# How to: Properly re-align your SSD/HDD partitions



## csm725

Confirmed it works. Thanks Sean bud.


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## dr.evil

this is for hdd too rigth??? or only ssd???


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dr.evil*
> 
> this is for hdd too rigth??? or only ssd???


Both, thus the title "How to: Properly re-align your *SSD/HDD* partitions"


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## Phantom_Dave

I have a few questions. I just ran this benchmark on my SSD:



I think it's probably time for a secure erase again judging from the performance. But that's not really the question.

Would you recommend the msachi or the iastor driver? Do you know much about them? (edit: I know iastor is from IRST and required for raid)

Also, it says the offset is good. But could that big of an offset cause problems even though it says it's okay?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Phantom_Dave*
> 
> I have a few questions. I just ran this benchmark on my SSD:
> 
> I think it's probably time for a secure erase again judging from the performance. But that's not really the question.
> 
> Would you recommend the msachi or the iastor driver? Do you know much about them? (edit: I know iastor is from IRST and required for raid)
> 
> Also, it says the offset is good. But could that big of an offset cause problems even though it says it's okay?


iaStor, it is newer... the msahci one is from 2006 lol.

And your offset is fine it is 1MB. You just have a 100MB partition b/w that offset and the OS partition so it shows as 103424 rather than 1024.


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## Phantom_Dave

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> iaStor, it is newer... the msahci one is from 2006 lol.


Just curious. I've seen a lot of debate over them even though one is older. Some say they get better benchmarks on msahci while others say vice-versa.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> And your offset is fine it is 1MB. You just have a 100MB partition b/w that offset and the OS partition so it shows as 103424 rather than 1024.


Yeah, that's what I figured too. I knew about the 100MB partition put there by Windows. I was just wondering if it's being treated like an offset since it registers as one in AS SSD. I'm no expert in this area.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Phantom_Dave*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> iaStor, it is newer... the msahci one is from 2006 lol.
> 
> 
> 
> Just curious. I've seen a lot of debate over them even though one is older. Some say they get better benchmarks on msahci while others say vice-versa.
Click to expand...

Intel Drivers are better, same goes for AMDs new drivers too. Usually there is a 100 point gain in AS SSD.
Quote:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> And your offset is fine it is 1MB. You just have a 100MB partition b/w that offset and the OS partition so it shows as 103424 rather than 1024.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, that's what I figured too. I knew about the 100MB partition put there by Windows. I was just wondering if it's being treated like an offset since it registers as one in AS SSD. I'm no expert in this area.
Click to expand...

Only the offset in the beginning matters...unless the size of the following partition is "off."


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## richie_2010

I can't see/view the guide


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *richie_2010*
> 
> I can't see/view the guide


It is a video guide and the text guide is below.

Edit: I took the spoiler off.


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## richie_2010

I just see vid tut: and nothing after. Is it the Mbr realiment mentioned in your win 7 guide


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *richie_2010*
> 
> I just see vid tut: and nothing after. Is it the Mbr realiment mentioned in your win 7 guide


No this is completely different than in my setup guide. This is for if your alignment is off after you install the OS on it. It is to fix it. If you alignment is fine then you don't need this.

All you need is the video to watch. I took the spoiler off and it should be visible now.


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## hamishg

So I have downloaded the pmagic 2012 3 24 iso, and burned a disc with the NTI media maker which seems to also download. Then when I try to open the pmagic file it opens with NTI media maker by default, so do I choose some other way to open the file from the disc with a right click of the mouse (open with)...................... a little confused at this stage.


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## Sean Webster

i dont know what NTI media maker is, just burn the parted magic iso to a cd and boot off it....


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## hamishg

so do you mean restart the computer and in bios choose to boot from the cd


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## Sean Webster

yes


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## hamishg

(it seems that nti media maker is something that pre installed on my notebook.)


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## hamishg

okay, thank you, will try.


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## hamishg

well burned the iso to disk, closed down, went into bios, changed boot to dvd drive first, still boots windows (could not find a 'confused' smiley)


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## hamishg

well a little disappointed, tried all three of those parted magic downloads now. switched to dvd drive as 1st boot on bios, none have worked, perhaps it because the discs that i created are not mastered but formatted like a usb flash drive at the choice before burning...........


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## Sean Webster

burn the iso with the windows tool, rightclick the iso and click burn with Windows Disk Image Burner.


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## EarlZ

As long as the alignment is divisible by 4096 it doesnt matter how much it is or should it be at 4096 for the best possible performance on an SSD ?


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## Akatosh01

may be a dumb question but is this method also used for secondary drives, or just the os drive?


