Users of previous versions of the Intel Solid-State Drive Toolbox will notice that the new installment ships with a redesigned interface. The start screen display information about all hard drives connected to the computer. The drives are separated by Intel SSD and Other Drives tabs. Information about the drive model, firmware version and serial number are displayed here next to drive health and estimated life remaining bars.

Linked from here are the drive details section and the SMART details section of the program.

Probably the biggest new feature in this version is the new firmware update button that checks online for new firmwares for the SSD and informs the user if new versions are available. Users can install the new firmware right away from within the program interface and Windows. Intel surprisingly though only recommends to minimize system use during the operation and not to create a backup of the data on the drive prior to installing a new firmware.

Another issue here is that the update screen lacks information about the changes in the new firmware version. The new firmware version is however displayed on the screen so that a manual search for the version should reveal the update information. It is highly recommended to check the changes before installing the firmware update.

The program still offers to run the Trim command regularly on Windows operating systems that do not support it to retain the performance levels.

Windows 7 and newer users who can make use of the built-in Trim functionality can use other features of the toolbox that have already been available in previous versions of the application. Among them the System Tuner which runs a quick check to see if operating system features such as the disk defragmenter, ReadyBoost or Superfetch and Prefetch are configured optimally.

The Secure Erase feature on the other hand can be used to remove all data from the drive which can be handy before selling, lending or giving it away.

Windows users can download the latest iteration of Intel’s Solid-State Toolbox from the Intel website.

Most solid state drive manufacturers offer tools to aid the user in tasks that are specific to SSDs. Intel for instance has created the Intel Solid-State Drive Toolbox which has been released in a new version a few days ago.

I have reviewed the software previously here in an earlier version (see Intel Solid State Drive (SSD) Toolbox for the review). Intel has added two new modules to version 2 of the SSD software that justify a closer look at this new version.

The software basically can be used to manage Intel Solid State Drives. It comes with SMART monitoring options for other hard drives connected to the computer system, but the SSD tools are only available if an Intel SSD is connected.

Three Intel SSD Management Tools are offered in the latest version of the application. The Intel SSD Optimizer is the only program that has been available in previous versions of the software as well. It basically offers TRIM functionality if the operating system does not support it by default. Windows 7 users with TRIM working do not need this (see Verify That TRIM Is Enabled In Windows 7 to find that out). Other Windows users may need to run the optimizer regularly to keep the performance as high as possible.

The two new modules on the other hand are interesting for all users regardless of the operating system they use.

The Intel SSD System Configuration Tuner checks if system settings are optimized for SSD usage. It checks Superfetch and Prefetch, ReadyBoost, DIPM and the Defragmenter. A Tune It! link is displayed next to each entry that is not optimized.

Secure Erase is the second addition to Intel’s Solid State Drive Toolbox 2. It can be used to erase all data on a selected Intel SSD. The tool only works on secondary SSDs that are not bootable or with a partition.

The software furthermore offers to run fast or full diagnostics on Intel SSDs. Intel’s Solid-State Drive Toolbox 2 is available for download at Intel’s Download Center. The software that is compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0.

Now Intel has published a software to migrate data from a hard drive to Intel solid state drives as well. The Intel Data Migration Software was developed by Acronis for Intel, to offer Intel SSD owners an option to migrate from their old hard drive to the new Intel solid state drive.

The migration tool is limited to migrating to Intel solid state drives, and can only do so if the SSD has at least the same storage size as the source hard drive. The program offers three features:

• Copy drive contents from a hard drive to an Intel Solid-State Drive
• Create a Bootable Rescue Media
• Use the Acronis DriveCleanser to erase data on drives and partitions

The tool supports an automatic mode in which the migration software will handle everything, and a manual mode that gives the user better control over the process. Please note that existing contents on the target Intel SSD will be erased in the process.

Start the Software and Migrate your Data

1. Double-click the Intel Data Migration Software shortcut icon on your desktop.

2. Complete the registration form when prompted.

3. Click Register Now. After registering the software, the Intel Data Migration Software screen will appear. Optional)

4. Click Start Now. The Intel Data Migration Software automatically detects your drives and gives you the option to copy all of your data to your Intel SSD.

The Data Migration software works with Intel SSDs only. If you receive an error message, make sure that you have an Intel SSD connected to your system. If you have an Intel SSD connected to your system and still receive an error message, contact Intel support. The software identifies your SSD and verifies that the used space on your old storage device is the same or smaller than the available space on your SSD Click Clone Now. The data migration process starts. During this process, you will be prompted to reboot your computer.

6. Click Reboot. As your computer reboots, the software loads a pre-operating system where the migration process
continues. View the progress bar to see the status of the data migration. The length of the procedure corresponds to the amount of data on the drive being transferred.

