XPS 8950, SSD boot disk, over provisioning?

When a SSD is Over-Provisioned ... that is free-space or unallocated space and the very end of the drive.

Normally, it is 10% of total drive's space, but 5% will due if drive is small.

Only way I know to do it is to delete un-wanted end-point partitions and/or shrink the last partition. However, I suggest you not go deleting partitions unless you know what you are doing.

Definitely backup your whole system before attempting anything like this.

@moxxy Basically what @Tesla1856 stated using Disk Management. See this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi7rvJkv2xI

Some manufacturers like Samsung provide software that can be used to perform the overprovisioning task. 

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@Vic384 wrote:

@moxxy Basically what @Tesla1856 stated using Disk Management. See this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi7rvJkv2xI

Some manufacturers like Samsung provide software that can be used to perform the overprovisioning task. 

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Good video of what I typed.

Right. But the Samsung SSD Magician software doesn't work on non-retail Samsung SSDs (like OEM Dell, HPs, etc).

Also, I don't think the Samsung Magician can handle an OP if there is a Recovery Partition at the end.

So, we know Dell has traditionally stuck their Recovery Partition at the end of the Drive. In that case, I create the Windows Recovery Disk (Flash Drive) "with System-Files" option selected. I test it with a boot. Then, I delete the Dell Recovery partition, and finally ...  Shrink the last partition if needed.

So, now ... it seems that new Microsoft Windows-11 clean-installs have decided to create a Recovery Partition. And guess where they put it? Yep, and end of drive. To bad they didn't add an option (on the Advanced/Custom install) to add some OP. It could have been a box where you enter a percentage 1-10%. I'm kinda surprised none of the Windows-Insiders pushed for that. 

On that same token ... with all the SSDs that Dell installs, warranties ... and OEMs and Dell wanting to keep SSD drive alive for basically forever ... interesting Dell doesn't provide some OP from the factory. It would be sooo easy to do at build-time.

I don't think I want to delete any Dell created partitions such as Recovery Partitions (don't know why there are several. 18GB is the largest one) . My major concern is the SSD life span. I guess I have to clone the drive to another SSD.  I only use that drive (besides the OS) for programs. Not a gamer, I wonder how long the drive last!?

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@moxxy wrote:

1. I don't think I want to delete any Dell created partitions such as Recovery Partitions (don't know why there are several. 18GB is the largest one) .

2. My major concern is the SSD life span. I guess I have to clone the drive to another SSD.  I only use that drive (besides the OS) for programs. Not a gamer, I wonder how long the drive last!?

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1. That is your choice. However, I'll say this:

a. I often clean-install Windows to my computers, so all that gets deleted anyway. Never once have I regretted it. Microsoft's Windows works fine (it doesn't need to be Dells very-slightly edited versions). Mostly, it just adds Dell's name in the Support section. Maybe a few old/outdated drivers are included.

b. They end up being very old. If you migrate the OS to a new version (like from 10 to 11) they aren't really even usable any more.

c. Sometimes, they get "dis-connected" somehow and can't actually be used when it comes down to actually using them.

d. Windows-11 how has it's own Recovery partition (if you leave it in place). Windows-11 has several different ways to restore the OS now (without Dell's help).

e. Finally ... you can always use the Recovery tools on an official installer flash-drive (like made with the Media Creation Tool). Not only that, it's sometimes better to just do a clean-install anyway.

f. Oh wait, this is final ... since I use Macrium Reflect, that is what I would restore from ... even to a "bare metal" completely erased computer. Whole computer is restored to the day the Full System Backup was created. Pretty awesome, and yes ... it actually works.

2. Right. That is why I Over-Provision all my SSDs. I have some old Samsung SSDs here that are almost 10 years old and they still work fine. In fact, out of 30 or so SSDs I own or know-about/support ... never had one fail.

@Tesla1856 I don't know if the OP partition has to be at the end. I researched this and could not find an answer. In my case, I had a Recovery Partition followed by an Unallocated Partition at the end and Samsung Magician shrank the OS partition to create another Unallocated Partition resulting in an Unallocated Partition, a Recovery Partition, and another Unallocated Partition at the end.