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## wheth4400

Does anyone know if there is a tool like this for OSX?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ*
> 
> As long as the alignment is divisible by 4096 it doesnt matter how much it is or should it be at 4096 for the best possible performance on an SSD ?


doesnt matter.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Akatosh01*
> 
> may be a dumb question but is this method also used for secondary drives, or just the os drive?


either, tho if you have a secondary id say just move the data off and reformat if your alignment is off.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *wheth4400*
> 
> Does anyone know if there is a tool like this for OSX?


If you can boot parted magic on a MAC you can do this.


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## jcfsusmc

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Both, thus the title "How to: Properly re-align your *SSD/HDD* partitions"


ROTFLMAO!!!


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## auraofjason

My storage hdd says BAD, should I/can I still do this even though it's not my os drive? (there's no os on it, just some games). Would it help?


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## Bitech

What happened to the video?
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Both, thus the title "How to: Properly re-align your *SSD/HDD* partitions"


The user was probably confused because your guide's terminology is inconsistent with your title; you sometimes only mention "SSD" and not "HDD".
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> Look for your *SSD* and find the "Partition Starting Offset".


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> This can improve read and write speeds drastically as well as extend the life of your *SSD*.


I think you should just replace those terms with "drive" since they're both technically drives.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *auraofjason*
> 
> My storage hdd says BAD, should I/can I still do this even though it's not my os drive? (there's no os on it, just some games). Would it help?


Probably won't matter much. However, i would just, backup, format the drive, and delete all the partitions and make a new partition on the drive.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bitech*
> 
> What happened to the video?


YouTube terminated my account apparently for spam, however I have no idea what the heck the spam was lol.

But anyways, for some reason I did not have a final copy of this how to video, I deleted it by accident or something and I can not re-upload it till I remake it. So...It may be a little (few weeks to months, whenever I have the time) till it is re-uploaded.








Quote:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Both, thus the title "How to: Properly re-align your *SSD/HDD* partitions"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The user was probably confused because your guide's terminology is inconsistent with your title; you sometimes only mention "SSD" and not "HDD".
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> Look for your *SSD* and find the "Partition Starting Offset".
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> This can improve read and write speeds drastically as well as extend the life of your *SSD*.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I think you should just replace those terms with "drive" since they're both technically drives.
Click to expand...

I'll adjust it.


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## Bitech

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> YouTube terminated my account apparently for spam, however I have no idea what the heck the spam was lol.
> But anyways, for some reason I did not have a final copy of this how to video, I deleted it by accident or something and I can not re-upload it till I remake it. So...It may be a little (few weeks to months, whenever I have the time) till it is re-uploaded.


Well that sucks, seems like you put a lot of work into that video. But hey, since you're remaking it, it will be really up to date with better SSD technology in the near future!

And you forgot to edit the second part with only SSD, unless the alignment only affects the SSD's life.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bitech*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> YouTube terminated my account apparently for spam, however I have no idea what the heck the spam was lol.
> But anyways, for some reason I did not have a final copy of this how to video, I deleted it by accident or something and I can not re-upload it till I remake it. So...It may be a little (few weeks to months, whenever I have the time) till it is re-uploaded.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well that sucks, seems like you put a lot of work into that video. But hey, since you're remaking it, it will be really up to date with better SSD technology in the near future!
Click to expand...

Wel, it will be very similar to the first one as I beleieve I still have all the videos and audio I used to make the first video, I just need to recompile and edit everything again.
Quote:


> And you forgot to edit the second part with only SSD, unless the alignment only affects the SSD's life.


Bad alignment can only hurt a SSD's NAND, it won't do anything to a HDD except possibly slow it down if it is a 4k drive.


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## levontraut

this is my ssd. sata 2 setup.

very slow


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## auraofjason

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Probably won't matter much. However, i would just, backup, format the drive, and delete all the partitions and make a new partition on the drive.


Hmm, so I just found out in the Msinfo32.exe "Partition Starting Offset", my number is divisible by 4096, and also an Acronis alignment tool says my partition is aligned properly. AS SSD still says my partition is "104423 K - BAD" though. I guess AS SSD is just reading it wrong and I shouldn't worry about it?
Thanks for the help by the way.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *levontraut*
> 
> 
> 
> this is my ssd. sata 2 setup.
> 
> very slow


ok...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *auraofjason*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Probably won't matter much. However, i would just, backup, format the drive, and delete all the partitions and make a new partition on the drive.
> 
> 
> 
> Hmm, so I just found out in the Msinfo32.exe "Partition Starting Offset", my number is divisible by 4096, and also an Acronis alignment tool says my partition is aligned properly. AS SSD still says my partition is "104423 K - BAD" though. I guess AS SSD is just reading it wrong and I shouldn't worry about it?
> Thanks for the help by the way.
Click to expand...

