Hi, should i defrag my ssd? read somewhere not great idea for ssd.
is the windows defrag program sufficent?

 

You shouldn't defragment an SSD.
Your Windows defragmentation tool is for your HDD.

How SSDs Differ from HDDs

Unlike HDDs, SSDs have no moving parts. They rely on flash memory to store data, which means accessing data doesn’t require any physical movement. This key distinction renders the concept of defragmentation irrelevant to SSDs.

SSDs use a technology called wear leveling to ensure even distribution of write operations across memory cells. This prevents excessive wear on specific cells, extending the lifespan of the drive. Defragmentation, however, involves rewriting large amounts of data to organize files. For an SSD, this unnecessary rewriting adds wear and tear to the memory cells, potentially shortening the drive’s lifespan.

What You Should Do Instead

If you’re looking to maintain your SSD’s performance and longevity, here are some best practices:

Enable TRIM

TRIM is crucial for SSDs. It ensures that deleted files are marked for garbage collection, freeing up space and maintaining performance. Most modern operating systems enable TRIM by default, but it’s worth verifying in your system settings.

Avoid Filling Your SSD to Capacity

SSDs perform best when they have ample free space. Filling an SSD to near capacity can degrade performance over time. Aim to keep at least 20% of the drive free for optimal operation.

Update Firmware

SSD manufacturers regularly release firmware updates to improve performance, compatibility, and reliability. Check your manufacturer’s website periodically for updates and apply them as needed.

Use Built-In Optimization Tools

Many SSDs come with proprietary software that includes optimization tools. These are specifically designed to enhance SSD performance without causing undue wear. Examples include Samsung Magician, Crucial Storage Executive, and Western Digital SSD Dashboard.

 

No.

Yes, the same tool for defrag can optimize SSD's, it detects what kind of drive it is and does whatever is appropiate (at least in win 10). You should also update you SSD's firmware and make sure TRIM is enabled, you can look up how to do that but's it's probably already enabled.

 

SSDs do not need defrag because they're not made the same way as HDDs. Windows won't even let you defrag it. Trim is the equivalent of defrag for SSDs, but you don't have to worry about it if your OS is at least as old as Windows 10 (almost 11 years ago). Windows 10/11 and everything else do it will do it automatically because it knows what is a SSD or not.

My advice is to forget about it and just use the computer.

 

Doesn't TRIM functionality on an SSD work automatically?

You can use CrystalDiskInfo to see if TRIM is featured on your SSD.

In rare instances the actual computer or game console doesn't support TRIM, like the PS3

 

Yeah, TRIM is automatically enabled in every SSD since Windows 10 at least. That's 10 years ago. The thing about not filling up SSDs is also old as fuck. But PulseWave is incapable of forming their own thoughts, so it's natural they would just post shit.

 

Leave it alone completely. Don't do anything, not even those tools meant for SSDs.
Everyting an SSD wants is to be powered up. The rest is done by the controller (the one in the SSD, not the thing on the mainboard / driver in the OS). The reason we have these tools is because there were times and certain os / controller combinations that made tools necessary.
Like I had an early SSD in an EEEpc running Windows XP.
There I had to run a tool every now and then to really free up blocks.
But today everything is done in idle without us even noticing.

 

Well , Best answer till now.

 

boobs

 

That advice was a pleasure to read, Spot on!

 

I've never attempted to use an SSD that is that full for any extended period of time lol.

Even to this day I hear it's a good idea to leave minimum 10% off the drives capacity free at all times for wear leveling purposes if you plan on frequently writing to, deleting stuff from the drive.

The drive will not necessarily fail, but if individual sectors are written to too often, they can potentially wear out faster than the rest of the drive. In practice this is hard to do.

Luckily you can always check this with Disk Genuis and it can identify and reassign bad sectors.

Fun fact, I have an SSD that has 62% health in CrystalDiskInfo, and not a single bad sector. Just an insane amount of uptime and TBW.

 

I think that might be ChatGPT

No shade towards PulseWave tho. I'd be very glad to be wrong.

Edit: the "Update SSD Firmware" part is sus. I own 10 SSDs minimum and only one of them has a program that allows you to update the SSD firmware (Solidigm), and they've never actually released a firmware update for the SSD

 

That's not a good idea. The SSD has no problem being completely full, but Windows does if it can't swap anything to external storage. We recently had a user here who copied something from an external hard drive until the SSD stopped copying and was full! Hahaha. He then had to reinstall his laptop.

 

No, I haven't used any AI chatbots since January 2026!

What brand do you have? I've always bought Samsung and Crucial; they have great software that configures everything!

 

I once defragmented an SSD; when it was just individual folders, nothing happened, but when I defragmented the entire SSD, it was subsequently defective.

 

If I wished to trim an external SSD what software might I use?

 

Interesting, do the Crucial and Samsung SSDs actually have a dedicated software you use, or do they just configure automatically?

I build custom PCs and refurb old computers all the time so I have quite the collection from the past 10 years haha.

Crucial BX
Crucial MX
Solidigm P41
Samsung 870
Samsung 950
TeamGroup CX
TeamGroup Vulcan Z
TeamGroup some QLC variant
Intel 660p
Micron M600
WD Blue Sata (Stay away)
Orico Y-20 (very sus ssds that dont report TBW)

Some random ass Lite On ssd that is MSATA and nukes itself every time I updated windows with it.

I'm sure I could find a few more lying around haha. I bought all of these before the memorypocalypse.

Solidigm is the only one that has dedicated software.

Never had a total failure of one! The LiteOn one is close though.