the same drive. That being said, I have no experience with regards to dual booting win7 and xp so I highly suggest you do your own research first.
 
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