I'd go by AS SSD personally. Up to you. If you are using a SSD then I would realign, if it is a HDD then I wouldn't bother.


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## gtsteviiee

After I did this step: "Shrink the main data partition. Right click the partition > drag slider to shrink the partition > align to none > Resize/move > apply" I get an error that says Check and repair file system (ntfs) on /dev/sda1and I try to check it but, I keep getting an error.

"Failed to load runlist for $MFT/$DATA.
highest_vcn = 0xd1, last_vcn - 1 = 0x16f3f
Failed to load $MFT: Input/output error
Failed to mount '/dev/sda1': Input/output error
NTFS is either inconsistent, or there is a hardware fault, or it's a
SoftRAID/FakeRAID hardware. In the first case run chkdsk /f on Windows
then reboot into Windows twice. The usage of the /f parameter is very
important! If the device is a SoftRAID/FakeRAID then first activate
it and mount a different device under the /dev/mapper/ directory, (e.g.
/dev/mapper/nvidia_eahaabcc1). Please see the 'dmraid' documentation
for more details."

Help

Edit:Now, I tried to reboot. And now, I'm just stuck on my BIOS with my motherboard lighting up this bright red light that says "boot"

Edit 2:I unplugged my SSD and it doesnt hang on BIOS, but when it does, it hangs.

Edit 3: And the SSD is dead.


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## Nimzo

hi sean,

i follow the guide to check whether my ssd is align or not.
i using intel 330 ssd 120 gb and install a window 7 64bit.

the first method is divide the number and it came out have decimal.
second method i try is download and test with the software and it have "bad" wording.
third method i download intel align tool from intel and check and it show me all disk is align including hdd.

so which one i should believe?

thanks for your help!


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Nimzo*
> 
> hi sean,
> 
> i follow the guide to check whether my ssd is align or not.
> i using intel 330 ssd 120 gb and install a window 7 64bit.
> 
> the first method is divide the number and it came out have decimal.
> second method i try is download and test with the software and it have "bad" wording.
> third method i download intel align tool from intel and check and it show me all disk is align including hdd.
> 
> so which one i should believe?
> 
> thanks for your help!


Post a screenshot of AS SSD.


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## geoxile

I haven't done this yet (I'll do it in the morning) but I have a few questions. Parted Magic will self-boot once burned to a CD right? Doesn't need Linux?
And what's a good size for a system reserved partition?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *geoxile*
> 
> I haven't done this yet (I'll do it in the morning) but I have a few questions. Parted Magic will self-boot once burned to a CD right? Doesn't need Linux?


Yea, it is its own Linux live CD variant. Just burn the iso and boot off of it.
Quote:


> And what's a good size for a system reserved partition?


100MB


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## Cyrious

Oh thanks! Ive been wondering if i had somehow b0rked the alignment when installing windows on my pyro, and now i know that i havent.

And the results after running the benchmark:


Is this a bit slow for an SSD or what?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Cyrious*
> 
> Oh thanks! Ive been wondering if i had somehow b0rked the alignment when installing windows on my pyro, and now i know that i havent.
> 
> And the results after running the benchmark:
> 
> 
> Is this a bit slow for an SSD or what?


Nope, everything is normal. Your drive is simply bad with compressed data. Asynchronous NAND sux.


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## Cyrious

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Nope, everything is normal. Your drive is simply bad with compressed data. Asynchronous NAND sux.


Oh ok. Here i was thinking something was wrong with my drive but guess not. I would swap it with my Intel SSD, but as i have a laptop to repair first that has a sata connector, i think the intel SSD is going in there instead, especially since said laptop has only 2 gigs of ram.


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## Nimzo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Post a screenshot of AS SSD.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Nimzo*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Post a screenshot of AS SSD.
Click to expand...

You are reading AS SSD wrong...

Partition alignment is fine, you are in IDE mode however. You should change your SATA Mode to AHCI mode: http://www.overclock.net/t/1227636/how-to-change-sata-modes-after-windows-7-installation


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## geoxile

I don't suppose there's another way to re-align SSD partitions? Parted Magic boots then basically freezes whenever I try to use it. I can move the mouse around but nothing responds


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## Nimzo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> You are reading AS SSD wrong...
> Partition alignment is fine, you are in IDE mode however. You should change your SATA Mode to AHCI mode: http://www.overclock.net/t/1227636/how-to-change-sata-modes-after-windows-7-installation


done!!!