I know that Samsung Magician will not work on non-retail Samsung drives, I was only suggesting that if the original poster had a retail drive, he check with the manufacturer for software.

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@Vic384 wrote:

1. I don't know if the OP partition has to be at the end. I researched this and could not find an answer.

2. In my case, I had a Recovery Partition followed by an Unallocated Partition at the end and Samsung Magician shrank the OS partition to create another Unallocated Partition resulting in an Unallocated Partition, a Recovery Partition, and another Unallocated Partition at the end.

3. I know that Samsung Magician will not work on non-retail Samsung drives.

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1. Well, the OP space has to be raw/unallocated space. In normal practice, the only place I've ever seen unallocated space is at the end of the drive. 

AFAIK, then the SSD's disk-controller finds an worn or un-usable cell, it goes to this unallocated space ... working it's way from the very end toward the front. My understanding is that is must be contiguous. 

I tend to stick with procedures that I definitely know work, based on my prior experiences.

2. Interesting. I use Samsung Magician quite a bit, and never seen it do that. In fact, what you were left with there (unallocated space in the middle of the drive) I didn't even know Windows would consider that a valid scheme.

3. Correct.

@Tesla1856 Reply to #2. If I remember correctly the way it happened was I updated to a newer version of Magician. When I looked at OP for the boot SSD it appeared that it was not OP although I am sure I set OP. So I told Magician to OP the drive and as a result, it shrank the OS partition to create an Unallocated Partition. See the attached image. At this point I am going to leave it alone, I don't want to undo what was done. Windows seems fine with the result and Disk Management sees the same as Magician sees.

Hello @moxxy , if your concern is about lifespan, not running out of space, then you don't have much to worry about.  For example, a quality SSD drive is capable of writing at least 600 tb per 1 tb of capacity.  So you divide that in half or quarter if your ssd is 500 gb or 250 gb, you will get 300 tb or 150 tb.  Your OS drive is a write once use many.  Each time you are install Windows and all needed programs, it writes about 100 gb, so you are reading a lot for daily use but you are not writing the drive to death as others do to a data drive.  Your OS drive will out live your computer.  If you install Crystaldisk Info, it will tell you the health condition of your drive(s).  You can check how many percentage of health left after each month/year, and you will know the average time it will last...based on your usage.

Edit to add:  About over provisioning, because the technique the controller used to write on ssd is totally different from spinning hard drive, manufacturer want to reserve some space for the controller to use when writing at an almost full drive.  It helps to write to the last byte without hinder the speed, without the extra space, the writing process will screech to a halt.  However, most of ssd are over provisioned by default.  If you notice a 128gb drive will be advertised as 120gb, or a 512gb will be 480gb....While it was a technique to keep the performance from failing when the drive is full, some manufacturers want to advertise as a performance benefit for users when it is not.

Clean install from Windows 11 ISO or from Windows 11 recovery disc?

Thank you for your explanation. The last Windows OS was Vista , so you can imagine how long I used my computer. The SATA OS harddrive still works after all these years.  One thing I enjoy the SSD is the fast boot / load time .

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@Chino de Oro wrote:

 

1. manufacturer want to reserve some space for the controller to use when writing at an almost full drive.  It helps to write to the last byte without hinder the speed, without the extra space, the writing process will screech to a halt. 

2. However, most of ssd are over provisioned by default.  If you notice a 128gb drive will be advertised as 120gb, or a 512gb will be 480gb....

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1. Right. When the SSD-controller goes to mask-away a weak or bad memory location ... if there is no longer any OP-space, the SSD dies. If there is space to do that, it lives on.

2. Well, I noticed that Intel and Kingston advertise their SSDs that way (or at least they used to), but not Samsung (or many others). Notice how Samsung provides Samsung-Magician to do it for their retail drives. Also notice they recommend a full 10%.

But that is no help for their OEM drives in Dells. That's why I was saying it would be nice if Dell did a slight OP at factory build-time. Or, Microsoft made a provision for it during a Advance/Custom clean-Windows install.

@moxxy 

Here are the answers to your PM.

The Windows-11 Installation Assistant is here:

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11

The Windows-11 Media Creation Tool is here:

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11

No, I don't think any of my systems are running Windows-11 22H2 yet. The newer ones I checked are all 21H2.