Solid state hard drives

Computer Care: Taking solid states out for a test drive

	By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com POSTED: May 26, 2012 1:00 a.m. Choosing a new hard drive used to be as simple as deciding between a 350-gigabyte and a terabyte model. Size still matters, but now there are different types of drives that involve more than just drive capacity. Enter solid state drives, or SSDs, to mainstream computing. The old conventional style of hard disk drive is large, has moving parts, uses lots of power, generates heat and wears out relatively fast. It can be loud and it can take a while to access files or even boot files of your operating system. SSDs on the other hand are smaller, quieter, draw less power and access data much faster than conventional drives. Until recently, they were priced higher than consumers wanted to pay. But don’t be so quick to go order an SSD as a replacement or even to be part of your next computer. There are, as usual, caveats to consider. There is a downside to the new components. Actually they are not so new; it’s just that they have finally become affordable. They have been around for decades but have always been priced out of reach for most of us. As technology evolved, they have gotten better in that they have higher capacities, are more reliable and are priced more reasonably. By today’s standards they are not large yet. Also the SSD may not fit in or be recognized in many computers. Although most desktops and some laptops will accommodate two hard drives, Windows may not see the SSD. Windows 7 was designed to work with them, but you will run into difficulties with other versions of that operating system. The differences between the two types of drives are drastic. Their only similarity is that that both store data. HDDs have a series of platters coated with magnetic material that rotate at a high rate of speed. The data is accessed with an actuator, not too unlike the old phonograph record arm, that reads the data. It travels back and forth looking for and writing data. It is a slow process. Hard Disk Drives have a life span of generally three to five years. I’ve had one quit after a few months and have one approaching 10 years that still functions fine. SSDs on the other hand have no moving parts and could last longer. They aren’t too unlike the USB flash drives we use today. Their life span is not determined in years, but in read/write cycles. Although finite (100,000 cycles), they could probably outlive many devices they would reside in. The biggest advantage to SSDs is the speed at which they access data. Magnetic access (hard drives, old floppy disks) is slow, as is optical access (CD, DVD or Blu-Ray). With solid state, it is done electrically without having to look for data mechanically. The access time for a (flash-based) SSD has been measured as low as 35 to 100 microseconds. A conventional disk reads at from 5,000 to 10,000 microseconds, approximately 100 times slower. Some devices have the best of both worlds by incorporating hybrid drives or dual drives. In a computing environment, this makes sense. The hybrid drive is a conventional drive with a flash chip incorporated in it. That section of the drive would not be accessible by the user. The dual drive has two physical drives, one of each type. The solid state part of the drive holds the boot information allowing the operating system (Windows) to boot up very quickly. In most cases, it could also store the applications, allowing programs to start quickly, too. The hard disk component would store the data they create and all else. Since most SSDs are not yet all that large, this option makes sense right now. Capacities are only 20 to 60 GB on most SSDs, providing room for only an operating system, some apps and little else. The music, videos, photos and the rest of the files of a larger size would be stored where they are today – on the hard disk component of the drive. Recent online prices yielded more affordable solid state drives than in the past, but they still fail to approach the capacities of the hard disk drives we are accustomed to using. In some instances, either could be found for about $1 per gigabyte. An 100-gigabyte SSD for $100 sounds enticing, but it’s just not large enough yet to store what we are now used to storing. If they came about 10 years ago, they would have flown off the store shelves. But now, I think not. On sale, you could find a conventional terabyte hard drive for $100. I’m going to hold tight for a while. Perhaps my next laptop will have room for a second drive; my current one does not. Until then, I will wait the 90 seconds for Windows to load and continue to store my photos on an external drive and in the Cloud. Technology is evolving. Going digital with hard drives is like moving from LP records to CDs or MP3s or from VHS to DVDs. Change is inevitable, especially when it comes to technology. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Computer Care: Tune up your computer to make it run like new again

	By Arthur Glazer glazer.tech@gmail.com POSTED: October 1, 2011 11:38 a.m. Just because your computer is 4 or even 6 years old, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to replace it. If you see more blue screens than desktops, or you still have an operating system from the last century, your computer is indubitably a candidate for replacement. However, considering the economy we are in, it may be more prudent to replace your brakes or tires before getting a new computer, especially if it still works. For the rest of you, let’s talk. There‘s no reason why, with regular maintenance, you can’t keep an older computer running, dare I say, even fast. Just because your computer doesn’t have the latest version of Windows or your hard drive is full, that’s no reason to upgrade. With a little bit of work and even less money, you can resurrect your aging computer. Hard drives have grown in size over years. Five years ago, a 160-gigabyte drive was the standard; now it’s 500 GB to a TB (a terabyte equals 1,000 GB). Your aging drive may be near full by now. Windows requires free disk space to write temporary files in order for it to run properly. These files accumulate over time and need to be deleted regularly. Transfer your photos, videos and movies to an archival drive, to the cloud or burn them to DVDs. You may keep that drive in your desktop, but use it as a storage drive. Buy a new, larger drive and use it as your system drive, moving Windows to it. With a laptop, I put my older, smaller drives in external, USB-connected cases, replacing them with larger drives in the laptop. If you have an older computer, you may have only 512 MB of RAM (system memory) installed. Systems with integrated video cards share the RAM, making it even less. Thought to be sufficient at the time, that small amount isn’t capable of handling today’s applications — not with any speed, anyway. The single most cost-effective improvement you can do is add more RAM to your computer. A gigabyte of RAM might cost only $40, much less than when your computer was new. Websites like memory.com and crucial.com will scan your system, telling you how much RAM you have, what your system can handle, and what it will cost. You can install it yourself or if you have doubts, a technician like me could do it for you. If you’ve already had to repair your computer a few times, instead of fixing the errors, erase them. By reinstalling Windows, you will have the computer you had when you brought it home from the store. Since you know more now than you did then, it will be faster. You’ll have more memory and a clean hard drive. Keep watch on the startup folder: you can stop unnecessary programs from loading with Windows when it boots up. This is a major cause of sluggish systems. Applications that you don’t use daily often boot with Windows. If you remove them (programs like iTunes, Skype, AOL, Messenger various schedulers and updaters), not only will your computer boot faster, but it will also run faster. This won’t remove them from your computer, only from the startup folder. There’s another option to consider. If the problem is not with the hardware or if you can’t put your hands on that old XP disk, then consider upgrading your operating system. If you had XP, get Windows 7. Don’t waste your time with Vista, even if you could find it somewhere. It’s better to spend a couple of hundred bucks on an OS upgrade, than $500 or more on a new computer if you really don’t need it, or can’t afford it. However, should you need to go that route; you’ll get that new Win 7 anyway. You might as well learn how to take care of your computer; it’s not going anywhere. Just like your car, it requires twice-annual maintenance. Just as you rotate the tires, change the oil and tune it up, check for viruses, defrag your hard drive and tune it up. Some things to consider as regular maintenance should include: checking the registry’s integrity, defragmenting the hard drive and running Chkdsk to check the file structure. Also, clean dust from the fans and motherboard. Scans should include virus and malware detection. Just in case, also create regular restore points, backup the data you don’t want to lose and have a system backup or even clone your hard drive. Some of these will help extend the life of the computer, while others will allow you continue with your data in another system should the original fail. With proper care, just like with cars, you can get a lot more mileage from your old system. Your computer, like rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.