What Is Trim And Why Use It?
Before we discuss Trim, let’s find out what a P/E cycle is. Basically, there are two processes involved when something is written to an SSD drive:
- Writing begins with erasing memory from flash memory cells.
- These cells are then programmed with the new information.
This is called a Program/Erase or P/E Cycle.
SSD drives don’t last forever. Each P/E Cycle slightly exhausts the memory of a cell to a point where after a large number of cycles the cell is no longer usable. Of course, as the number of exhausted cells increases, more and more of the drive becomes less usable.
Trim works from within the Advanced Host Controller Interface (ACHI). Trim informs the Operating System about which blocks of data are no longer in use and available to be erased. As a result, P/E cycles are reduced, performance is improved, and the drive has a longer lifespan.
The Video
This video will show you how to tell if Trim is already active on your computer, and how to both enable and disable Trim.
To find out more about Trim, click HERE.
