Update from Intel's NAND Solutions Group - Toolbox issue

[Alan_F_Intel]

To 34nm (G2) Intel® X25-M Solid-State Drive consumers,

• Microsoft* alerted Intel to an issue with the Intel® SSD Optimizer tool and Intel is working on a fix to the issue. After the SSD Optimizer is run, the SSD Optimizer renders all previously set Windows* system restore points unusable. However, user data is not affected . The SSD Optimizer tool is part of the Intel® SSD Toolbox (ver 1.1).

• This applies only to users who meet all four criteria below:

• Use Windows*7 or Vista and

• Use the System Protection feature which sets system restore points (enabled by default in Windows*7 and Vista*) and

• Have installed 02HA firmware and

• Have used Intel SSD Optimizer (which was available from intel.com from 10/26 to 11/4).

• A workaround for this issue and additional details are available http://support.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/CS-031073.htm here . Intel will give regular updates on this issue. Please note this issue is not related to the Intel SSD firmware update process covered in a separate announcement (Intel® Solid-State Drive Firmware Update).

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Alan

NAND Solutions Group

Intel Corporation

[idata]

Win 7 automatically sends the trim command regardless if you have an ssd or hdd and regardless if you have a trim enabled ssd or not.

That command has to get past the controller and the ssd must then be able to interpret and execute the trim command.

A trim enabled ssd should be able to report itself to the OS as an ssd, which should then automatically configure ssd friendly features such as defrag off etc.

The Intel SSD Optimizer is a tool inside the Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox. The white paper states the OS will contain native support to execute the Intel SSD Optimizer. So questions:

Do you need to install the Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox to be able to execute the Intel SSD Optimizer or is another program executed?

If you installed the Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox and never open it, does the OS automatically execute the Intel SSD Optimizer without you knowing about it or does it happen by another process?

Something does not add up

[idata]

The Intel White paper clearly states no Toolbox required if using Windows 7 with Microsoft AHCI storage driver and BIOS set to AHCI--end of story. You keep putting the blame on Intel SSD for not being recognized in Windows 7, however, the blame may very well lie with Windows 7. My understanding is Windows 7 will detect an SSD by zero rotation of the disk. Therefore, this whole issue of why SSD is not detected may be a bug in Windows 7. Regardless, TRIM is still working as evidenced in my SSD without using the Toolbox to run optimizer.

[idata]

No, what it says is this:

When using the latest Microsoft Windows* 7 operating system with Microsoft AHCI storage drivers the OS will contain native support to execute the Intel SSD Optimizer® on an Intel SSD without requiring any user interaction. For users of Windows 7 with Intel® Matrix Storage Manager storage drivers, or other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows XP or Vista*, Intel is offering the same ability for users to execute the Intel® SSD Optimizer on their Intel SSD through the use of the Intel® Solid-State Drive Toolbox.

That seems to be saying you need the Intel SSD Optimizer to execute the trim command, which can happened without you knowing it or manually. (?)

EDIT: By the way I don't blame Intel for anything. I am just curious to know how things work.

[idata]

What they mean with that statement is that Windows 7 does automatically the same job what SSD Optimizer does on XP and Vista. This statement has clearly been written by a marketroid so you shouldn't even try to read it exact to the word. I agree that they should talk about TRIM and not about SSD Optimizer, but the sad fact is that people who write these are either clueless by themselves, or think that the customers are too clueless to understand what TRIM is. Therefore they try to come up with their own "easy" terminology, which only makes it hard to understand what they try to say. 

[MJohn29]

The only way to get the optimizer is to download the tool box right? If that is true, then read it again and you will see that Windows 7 with the MS AHCI storage driver does not require the toolbox (hence optimizer) to be downloaded for TRIM to work properly. Even Anand verified this in his SSD article (he was even upset that Intel still does not have a TRIM enabled storage driver).

I have a question though...I installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my new 160GB G2 with the latest firmware and then installed the latest Intel chipset drivers (not the Intel MSM) for my Intel DP55KG motherboard. I noticed that my AHCI storage driver says it is from Intel and not Microsoft in Device Manager. Does the Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility include a storage driver??? I thought only the Intel MSM included that?