Laptop cache drive

[Ruming]

Hi guys,

 

I just reformat my ASUS k551l laptop and realize boot time became significantly slower (around 45 to 60s). I remember when i just got the laptop it booted in under 15s.

I have a 500gb hard drive and a 24gb ssd. After researching online i think the ssd is supposed to be a cache drive.

 

So im not really sure if,

1) The slower boot time is due to the reformat not installing the drivers required for using the SSD as a cache drive (its just a system reformat not a clean install so im not sure if thats an issue). Is there any way to check?

2) If i have to reinstall the drivers for making the SSD the cache drive, do i have to do anything in the bios? I read things about changing the drive to raid but i have never been to the bios so im not sure what that means.

 

I will be really grateful for your help!

 

Signing off,

PC newbie

[itisme911]

5 minutes ago, Ruming said:

Hi guys,

 

I just reformat my ASUS k551l laptop and realize boot time became significantly slower (around 45 to 60s). I remember when i just got the laptop it booted in under 15s.

I have a 500gb hard drive and a 24gb ssd. After researching online i think the ssd is supposed to be a cache drive.

 

So im not really sure if,

1) The slower boot time is due to the reformat not installing the drivers required for using the SSD as a cache drive (its just a system reformat not a clean install so im not sure if thats an issue). Is there any way to check?

2) If i have to reinstall the drivers for making the SSD the cache drive, do i have to do anything in the bios? I read things about changing the drive to raid but i have never been to the bios so im not sure what that means.

 

I will be really grateful for your help!

 

Signing off,

PC newbie

The ssd was probably loaded with windows as a boot drive not cache and could have even had a custom/light version of windows on it with the rest of the OS on the other drive.

[Psittac]

I'm interested in hearing about cache drives, it's something I've never done and something I should be doing on my server.

 

Patiently watching

[Ruming]

5 minutes ago, itisme911 said:

The ssd was probably loaded with windows as a boot drive not cache and could have even had a custom/light version of windows on it with the rest of the OS on the other drive.

Thanks for your reply!

 

Do you know if there is any way to check? Because i dont see the drive in 'My PC'. I only saw another drive in task manager and realize i have a 24gb ssb in Device Manager.

[Ruming]

6 minutes ago, Psittac said:

I'm interested in hearing about cache drives, it's something I've never done and something I should be doing on my server.

 

Patiently watching

We can both learn from this haha

[itisme911]

2 minutes ago, Ruming said:

We can both learn from this haha

OK doing some research it was used as a cache drive though in your case I would try using it as a boot drive. There may be motherboard settings to set it up or perhaps in windows. I found this guide that may help https://www.pcworld.com/article/248828/how_to_setup_intel_smart_response_ssd_caching_technology.html

[Psittac]

6 minutes ago, itisme911 said:

OK doing some research it was used as a cache drive though in your case I would try using it as a boot drive. There may be motherboard settings to set it up or perhaps in windows. I found this guide that may help https://www.pcworld.com/article/248828/how_to_setup_intel_smart_response_ssd_caching_technology.html

Doing a boot drive that small will be tedious.  My sister has a pair of Dell netbooks that she doesn't use at all due to a small boot drive, probably 24g.  Problem with them though is the spot for a 2.5" drive is there but no connections.  I haven't been able to find a good solution to it so they're useless.

[Psittac]

13 minutes ago, Ruming said:

Thanks for your reply!

 

Do you know if there is any way to check? Because i dont see the drive in 'My PC'. I only saw another drive in task manager and realize i have a 24gb ssb in Device Manager.

did you try disk management? right click on the windows start button and go to disk management.

[itisme911]

2 minutes ago, Psittac said:

Doing a boot drive that small will be tedious.  My sister has a pair of Dell netbooks that she doesn't use at all due to a small boot drive, probably 24g.  Problem with them though is the spot for a 2.5" drive is there but no connections.  I haven't been able to find a good solution to it so they're useless.

he has a 500gig installed already, the cache may help with overall performance but a faster boot is the desired result. Also if its the same drive he may have to cache and not boot from the SSD, remember cache drives improve over time. 

[Ruming]

1 hour ago, itisme911 said:

OK doing some research it was used as a cache drive though in your case I would try using it as a boot drive. There may be motherboard settings to set it up or perhaps in windows. I found this guide that may help https://www.pcworld.com/article/248828/how_to_setup_intel_smart_response_ssd_caching_technology.html

Thanks!

 

I will read it during lunchtime, at work now haha

[Ruming]

1 hour ago, Psittac said:

did you try disk management? right click on the windows start button and go to disk management.

I will go check that later thanks!

[Ruming]

1 hour ago, gabrielcarvfer said:

If you have a 24GB drive there and it's not mounted, I would let it alone. It can be using Condusiv ExpressCache instead of Intel Smart Response.

 

EDIT: If you reformatted, you will need to reinstall the caching software (ExpressCache) or the Intel one. 

Most Asus laptops seems to ship with ExpressCache. You could probably find the installer on your manufacturer website/recovery disk or partition/whatever, but this one from Lenovo should work just fine. (https://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/expresscache_setup_64.exe)

 

Sources:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-other_settings/asus-expresscache-not-working-in-windows-10/8f26d738-2f0c-4293-85c5-da160a1ef4e0?auth=1
https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/3f0zkl/windows_10_and_expresscache/

 

Wow thanks alot!