SSD partition alignment

[randomnumber]

What are we setting?
The size of the chunks of data that will be read/write from/to the ssd?

What handles this?
Operating system (xp)?
File system (ntfs)?

Transcend states the offset for this ssd is 512Kb since the nand flash chip comes with 4096Kb blocks.
Is the ssd hardware (nand flash chip) really handling this?

 

[COLGeek]

Yes, the SSD controller handles block size read/writes. That is not a function of the OS or filesystem.

 

[randomnumber]

How do I set the partition alignment to 512Kb before i clone?

 

[COLGeek]

You don't have to. The controller on the the SSD will take care of that during the cloning process.

 

[randomnumber]

WHY DOES IT SHOW THE OFFSET IS 32KB?

C:\>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 5.1.3565

DISKPART> list disk

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ---------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 112 GB 0 B
Disk 1 Online 128 GB 0 B


DISKPART> select disk 1

Disk 1 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> list partition

Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
Partition 1 OEM 128 GB 32 KB

DISKPART>

 

[COLGeek]

Is that the cloned SSD info you are showing? If so, what app did you use to clone the SSD?

 

[randomnumber]

yes
acronis true image 2013

 

[COLGeek]

Start on page 146 of this manual:

http://www.acronis.com/download/docs/ti2013/userguide

Also look at page 150.

 

[randomnumber]

THE ALIGN=1024 ARGUMENT IS NOT VALID AND WOULD NOT CREATE A PARTITION. I CREATED A PRIMARY PARTITION W/O ALIGN BUT IT IS NOT ALIGNED.

I THINK THIS VERSION OF DISKPART DOES NOT SUPPORT ALIGN.


C:\>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 5.1.3565

Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: RLT

DISKPART> list disk

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ---------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 112 GB 0 B
Disk 1 Online 119 GB 119 GB

DISKPART> select disk 1

Disk 1 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> list partition

There are no partitions on this disk to show.

DISKPART> create partition primary align=1024

The arguments you specified for this command are not valid.



DISKPART> create partition primary

DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition.

DISKPART> list partition

Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
* Partition 1 Primary 119 GB 32 KB

DISKPART> exit

Leaving DiskPart...

C:\>wmic partition get BlockSize, StartingOffset, Name, Index
BlockSize Index Name StartingOffset
512 0 Disk #0, Partition #0 32256
512 1 Disk #0, Partition #1 131604480
512 2 Disk #0, Partition #2 42549373440
512 0 Disk #1, Partition #0 32256


C:\>

 

[randomnumber]

ISSUE RESOLVED: upgrading a Panasonic Toughbook to a SSD w/ XP Pro SP3

By the way:
I could not set the partition alignment with the DISKPART create command because it was an older version. The DISKPART utility (v5.1.3565) in XP does not accept the align=1024 argument.

I used AOMEI Partition Assistant (Migrate OS to SSD wizard) and it automatically set the partition alignment offset to 1024 Kb while cloning the original HDD.

The best part about it, it was FREE!

I can not believe I actually paid for Acronis after they stated in their user manual that you could do it with their product. All the time I wasted with their “technical support”.

It did not reduce the boot time as much as I wanted (from 6:46 to 5:02 minutes) but it reduced it.

I am also less than impressed with the "experts" in this forum.

 

[COLGeek]

Glad you found a solution. Well done