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *geoxile*
> 
> I don't suppose there's another way to re-align SSD partitions? Parted Magic boots then basically freezes whenever I try to use it. I can move the mouse around but nothing responds


There are a few programs. google them. They cost $ tho.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Nimzo*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> You are reading AS SSD wrong...
> Partition alignment is fine, you are in IDE mode however. You should change your SATA Mode to AHCI mode: http://www.overclock.net/t/1227636/how-to-change-sata-modes-after-windows-7-installation
> 
> 
> 
> done!!!
Click to expand...


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## geoxile

I already took care of it using Gpart, but it seems neither play nicely with discrete graphics. Had to boot to integrated graphics


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## Sean Webster

Yea I have an issue with booting it with my sound card plugged in.


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## Onions

does this look like normal. I feel as if my hdd raid 0 isnt working right


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Onions*
> 
> does this look like normal. I feel as if my hdd raid 0 isnt working right


yea


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## Jon A. Silvers

AS SSD Benchmark 1.6.4237.30508

Name: ADATA SSD S511 120GB ATA Device
Firmware: 3.3.2
Controller: msahci
Offset: 1024 K - OK
Size: 111.79 GB
Date: 9/3/2012 16:32:49

Sequential:

Read: 486.97 MB/s
Write: 114.81 MB/s

4K:

Read: 18.05 MB/s
Write: 48.56 MB/s

4K-64Threads:

Read: 101.92 MB/s
Write: 112.55 MB/s

Access Times:

Read: 0.223 ms
Write: 0.254 ms

Score:

Read: 169
Write: 173
Total: 416


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## Jayjr1105

What programs do you guys prefer when re-partitioning within windows? Preferred bootable versions?

I use _Partition Wizard Home Edition_ (within windows) and _Acronis 10_ for bootable. I would like to hear opinions because I've been hunting for something free that will do server OS's. I can use Acronis but that requires me to take the server offline. Would be nice if something let me re-partition from the OS. (free/open source that is)


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jayjr1105*
> 
> What programs do you guys prefer when re-partitioning within windows? Preferred bootable versions?
> 
> I use _Partition Wizard Home Edition_ (within windows) and _Acronis 10_ for bootable. I would like to hear opinions because I've been hunting for something free that will do server OS's. I can use Acronis but that requires me to take the server offline. Would be nice if something let me re-partition from the OS. (free/open source that is)


I like easeus partition master home edition.


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## mikehunt

I just used the gparted method since I already have a bootable thumb drive with a fairly recent release of ubuntu on it. This was on a HDD not SSD
everything was fine except once I got booted back into Windows it only saw my C: drive disk space as the size I had shrunk it too
disk management reported the partition as the full size that I had expanded back to on the final step with gparted and the extend volume option was grayed out

I found a fix
http://blog.jstudios.us/blog/post/2010/07/02/I-Expanded-the-Disk-in-Disk-Manager-but-It-Doesne28099t-Show-in-Windows-Explorer.aspx
Quote:


> At a command prompt you need to enter the following:
> 
> C:\ > DISKPART
> DISKPART> List Volume
> DISKPART> select volume # (this is the number of the volume listed by the above 'List Volume' command)
> DISKPART> extend filesystem
> DISKPART> exit


Ran that and in a matter of seconds all was good and proper in the world as far as the proper amount of free space being reported by Explorer


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## Jayjr1105

So Sean, do you think just cloning a drive off to a temp drive then back to the original will fix alignment instead of using the "backup and restore" method? I'm using Acronis DD 11 Home edition BTW. (bootable cd)


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jayjr1105*
> 
> So Sean, do you think just cloning a drive off to a temp drive then back to the original will fix alignment instead of using the "backup and restore" method? I'm using Acronis DD 11 Home edition BTW. (bootable cd)


Cloning idk, creating a image then wiping the drive and restoring the imageI know I can do it with acronis 2013and it works. When you restore the image you should be an option to set the alignment.


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## Jayjr1105

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Cloning idk, creating a image then wiping the drive and restoring the imageI know I can do it with acronis 2013and it works. When you restore the image you should be an option to set the alignment.


Success! by far the easiest method if you have access to an Acronis 11 (or higher?) bootable disc. I just did a straight basic clone from one HDD to a secondary HDD and then back to the main HDD... I would imagine this would work fine with SSD's in the equation as well.

btw this is just my crummy C2D work desktop. I got curious, ran AS SSD (not the bench) and it showed the dreaded "31K - BAD"


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## Lukeovcas

This is mine. Is it correct?


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## Jayjr1105

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lukeovcas*
> 
> This is mine. Is it correct?


Alignment is good but download and install Intel RST here


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## Desolator4u

Hmm, my Partitioning Starting Offset for my Crucial M4 128GB is 1,048,576 bytes which is 256 when divided by 4096, yer AS SSD shows 1024K-OK
I also used Disk Part in CMD and checked the Partition, offset shows 1024k
Which is correct?

