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OS/2 - Technical => Hardware => Topic started by: sXwamp on 2010.04.04, 01:04:37

Title: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: sXwamp on 2010.04.04, 01:04:37
I have an old Dell Latitude D810 laptop. And I was thinking about buying a OCZ Vertex 2.5" 30GB SATA II MLC SSD for $80.

1) Is the Dell to old.
2) I want to install eCom 2.0 GA, when it is released.
3) Can anyone point me to some good articles, about SSD

Thanks

Greggory
Title: Re: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: ivan on 2010.04.04, 13:58:38
Hi,

I don't know if the Dell is too old but you should be able to check.  Take out the hard disk and see if it ia an IDE or SATA.  If IDE then there is no way you will fit an SATA dick of any type in there - if it is an SATA then you stand a good chance of it working.

I assume that if the SSD will fit and work in the Dell then eCS should be installable.  I did put warp MCP on the SSD of a netbook I was setting up foe a client just to see if I could, the only problem was the sound.

For articles, look for people changing to SSD in netbooks - there was quite a lot about it when they first came out.

ivan
Title: Re: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: Raiko on 2010.04.04, 20:33:45
Don't know what os you're running, but if it is OS/2 or eCS, you could run pci.exe from the package pci104vka.zip (it's at Hobbes). This will give you details about the disk controller on your system. Some D810's seem to come with SATA, not SATA II though.
(Have a look at http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-dell-d810.html)
If it turns out that you have a SATA controller then the next step would be, like Ivan says, to find a SSD that will fit in your laptop. Dell lists some SSD's at their site.
I have eCS installed on SSD in a desktop PC and it works just fine.
Title: Re: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: sXwamp on 2010.04.08, 00:51:54
Thanks Ivan and Raiko for the comments and advice. I'm thinking about writing an article about my experience installing eCS on a SSD

Title: Re: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: RobertM on 2010.04.11, 21:19:05
It is IDE. You (sXwamp) can find SSD's with IDE interfaces out there, so that should not be a problem...

...but obviously, the SATA one sXwamp is looking at will obviously not work.

Best,
Robert

Quote from: ivan on 2010.04.04, 13:58:38
Hi,

I don't know if the Dell is too old but you should be able to check.  Take out the hard disk and see if it ia an IDE or SATA.  If IDE then there is no way you will fit an SATA dick of any type in there - if it is an SATA then you stand a good chance of it working.

I assume that if the SSD will fit and work in the Dell then eCS should be installable.  I did put warp MCP on the SSD of a netbook I was setting up foe a client just to see if I could, the only problem was the sound.

For articles, look for people changing to SSD in netbooks - there was quite a lot about it when they first came out.

ivan
Title: Re: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: steve b on 2010.06.03, 18:45:39
sxwamp, as Robert states, the D810 is IDE. In my search along similar lines, MLC shouldn't be used for OS. I have a module for an IDE drive to fit the module bay and a HD caddy for the D810 that makes working on another drive MUCH easier. I've gone with T43 instead of Dell, sold the Dell in 1 day for more than I paid for it, so no longer need these. email me if interested: blevins 'at'  sisna 'dot' com.

I will be trying to install eCS 2.0 ga on a 8Gb Transcend pata SLC as soon as both get here. Hope to be able to make a 'works great, no problem post soon. Steve
Title: Re: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: kim on 2010.06.08, 12:58:31
Quote from: steve b on 2010.06.03, 18:45:39In my search along similar lines, MLC shouldn't be used for OS.

Well, the MLC OS statement can be ignored and isn't an issue any more. I'm myself running with a Intel X25-M 80 G2 (http://www.intel.com/design/flash/nand/mainstream/index.htm) on a ThinkPad T60 and I would never ever go back to a mechanical drive again. Furthermore on this old system I also manage to get hold of a cheap Intel T7200 x64 CPU to replace the original Intel T2400 x86 CPU so running 64-bit OS is now possible.

Sadly I haven't had the time to test eCS on this config yet, but hopefully I'll get some time to do so. While this might not be the forum to talk about Windows; but it takes my system around 15 seconds (to desktop) to boot into a full Win 7 Ultimate installation with various ThinkPad utilities.

/Kim
Title: Re: Help, on buying and installing a SSD
Post by: Saijin_Naib on 2010.06.08, 16:11:22
Agreed with Kim. MLC still has many drawbacks compared to SLC but SLC SSDs are available if you've got deep pockets.

The SSD I'm using right now is the Patriot PS-100 with the Phison Controller. Right now it has no GC or TRIM support, but it is still quite fast espcially for its sub 100$ for 32gb price.

Data goes on a WD-Green 500aads (500gb, single platter, 32mb cache) which is also pretty snappy and cheap.

If you plan on getting an SSD, do NOT make a bad decision. Not all MLC drives and controllers are created equal. The Sandisk SSD in my netbook gets flogged quite easily and can barely push CF-Card speed. Not a good drive.

People generally tend to love the newer Sandforce controllers. I'll stand by the Phison drives because lack of TRIM isn't a big deal if you plan to run eCS as the Operating System needs to support it and we know how that is going to go. However, some Patriot drives and OCZ drives have a GC utility you can run manually. Appears to be a standard DOS utility, could very well work on eCS but testing it may just trash your install so someone will need to be brave to verify.