7. Once the operation completes, you are prompted to shut down your computer.

8. Once your computer shuts down, switch the placement of your drives.

Switch your Drives

1. After the data migration onto your new Intel SSD is complete, switch the placement of your old hard disk drive with your new Intel SSD.

For desktop computers, you can either physically remove the old hard disk drive and replace it with your new Intel SSD or keep the hard disk drive in your computer and change the boot order of the drives in the system BIOS . Refer to your computer’s original instructions to determine how to safely switch the SATA positions of your original hard disk drive and new Intel SSD.

For laptop computers, remove the old hard disk drive and replace it with your new Intel SSD. Follow the instructions included with the Intel SSD.

2. After switching your drives, start your computer. A notification that the migration process completed successfully will appear when your operating system starts.

Intel SSD owners can download the Intel Data Migration Software and a pdf with instructions from the Intel Download Center [link]. Intel’s solution is not as sophisticated as Paragon’s. Considering that Paragon Migrate OS To SSD is currently freely available it is suggested to use this software to migrate to a solid state drive. Its core advantages are that it works with all solid state drives, and that it can migrate data to a smaller drive.

Only the Intel SSD Optimizer was included as a management tool in previous versions of the toolbox (see Intel Solid State Drive (SSD) Toolbox for a full review). The latest release however has seen two additions that add to the value of the free software program.

Both the System Configuration Tuner and Secure Eraser are new management tools that have been added in the latest release of Intel’s Solid State Drive Toolbox.

intel solid state drive toolbox

System Configuration Tuner

The tool checks if the system configuration is set for the best performance, endurance and power efficiency with Intel SSDs. The status column indicates if the system is optimized, and will notify the user in red text if it is not. The recommended action in this case is to run the tuner to optimize the system for Intel SSDs.

A click on run displays the settings that are checked by the Intel SSD System Configuration Tuner. A red notification again indicates a setting that can be optimized for SSDs.

The tool detected that Superfetch was enabled on our test system, and recommended to disable it.

intel ssd system configuration tuner

Additionally, the tuner will check if prefetching, Readyboost, DIPM and defragmentation is enabled. A click on Tune It changes the unoptimized settings to suggested ones. On our test system this meant that Superfetch was disabled by the tool.

Secure Erase

Secure erase is the second new tool that has been added to the toolbox. It can unfortunately only be used to erase all data on secondary Intel SSD. This means that the tool cannot be used on bootable SSD, or SSD with a partition.

This limits the use significantly. Only users with multiple solid state drives, or one that they do not longer need will benefit from this.

Verdict

The new tools do not add unique features to the Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox, as it is possible to make the changes manually as well to optimize the system for SSDs. Still, having them available in a tool makes things a lot easier, especially for users who run the tool regularly for its TRIM capabilities.

Intel SSD users who do not use Windows 7 or Linux may want to consider configuring the program to run the TRIM command regularly. And while they are at it, run the system tuner once to optimize their PC for the SSD. Download it here.

The second feature or process is usually referred to as Garbage Collection. This basically optimized the Solid State Drive again for write processes.

The Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox is a Windows software program that can be used to optimize and analyze Intel SSDs that are installed in the computer system. It supports running regular optimizations that make use of the above concepts to retain the drive’s performance over time. It can furthermore be used to view drive information, check the Solid State Drive’s SMART attributes and run a fast and full diagnostic scan on the selected drive.

The drive information for instance display the drive’s firmware version, model and serial number which can be used prior to upgrading the SSD’s firmware if a newer version is available on the Intel website.

The most important feature is however the SSD optimizer which computer users need to run regularly (Intel recommends once a week) to retain the drive’s performance. The weekly runs can be scheduled in the program which will later be added to the Windows Task Scheduler.

The Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox is a must have program for computer owners with an Intel SSD. It can be downloaded from the Intel website

The only real downside of SSDs was their rather low write speed which was especially true for last generation’s drives. This is quickly changing with the release of this generation’s SSDs that have a twice as fast write speed as last generation thanks to multiple parallel channels and interleaving single-layer cell NAND flash memory.

Samsung has announced a state of the art SSD that is aiming for a release in the first quarter of 2009. The Samsung SS805 Solid State Drive will offer 100 Gigabytes of storage space with a sustained sequential read rate of up to 250MB/sec. and a sustained sequential write rate of up to 170MB/sec.

To put that in comparison. The OCZ Core Series II SSD drive that I bought last year had a sustained sequential read rate of up to 170 MB/sec. and a sustained sequential write rate of up to 98MB/sec. and won almost every read speed benchmark at that time.

Samsung’s SS805 SSD will increase the read speed by about 50% and the write speed by almost 100% in comparison. The only factor that could play a role in the drive’s success is the retail price of the device.

Intel’s 32 Gigabyte X25 Solid State Drive retails currently for a price of $650-700 at most online shops.

The SS805 SSD is therefor aiming at the enterprise market but hints at what the consumer market will see in the near future.