Thanks


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## Sean Webster

it is a 1MB offset, like it explicitly says in the OP, if AS SSD says "-OK" your partition is aligned.


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## ehume

I fixed my own OS alignment problem with a clean (re)installation of my OS to a new SSD, a Vertex 3. Then I thought I formatted the old SSD, a C300. It is now what I call a Fast File Disk. It still has a misalignment.

I backed up the data. I downloaded EaseUS. I shall now embark on attempting to extirpate the misalignment. We'll see.

Edit:

Deleting the partition in EaseUS had no effect. Ditto the whole volume. So I went into Windows' Computer Management. Forced a reformat of the partition. The disk is still mis-aligned. Now I'll look to see if I have to dismount the SSD before I delete the partition. I''m thinking the non-assigned space is being held by the SSD's controller.

Edit:

I never got EaseUs to do anything for me. But under Windows Computer Management I deleted the volume. The I created a volume and formatted it. Now:



It may be a tad slower than before, but it's not misaligned any more. And I gained 100MB. So the world is at peace.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ehume*
> 
> I fixed my own OS alignment problem with a clean (re)installation of my OS to a new SSD, a Vertex 3. Then I thought I formatted the old SSD, a C300. It is now what I call a Fast File Disk. It still has a misalignment.
> 
> I backed up the data. I downloaded EaseUS. I shall now embark on attempting to extirpate the misalignment. We'll see.
> 
> Edit:
> 
> Deleting the partition in EaseUS had no effect. Ditto the whole volume. So I went into Windows' Computer Management. Forced a reformat of the partition. The disk is still mis-aligned. Now I'll look to see if I have to dismount the SSD before I delete the partition. I''m thinking the non-assigned space is being held by the SSD's controller.
> 
> Edit:
> 
> I never got EaseUs to do anything for me. But under Windows Computer Management I deleted the volume. The I created a volume and formatted it. Now:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It may be a tad slower than before, but it's not misaligned any more. And I gained 100MB. So the world is at peace.


The easiest way to format it so the partition is aligned properly is to use the diskpart command *clean*. It wipes all the partitions off the drive. Then do a quick format and it will automatically, in windows vista and up, align the partition offset to 1MB.

Glad you fixed it. Your 4k write speeds should be a lot better.


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## geoxile

Is there anyway to do this for Windows 8? I tried it and it basically destroyed my install. Repair doesn't work at all

Edit: Redacted that last statement. Realized there was an option to go into cmd prompt and manually force repairs. The primary partition on my SSD also isn't being detected by Windows Trim and optimization options


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## AEGorenberg

Thanks for the concise guide -- really appreciate it!


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## H Allen

I just did a benchmark and i was wondering if my 103424k is OK ? Coz i see alot of ppl posting pictures with only 1024.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *H Allen*
> 
> I just did a benchmark and i was wondering if my 103424k is OK ? Coz i see alot of ppl posting pictures with only 1024.


your good


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## BurnoutTech

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *auraofjason*
> 
> Hmm, so I just found out in the Msinfo32.exe "Partition Starting Offset", my number is divisible by 4096, and also an Acronis alignment tool says my partition is aligned properly. AS SSD still says my partition is "104423 K - BAD" though. I guess AS SSD is just reading it wrong and I shouldn't worry about it?
> Thanks for the help by the way.


I have the opposite issue. Msinfo and diskpart don't match up with what they should, but AS SSD says the alignment is OK. I'll go with AS SSD then.


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## xotox

There is an more easy way to re - align your SSD. It's called "Mini Tool Partition Wizard"

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a multifunctional partition manager, able to finish almost all common partition management operations, including aligning SSD partition. You just need to select the partition that must be aligned and then click "Align Partition". Then click "Apply" to perform the operations and aligning SSD partition will be finished easily. It worked perfectly for me.


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## xotox

Works also for Windows 8


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## Sean Webster

Added, thanks.


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## EduFurtado

So according to AS SSD, my vertex 3 alignment is OK with the number 103424.

So what would be the difference between mine and the others with 1024?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EduFurtado*
> 
> So according to AS SSD, my vertex 3 alignment is OK with the number 103424.
> 
> So what would be the difference between mine and the others with 1024?


the 100MB system reserve partition.


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## DIJRP

Sean, thank you ... again ...
this guide has been useful, but my favorite is always the installation of windows 7)
best regards,

http://postimg.org/image/umq8imkl9/full/


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## lagittaja

Bump and +1.

