Can I Combine a HDD + SSD into a Hybrid SSD/HDD?

[ManOfArc]

I have a 2TB HDD and a small 64GB SSD laying around. Is there any software that would allow me to combine the two into a hybrid ssd/hdd similar to the Seagate Firecuda? Basically the SSD would act as a persistent cache to the HDD.

 

[bjornl]

You should not do that. The integrated hybrid drives have microcode to ensure that there is no dataloss. Using 1 drive as a buffer for another much larger disk would introduce all sorts of buffering issues similar to cache hit/miss. And given that they are descrete devices where all the communication must take place across the same sata bus, data loss is highly likely (hangs, etc would potentially have part of the data on 1 drive, part on another, etc)(

 

[ManOfArc]

Hmm... I see. Bummer. I was hoping to come up with something like the old Sandisk Ready Cache that was popular a few years back when SSDs were a lot more expensive. They used a 64MB cache and a piece of software called Express Cache to handle the interaction between devices. Do you know of any software that does that if I wanted to just play around and experiment?

 

[USAFRet]

I have a 2TB HDD and a small 64GB SSD laying around. Is there any software that would allow me to combine the two into a hybrid ssd/hdd similar to the Seagate Firecuda? Basically the SSD would act as a persistent cache to the HDD.

Don't do that.
While there are some solutions that will sort of enable this, it is mostly useless, and just adds complexity and fail potential.

Question - Did you recently purchase this 64GB SSD? If so, SEND IT BACK.

Just add a reasonable 250GB SSD and move on.

 

[k1114]

It's called ssd caching. Velossd and primocache are the better free ones.

 

[Solandri]

It's called ssd caching. Velossd and primocache are the better free ones.

I always did it with Intel Smart Response Technology.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/smart-response-technology.html
https://www.pcworld.com/article/248828/how_to_setup_intel_smart_response_ssd_caching_technology.html

Read caching carries little to no risk. Write caching however is incredibly risky. You not only risk losing files while they're in the SSD cache (before they're written to the HDD), you also risk corrupting the HDD. For that reason, Intel SRT doesn't do write caching. Looking over the instructions for Primocache, it looks like it can do write caching if you enable the option. (The website for Velossd is so spotty I wouldn't trust it.)

If you enable write caching, be sure you have a good battery backup on the computer. But even that won't protect you if the computer freezes or crashes due to a software glitch before the cached data has been written to the HDD. Best case you will lose data or the file(s) will be corrupt. Worst case it'll screw up your partition's file table, possibly corrupting the entire partition or drive. The SSHDs and SSDs which do write caching (yes, pretty much all TLC SSDs do it - initially writing data in MLC mode for speed, then later converting it to TLC mode later so it'll take up less space) either have small capacitors built in which provide enough power for them to flush the cache and gracefully shut down in the event of a power failure. Or they're designed to make sure the data is in a consistent state in the split second between when the power is cut and the device ceases functioning. You will not have either of these protections, so I'd just avoid write caching altogether.

 

[ManOfArc]

@ USAFRet
No, old drives both. Just wanted to play around with them on an older machine and get some use out of them. I had one of those Sandisk Ready Cache drives back then. Combined with what I think was a 1TB HDD, it was pretty amazing.

@K114
Thanks. I may look into those. That may be exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks for everyone's' warnings. Appreciate it. I won't be doing this with a machine that has data on it I am afraid to lose.

 

[bjornl]

It would be a little bottle necked if you put in some extra ram and used a RAM disk if you must buffer your HD.

 

[k1114]

I would prefer isrt but not all mobos support it. Both websites look sketchy but those 2 are the most popular. There are good tools from individuals with more basic sites. If the software functions as its supposed to and is widely used and thoroughly tested, people can overlook the site's looks.

 

[ManOfArc]

@ Solandri
IRST doesn't work on AMD platforms, or does it?

 

[k1114]

Nope, intel's software on intel mobos.