Problems backing up SSD
I am running TI Home 2010 (the latest version) and its been working pretty well. I just installed an OCZ Vertex 2 80GB SSD as my c: drive.
When I try to back it up, there's long periods (2-5) minutes where nothing happens. CPU usage is at 0%, all other apps (Firefox, Outlook, etc.) seemed blocked. They are unresponsive and then after a couple of minutes, the CPU usage will jump, apps are responsive, and then typically 5-15 seconds later, they resort to being unresponsive. This of course leads to extremely long TI backups. They do seem to eventually complete, but take much longer than before. For example, a differential that used to take 1-2 minutes on my HDD, is taking maybe 15 minutes on the SSD.
The SSD is aligned and functions perfectly other than when TI is running. The computer (running an i7-950 with 6GB of RAM) is incredibly responsive and flies other than when TI runs.
I am not necessarily implying that TI is the issue, as I realize what changed, I added an SSD. I also changed the registry and bios to use AHCI mode instead of IDE. But, there's clearly something going on between TI and the SSD that shouldn't be. Again, other than with TI Home 2010, the system runs perfectly. Has anyone experienced this or have any suggestions about backing up off of an SSD (or this particular SSD with the Sandforce controller)?
Thanks in advance!
P.s. this behavior occurs both with full and differential backups.
Pat, thanks for the input. I assume you mean the Home 2011 version, not the plain old 2011 version. I may purchase the Home 2011 as I think they'll throw in the Plus Pack through the end of the month.
Right. Not v11, but ATI 2011, the latest one.
Your description is reminiscent of SSD stuttering in some circumstances. This would be surprising with the SF controller.
What OS are you using?
windows 7 64 bit
Same here. You cannot have stuttering issues with Windows 7 and SF.
You said you have your partitions aligned, right? http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/other/157
Did you verify that Windows has automatically set these tweaks are in place (should be automatic):
- SSD not showing in the automatic defragmentation,
- TRIM command active
- Superfetch not started
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/05/05/support-and-q-a-for-solid…
If you move to ATI 2011, do a backup of your system with your existing ATI. ATI 2011 UI is very different from previous versions and I see many users of previous versions hate it. It also comes with several UI quirks, that can be worked around.
Have checked the alignment with several tools and manual calculation, always come up aligned and benchmarks are consistent with manufacturers claims.
Windows has set all appropriate flags and turned off the appropriate services. Again, this behavior only occurs when TI is running a backup.
I am going to upgrade to TI Home 2011 today and see what happens.
Downloaded trial of TI Home 2011 and get the same results (periods of zero activity and very long backups). Just a quick side note as this is the first time I've seen the GUI after reading all the forum comments, it really is pretty bad! Very hard to follow.
Anyway, Not sure what else to try, I guess I'll open a ticket with Acronis and see if any magic happens.
Mike,
Uninstall 2011, use the 2011 cleanup utility, reboot and reinstall. Maybe you have an older driver that needs to be cleared out.
Uninstalled, ran cleanup utility, reinstalled, same problem.
Discovered that the Superfetch service WAS running (should have double checked when Pat L mentioned it several days ago!). I turned the Superfetch service off and voila, no stuttering, full backups occurring in record time.
Thanks again and don't assume Windows is doing the right things with SSD's!