Transferred my OS from Intel 520 60GB to this new Samsung 840 Evo 250GB. Used EASEUS with it's upgrade disk feature. And the partitions were misaligned, doh. Tried to mess around with EASEUS for a few minutes but bleh, isn't that good of a software for realigning.
Googled 'ssd alignment' and this thread came up. Downloaded MiniTool, ran it, selected the SSD, realign all partitions and reboot. It did it's thing and rebooted back.
Worked like a charm.


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## rockit00

Thank you, recent SSHD upgrades have been driving me nuts for a week or two.


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## dadayosang

I think it's probably time for a secure erase again judging from the performance. But that's not really the question.


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## rockit00

MiniTool helped me too, Thank You!


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## savage1987

Hey guys, having an ass of a time trying to get XP set up on an old Eee PC with a pair of little SSDs in it.

Can anyone recommend a USB-bootable utility that will let me create and correctly align an NTFS partition on each drive before I begin to instal Windows? Using a Win7 USB isn't working for me, and using Partition Wizard after installing yielded a refusal to boot.

More info here.


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## Sean Webster

plug the drive in another pc, boot the windows 7 installer and then format the drive?


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## savage1987

Yeah because I am a potato, until right now I didn't realise it's just a PCI connector. I'll whack it in the main PC and do it through diskpart. Hopefully the 4GB and 16GB drives are on the same bit of hardware. :l


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## savage1987

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *savage1987*
> 
> Yeah because I am a potato, until right now I didn't realise it's just a PCI connector. I'll whack it in the main PC and do it through diskpart. Hopefully the 4GB and 16GB drives are on the same bit of hardware. :l


And wrong again! I don't know what I was thinking there







either way I'm back to my previous question about USB-bootable utilities because I have no way of connecting this to another system at the moment and this stupid little eeePC has no DVD drive









http://www.ebay.com/itm/KingSpec-32GB-Mini-PCIe-SATA-SSD-Eee-PC-900-900A-901-/290580069716


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## Sean Webster

you could just install XP then run the partition alignment tool after install. http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html


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## savage1987

I did try that already and it cooked my instal.

Selected C:
Align
Apply
blah blah have to restart to do this blah
Restart Now
[walked away]
[came back]
Error loading operating system


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## savage1987

Got it to boot from a Win7 USB. The problem I was having last time was a poorly seated SSD. Creating an NTFS partition on each, align=1024, so HOPEFULLY XP can just drop straight in without sticking its clumsy fingers in the pie.


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## ssdnewbe

When I check my system to determine how the alignment currently is configured, it shows that its bad. So I followed the recommendtions and downloaded MiniTool. When I run it, which partition is to be aligned? The system reserved, or the C: drive or both?
Thank you


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## Sean Webster

both/all partitions need to be realigned


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## ssdnewbe

Thank you for the response.


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## ssdnewbe

Well it appears that the MiniTool Partition Wizard performed its magic quite well.
I did see an increase in benchmark speed, probably not noticeable during daily use, but, we'll see.
One thing that I noticed is that, although the alignment is showing 'OK' now, I'm still seeing a message above it reading "pciide - BAD".
I was assuming it would be driver related, but, after a series of MB driver updates, I'm still seeing the same message.
Is there something I'm missing with regards to this message?
Thank you for consideration.

PostAlignment.JPG 64k .JPG file


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## Sean Webster

you need to change the sata mode to AHCI or RAID if you can: http://www.overclock.net/t/1227636/how-to-change-sata-modes-after-windows-installation


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## ssdnewbe

Thank you for the response.
This is actually something that has been performed previously. I opened regedit to confirm and the fix is still in place.
Same thing with BIOS.
Is there anything else I'm missing here?
Thank you


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## iksg

Hello,
I've been reading up on this thread and lots of great information; thanks. I definitely need some help with my situation. I have a Samsung SSD 830 Series.

Ran AS SSD tool and got the following:


Ran msinfo32 and here are the details:


Ran diskpart and here are the details:


A bit confused since the drive seems to be aligned according to "diskpart" but as per AS SSD and msinfo32 results it's not aligned. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
iksg


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## iksg

I finally got this all fixed. Bought a copy of MiniTool Partition Wizard Professional and used that to fix this. Worked great. Thank you all.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *iksg*
> 
> Hello,
> I've been reading up on this thread and lots of great information; thanks. I definitely need some help with my situation. I have a Samsung SSD 830 Series.
> 
> Ran AS SSD tool and got the following:
> 
> 
> Ran msinfo32 and here are the details:
> 
> 
> Ran diskpart and here are the details:
> 
> 
> A bit confused since the drive seems to be aligned according to "diskpart" but as per AS SSD and msinfo32 results it's not aligned. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Sincerely,
> iksg


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## gundamseedw

Hi, when i go msinfo32, it shows 2 partitions even though I only have 1. Looks like the partition #0 is windows reserved partition and that is not aligned (not divisible by 4096). However, AS SSD Benchmark doesn't read the partition. Do I need to align that partition as well in order to get optimal performance ?

