Imaging to X25-M (gen 2) and TRIM

[idata]

Hi, I was hoping someone could help me confirm some things regarding the X25-M, and using it with W7. W7 is already running on a HDD, and I want to move to the SSD.

If I use Intel's Firmware Update Tool to get the latest firmware for the SSD, then use Acronis to image the old HDD to the X25-M, and then start using the SSD as my boot drive, will everything be ready to go?

Essentially I just want to check that with the latest firmware, the SSD and TRIM will be working without any further action on my part? As far as I know, this is correct and hopefully someone can just confirm. In fact the only reason I'm really asking at all is that on the Bit Tech forums, someone told me NOT to install the Intel Firmware at all which I find strange. Unless there's some problem with imaging rather than doing a fresh W7 install, but I'm unaware of any such problem.

Thanks for any help guys, I did see this (http://communities.intel.com/message/77925# 77925) and so I realise that my questions aren't suitable here but having read Intel's support documents and some other places (including the previously mentioned forum), I'm not entirely sure.

[idata]

Maybe you know this stuff already, but these were issues I had to deal with:

You may need to set your SATA ports to IDE mode to flash the SSD. For me, the flash tool wouldn't find the SSD in AHCI mode, but worked fine in IDE mode. Set this back before booting an OS again.

If using Acronis, you'll need to use True Image 2010 to have it create the partitions with the best alignment. I can say that TI 11 will certainly not.

Make sure you remove your old drive from the system before you boot from the SSD, otherwise the new Win7 will see your old drive as the C: drive. You could also use regedit from the old Win7 to load the system hive from the new Win7 and delete the MountedDevices key, but that's more involved.

If you've install the Intel Matrix driver, you can uninstall it to go back to the MS AHCI driver. Do this in the new Win7 to avoid any chance of messing you the old copy. There'll be a new Intel driver soon that supports TRIM.

[idata]

ZXTT95 wrote:

You may need to set your SATA ports to IDE mode to flash the SSD. For me, the flash tool wouldn't find the SSD in AHCI mode, but worked fine in IDE mode. Set this back before booting an OS again.

I didn't know that, I'm in AHCI mode at the moment. I'll try like this first but if that fails I'll switch to IDE.

ZXTT95 wrote:

If using Acronis, you'll need to use True Image 2010 to have it create the partitions with the best alignment. I can say that TI 11 will certainly not.

I was going to buy TI 2010 / use the free trial version of it.

ZXTT95 wrote:

If you've install the Intel Matrix driver, you can uninstall it to go back to the MS AHCI driver. Do this in the new Win7 to avoid any chance of messing you the old copy. There'll be a new Intel driver soon that supports TRIM.

Ah, I think I got confused, this is probably what I was told not to use (the Intel driver). I thought the guy was talking about the firmware. I haven't got that so it should be fine.

Thanks very much, that was very helpful.