Falcon II 64g - performance improvement

[Craig_GSkill]

Hi

I purchased a Falcon II 64g in Jun (5 / 6 months ago).

Here are the benchmarks:

http://img.whirltools.com/i/19045576847981551571.png

1) The SSD has my operating system / programs on my desktop etc
2) I am running Windows 7 and have enabled AHCI mode
3) I am happy to do a complete re-install of Windows
4) I have not upgraded to any firmware

Questions:
1) How do I improve the performance of the SSD (any other way other than a firmware upgrade?)
2) If I upgrade the firmware can I upgrade to the latest version (2030) straight away or do I need to upgrade to previous versios first.
3) I assume that I will need to:
a) plug the SSD into another PC i.e. my laptop.
b) Download the firmware to the laptop and upgrade the SSD from there.

Thanks for any help.

[G.SKILL]

Hi craig

for your question.
1: use erase tool.
2:upgrade to 1916 and use clean tool then upgrade to 2030.
3:right, please consult our forum introduction.

[Craig_GSkill]

erase tool

Can you provide the link to the erase tool you mentioned

[G.SKILL]

Hi Craig

just use parted magic.
please check our forum sticky thread

[Craig_GSkill]

Sorry but I read Parted Magic was for the Phoenix. Can you confirm it is also ok to use on the Falcon II.

Thanks

[Craig_GSkill]

please confirm Parted Magic can be used with Falcon II and not just Phoenix.

[GSKILL TECH]

Yes, no problem at all.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Craig_GSkill]

OK so far I have used Parted Magic and performed the secure erase.

My next step is to upgrade to 1916 w/clean tool.

I have downloaded the firmware and openedUpgrade_ap.exe as the administrator HOWEVER my ssd is not being found. The ssd is visible when I go to explorer. I am running XP on a HD and the SSD is connected to the motherboard. In the Bios the SSD is IDE Channel 0 Slave and the HD is IDE CHannel 1 Master.

Can you advise me re how I get the upgrade tool to see the ssd.

[G.SKILL]

Hello Craig,

did you plug in jumper
After plugging in jumper you can see "YATAPDONG BAREFOOT-ROM" .

[Craig_GSkill]

Thanks that worked - you can tell I am new at this.

Question:
In the Upgrade tool I am required to select the model. How do I know what model type I have? I have a FM-25S21-64GBFS but the dropdown box on the Upgrade tool provides 3 different model selections for the 64g drive.

[G.SKILL]

Hi Craig

you must try three of them.
you can find only one match your SSD

I know it is funny but please try.

[Craig_GSkill]

Not too sure what has gone on but:
1 - I use Parted Magic and HDD Erase to clean the SSD
2 - I upgraded to 1916 successfully
3 - I upgrade to 2030 successfully
4 - I then re-installed my Windows 7 System image back to the SSD

My SSD is now SLOWER

Before upgrade:
http://img.whirltools.com/i/19045576847981551571.png

After Upgrade:
http://img.whirltools.com/i/77525275523796774854.png

Is my SSD faulty?

[G.SKILL]

Hi Craig

Did you use FW1916 clean tool?
how did you re-install your OS?
actually use recover CD/DVD, image or software will still affect SSD performance.

[Leo]

...

My SSD is now SLOWER
...

Is it really?

[six.four]

It looks like your SSD partition is not aligned judging by the fact that only your write speeds are suffering.

You have two options:
1. Clean install windows on a a cleanly formatted drive.
2. You have to set your partition alignment before you image your image on to your drive. The process is a bit complicated and varies depending on the imaging tool - and your best bet is to google how to do it - there is no easy hand holding way to do it. Alternatively, there are (non-free) programs that can perform the same function.