Partition Disk #0, Partition #0
Partition Size 39.19 MB (41,094,144 bytes)
Partition Starting Offset 32,256 bytes
Partition Disk #0, Partition #1
Partition Size 74.46 GB (79,956,017,152 bytes)
Partition Starting Offset 41,943,040 bytes


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *gundamseedw*
> 
> Hi, when i go msinfo32, it shows 2 partitions even though I only have 1. Looks like the partition #0 is windows reserved partition and that is not aligned (not divisible by 4096). However, AS SSD Benchmark doesn't read the partition. Do I need to align that partition as well in order to get optimal performance ?
> 
> Partition Disk #0, Partition #0
> Partition Size 39.19 MB (41,094,144 bytes)
> Partition Starting Offset 32,256 bytes
> Partition Disk #0, Partition #1
> Partition Size 74.46 GB (79,956,017,152 bytes)
> Partition Starting Offset 41,943,040 bytes


yes, you should align it.


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## unfrgiven9191

Hi
SOrry for the newbie questions.
I have recently bought a sandisk ultra plus 256gb ssd. I used acronic migrate easy to copy my hdd to ssd. Then I used the ssd as my internal hard drive on my laptop. However when i was copying some file to the ssd I was getting 10-20mb transfer rate towards the middle and end of transferring. I asked about that issue on a different forum and i was advised to align my ssd.
So i allign my ssd with mini partition tools and this is the new result i got.





Is this how the result suppose to be? Have I everything correctly?
also the recovery disk D is not accessible anymore. What have i done wrong?



Thanks in advance.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Is this how the result suppose to be? Have I everything correctly?


yea, a slight bit low though. You shouldn't have needed to re-align your partitions though. Did AS SSD say it was bad before?

Quote:


> also the recovery disk D is not accessible anymore. What have i done wrong?


The partition for D may have been resized too, usually those type of recovery partitions do not like to be resized. I'd format the SSD and start cloning over once again.


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## unfrgiven9191

Yes it was saying bad before, so i aligned it using mini partition tools.

After cloning from the hdd to ssd I have formatted the hdd. So I dont have the originals anymore


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## Sean Webster

Well it is just a OEM recovery partition. You can always get a windows .iso from my install guide if ever need to format.

To try recovering it You can try using easeus partition recovery or active partition recovery or something similar.


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## Willem1

Hello,

I'm struggling to get my second partition aligned for days now.

This is my system, freshly installed with Windows7 64bit Ultimate SP1:
Asus p7h55-m/usb3
2 GB DDR3 Kingston memory
Crucial M500 240GB SSD
Asus EN210 1GB Graphicscard

I have created two partitions with the windows dvd installation disk:
120GB wininfo32: Startoffset 105.906.176 bytes divided by 4096 is 25856. OS installed.
103GB wininfo32: Startoffset 128.976.912.896 bytes, divided by 4096 is 31488504.1
So the last one is nog aligned. I ran minitool Partition Wizard, to align the last partition, but it is saying it is already aligned. Now I'm confused.

Detailed information from Partition Wizard:
Partitions:
====100MB====
Usage:
used 24.13 MB 24,13%
unused 75.87 MB 75.87%

partition info:
partition type ID 0x7
File system NTFS
Serial number x
First Physical sector 2048
Last physical sector 206847
Total physical sector 100.00MB

File system info:
Sectors per cluster: 8 (4096 bytes)
Sectors per File record: 2 (1024 bytes)
$MFT LCN: 8533
$MFTMirr LCN: 2

====120GB====
Usage:
used 10.46GB 8.72%
unused 109.56GB 91.28%
total: 120.02GB 100%

Partition info
Partition ID: 0x7
File system: NTFS
Serial number: x
First physical sector: 206848
Last physical sector: 251906047
Total physical sector: 120.02 GB

File system info:
Sector per cluster: 8 (4096 bytes)
Sectors per file record: 2 (1024 bytes)
sectors per index record: 8 (4096 bytes)
$MFT LCN: 786432
$MFTMirr LCN: 2

====103GB====AFFECTED PARTITION
Usage:
used: 89.00MB 0.08%
unused: 103.36GB 99.92%
total 103.45 BG 100%

Partition info:
partition type ID: 0x7
File system: NTFS
Serial number; x
First physical sector: 251908096
Last physical sector: 468850687
Total physical sector: 103.45GB

File system info:
Sectors per cluster: 8 (4096 bytes)
Sectors per file record: 2 91024 bytes)
Sectors per Index record: 8 (4096 bytes)
$MFT LCN 840
$MFTMirr LCN 839

What can I do to align the last partition, or is it already ok?

