Intel Communities: Message List

'Check SMART Attributes' is grayed out.

webadmin@intel.com — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:49:10 GMT

I have an Intel 320 120GB, it has two partitions. I also have my old Western Digital HDD as backup storage (also partitioned in two). And for whatever reason I cannot check the SMART attributes for my Intel SSD, but weirdly enough I can check the SMART attributes for my Western Digital partitions using the SSD toolbox.

I have tried completely uninstalling and reinstalling the program but every time I click on one of my my SSD partitions in the SSD toolbox, the 'Check SMART Attributes' is grayed out and I cannot access it. I can access everything else, just can't click on that one feature.

What gives? I wanted to check my SSD's media wear-out but cannot do that because I cannot check the SMART attributes.

Running Intel optimizer daily?

webadmin@intel.com — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 22:48:12 GMT

In the SSD toolbox Intel recommends to run the optimizer weekly, however I have been running it on a daily basis (scheduled to run every morning). Is there any advantage to running it daily, any disadvantages? Will running it daily reduce the lifespan of my drive?

Thanks for any help.

Re: Data migration and disk partitions.

webadmin@intel.com — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:36:48 GMT

Buddy, EASEUS todo backup IS free for the basic version (which has more than you would expect). If you would have actually clicked the link the first thing on the page says FREE FREE FREE (not in the particular order mind you). They have several paid versions, but the free version is quite robust, I have been using it for a while and it works great (I just recently started a 15-day trial on the Pro version cause I wanted scheduled incremental backups).

Re: Data migration and disk partitions.

webadmin@intel.com — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:22:57 GMT

I guess the Migration software is incapable of cloning only one partition off the source disk. Instead of using the Intel migration software, use a program like EASEUS todo backup, which has a partition clone option for cloning and transferring specific partitions off a source disk. EASEUS is also free for the basic version, which should have the partition clone option.

http://www.todo-backup.com/products/home/

Re: Data migration and disk partitions.

webadmin@intel.com — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:44:52 GMT

The Intel Optimizer that executes TRIM works great, I haven't had any problems with my XP dual boot setup yet. In fact when you start the Optimizer it shows all of your computers disks and partitions, whatever ones that are on the Intel SSD will be blue, and you can run TRIM on both of them from one partition if you like, either manually or by scheduling.

Intel recommends running the Optimizer once a week, however I have mine scheduled to run on both SSD partitions daily.

Re: Data migration and disk partitions.

webadmin@intel.com — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:48:09 GMT

Answered my own question since this forum is so unbelievably useless. Well done Intel.

Re: Data migration and disk partitions.

webadmin@intel.com — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:41:35 GMT

Well, thanks to all the wonderful help i have received on this forum (yes, that is sarcasm people) I have answered my own question. Since nobody was willing to help, or just did not know, I did everything the hard way. Which was basically backing up my entire system to another HDD and then adjusting my partitions on my main HDD to accommodate the size of the SSD using EASEUS Partition Master.

Long story short, YES there is options in the Intel data migration software that allows for adjusting partition size. Basically when you start the software and click the 'Start Now' button you get two options. One is the automatic guided approach, and the other is the manual approach which lets you adjust the partitions to your liking. This manual approach might be missed easily, but it is labeled 'Clone Wizard' on the bottom left of the main 'Start Now' procedure screen. Once you enter the clone wizard you go through a few steps and then you can adjust your partition size on the second to last step. They don't make it obvious, but if you right-click on the drives (in the second to last step) you can click 'Edit' which allows for custom partition sizing.

So yeah, if you have multiple partitions and would like to resize them manually with the Intel Migration Software, it can be done. And just for anybody wondering, I am dual-booting XP with my two partitions (reduced from three to save on GB's) with no problems at all on my new Intel 320 series 120GB SSD. .

Anywho, I hope somebody finds this info useful sometime in the future. As there was NO info on this when I started searching. And obviously this forum is USELESS for any real help.

EDIT: BTW, drive letters are identical after the clone.

Re: Data migration and disk partitions.

webadmin@intel.com — Tue, 24 May 2011 02:36:41 GMT

Come on, anybody? I got my drive today and will likely be installing it tonight. What am I to do about my partitions? Because even if the data migration software can handle the partitions and shrink them to scale, I want to modify the size manually since I originally allotted way too much for one of the partitions.

Re: Intel 320-series SSD and FDE (Full Disk Encryption) questions...

webadmin@intel.com — Mon, 23 May 2011 22:39:16 GMT

Thank you for the response Piy! I have been doing a lot of research to try and figure out what my options are since I have no obvious ATA/HDD password settings on my bios. Pretty much everything I have looked at has gotten me to a dead end, but I did find some interesting info on this blog

http://dfarq.homeip.net/2011/03/ssds-and-built-in-encryption-and-how-to-enable-it/

According to the writer, in the main article and comments section, he hints about how BIOS nowadays in PC's actually do the ATA/HDD password in conjunction with the regular BIOS password.

To quote:

"It’s been a long time since I’ve bothered with BIOS passwords, since they’re trivially easy to defeat. So I never noticed that modern PCs also use the BIOS password as the ATA password."

In the comments section:

"If you want your drive to remain for your eyes only you’ll need to set an ATA password, which on PCs is forced by setting a BIOS password."

So I am not sure what to think, I have checked my BIOS over and over and there is some hope after looking at one of the features I have. See below:

HDD Security Freeze Lock (Disabled)
If this item is enabled, it prevents any external application from locking hard drive
except for BIOS.

And also:

Security Option (Setup)
If you have installed password protection, this item defines if the password is
required at system start up, or if it is only required when a user tries to enter the
Setup Utility.

This to me hints that my BIOS might be capable of PW locking my drive, and there is even an option to force the PW upon boot.. But I really do not know what to think, I am still trying to make heads or tails of this. Seems pretty lame Intel would restrict using the encryption only for computers that have the ATA/HDD password in BIOS.

Re: how to clear ssd Password

webadmin@intel.com — Mon, 23 May 2011 11:44:47 GMT

You mean the SATA password/HDD password in BIOS to enable FDE? If so then you are out of luck, no way to recover it. Your SSD is nothing more than a expensive paperweight at this point. Not even Intel can reset it for you.

Please see this post: http://communities.intel.com/message/120161#120161