How do I minimize SSD usage ?
I want to install Firefox on a new Windows 10 PC which has an SSD for its C: drive and an HDD for its D: storage drive. I would like to minimize SSD usage if possible and know that the FF profile can be moved to the D: drive.
I did quite a bit of searching & some people have a lot of SSD activity & say to move a cache folder or the AppData/Roaming folder. Other people don't seem to have a problem.
Is there a recommended configuration in order to minimize SSD wear?
Thanks.
All Replies (6)
Hello Mike,
SSD's do not have moving parts. It is 100% digital.
However, HDD's do have moving parts and are prone to wear and tear and eventual deterriation.
So for now, i would 100% rely on the ssd for everything. It is also faster than the HDD.
And if possible, use the HDD as a back up for the SSD.
The above is just my opinion and one scenario for your set up.
Keep in mind that SSD's do not last forever and have limited life when it comes to writing a lot of temporary data like caches, which makes it good for storing program files that hardly change but less useful for storing data like the disk cache that get updated very frequently.
You can consider to move the Firefox profile folder to a normal hard drive if you want to minimize SSD usage. You need to create a dedicate folder beforehand to be used for the profile that doesn't contain other data and use "Choose Folder" to select this folder for the profile.
I’m on a Windows 7 PC at the moment & profiles exist in two places. In AppData/Local/Mozilla/Firefox and also in AppData/Roaming/Mozilla/Firefox.
I’ve been aware of both of these for years but never understood why both exist.
Do both get moved if I move the profile?
Firefox uses two locations for the Firefox profile folder. One location for your personal data (e.g. bookmarks) and another location for temporary files like the disk cache.
Location used for the main profile that keeps your personal data (Root Directory on about:profiles).
- C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>
Location used for the disk cache and other temporary files (Local Directory on about:profiles).
- C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>
If you use the Profile Manager to create a profile in a non default location like an another drive then only this one folder is used for the main profile and for the temporary location.
This is the first PC I’ve used that will have an SSD and two drives, one for the OS & programs and another for storage of document, photos, etc. FWIW the SSD C: drive is a 500GB Samsung 970 EVO Plus.
Somewhere I read that Firefox writes history info to the drive every 15 seconds, or words to that affect. That made me consider putting that function on the D: drive.
Am I being overly concerned about keeping the profiles off of the SSD? Or should I keep it simple & just let Firefox do its thing & keep all of it on the SSD?
Oh i see.
I think your logic has merits, because i have implemented that as well - at least for my email boxes, documents and pictures, and projects. I store these off the system drive to avoid losing them if the o.s. ever needs to be reinstalled.
I know from personal experience that SSD's are faster than HDD. So it would benefit you to install the o.s. on the ssd.
Afterwards wait a few days to get all the microsoft updates downloaded and installed (anmd backed up) before adding applications to it.
In regards to applications writing history, i dont think the speed of this process makes a difference with the performance of the browser and machine. I mean, so what if writing a file of your history takes 1, 2 or 3 seconds long? Its done in the background anyways. :-)