Cheers


----------



## Xinoxide

The 2 in black were from a thread where I was boasting to the SSD performance increase.

The third, which is second of my Seagate 480GB SSD is after re-alignment with "Mini Tool Partition Wizard".


----------



## INCREDIBLEHULK

Question:

Popped in a new 850 Pro 256gb, AS SSD shows 359424K - OK ( 87.75 ) and for my 830 128gb it shows 103424K - OK ( 25.25 )

With the MiniTool wizard it shows that both drives are ok and do not need to be aligned. Do they not? Should I follow the steps for the acronis tool and align both drives?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *INCREDIBLEHULK*
> 
> Question:
> 
> Popped in a new 850 Pro 256gb, AS SSD shows 359424K - OK ( 87.75 ) and for my 830 128gb it shows 103424K - OK ( 25.25 )
> 
> With the MiniTool wizard it shows that both drives are ok and do not need to be aligned. Do they not? Should I follow the steps for the acronis tool and align both drives?


they are aligned.


----------



## INCREDIBLEHULK

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> they are aligned.


Less work for me!!









Thank you


----------



## Broken-Heart

This guide was just what I needed to fix my alignment issue on OCZ Vertex 3 MI.

Thank you so much


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Broken-Heart*
> 
> This guide was just what I needed to fix my alignment issue on OCZ Vertex 3 MI.
> 
> Thank you so much


Your welcome


----------



## Shadow11377

This thread helped me out so I figured I should should share my before & after results here.
All benchmarks were ran on freshly reformatted disks installed as secondary storage.

First, I did my 1TB WD Green. (Using WD Align)


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!



*Before*








*After*










The results here were pretty amazing.

I then went on to test the results of this on my Samsung F3 (Original Model HD103SJ) which isn't an advanced format drive. (Using MiniTool Partition Wizard)


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!



First Attempt
*Before*








*After*











Second attempt - Due to the downgrade in speed from the previous test, I wanted to test this out more. I deleted the MBR, then reinitialized the disk and formatted it with Windows XP's Disk Management to get the partition unaligned again.


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!



*Before*








*After*











Based on these results I came to the conclusion that aligning partitions on normal drives can negatively impact the speed by a very small amount but aligning 4K drives has the potential to improve the speed by a huge amount.

I did a little extra research and found that for some advanced format drives alignment is not necessary to get good performance out of the drives. Seagate has Smart Align, for example, which you can read about here. *http://www.seagate.com/files/docs/pdf/whitepaper/mb_smartalign_technology_faq.pdf*

I'll do both of my SSDs tomorrow or later and edit the results in when they're ready.


----------



## Broken-Heart

Thank you so much for this very helpful thread, helped me regain a lot of performance from my SSD


----------



## T0cuz

Hi there. How about external usb drives ? I have an old one "wd 7500aav" and his PSO is not dividing corectly to 4096 but still as ssd says is ok.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *T0cuz*
> 
> Hi there. How about external usb drives ? I have an old one "wd 7500aav" and his PSO is not dividing corectly to 4096 but still as ssd says is ok.


if AS SSD says it is ok, you shouldn't need to.


----------



## zipper17

Checked with AS SSD, My SSD is Correctly Aligned. show green - ok.

But My HDD (Disk 1, have 3 Partition),

Partition C (OS) & D (Data),,, showing bad alignment, should I Realign my HDD?

Does HDD is also important to be aligned correctly to make HDD life longer??

Does Align The Storage Device will erase all data, like formatting?


----------



## demontraitor

So, AS SSD says that my partition needs aligning, so I downloaded MiniTool Partition Wizard, tried to align and that says it does not need it.

I tried the 4096 division trick and the result is 7.8...

So, what to do now? Any suggestions will be great. Thanks

Demon



EDIT:::: Sorted it. I was using Partition Tool wrong. I was not selecting the WHOLE drive and just selecting the main partition within it...


----------



## Xclock

^^^ @demontraitor how long does MiniTool Partition Wizard takes to complete? sorry for bumping this


----------



## ThrashZone

Hi,
Not long it restarts the machine and does the operation while windows is not active 
I'd say a couple minutes if that long.

I would make a system image just to be safe to a exterior hdd Murphy's law and all


----------



## Xclock

I recently cloned 850evo sata to nvme drive but the as- ssd reported 4k bad. 
thanks for reply


----------

