PrintThere have been significant improvements in hard drives built since the middle of 2009. Most hard disk drives (HDDs) at that time organized the data in 512-byte sectors. The newer drives are configured as Advanced Format (AF) drives with larger 4096 byte (4 KB) sectors. These larger sections make it easier and faster to store and retrieve data.
If a newer hard disk drive with the Advanced Format feature is not configured properly, there can be a significant decrease in performance depending on the operating system installed. For optimal performance, the operating system on the hard drive must be 'AF Aware' to recognize the 4K sectors.
- Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems are AF (advanced format) aware. Therefore, the operating systems can automatically recognize and adjust for advanced format drives with 4 KB sectors. There are some additional tools that can improve computer performance with Windows 7 and Vista operating systems.See Install RST optimization tools for Windows 7 and Vista for information on the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (RST), and Essential System Updates tools.
- Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems, and Linux and FreeDOS are not AF (advanced format) aware. Therefore, it will take up to, 30% longer or more, to load programs and write data to the hard drive, and the files may be corrupted over time.
The need for the operating system to properly recognize the new sector alignment applies to individual hard drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), and Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) installations. All larger capacity drives are advanced format (AF) hard drives.
Hard drive conditions that cause performance problems
You will experience performance problems on an advanced format (AF) hard drive under the following conditions:
- Installing a replacement hard drive that uses 4 KB sectors on an older notebook that originally used a drive with 512 byte sectors.
- Had a service event on a Windows 7 HP notebook but are now installing Windows XP or Windows 2000 on an advanced format hard drive.
- Installing Windows XP or Windows 2000 on notebook that was originally imaged with Vista, or Windows 7, or Linux, or FreeDOS.
The most immediate and noticeable performance impact is a decrease in the speed that data is written to or retrieved from a hard drive. It may takes over 30% longer to install new programs or write large amounts of data to the hard drive. Over time, this speed issue results in hard drive data configuration errors, or error messages that indicate files or sectors are corrupted.
Restoring original image on new AF hard drive with a Recovery disc
If you are considering the use of a non-AF aware operating system on an advanced format (AF) hard drive, you may experience slower system performance. This slower performance will occur whether you are using a new retail copy of the OS, or if you are restoring the OS using a recovery disc that you created, or if you ordered a replacement recovery disc from HP.
For best results, you should install the operating system and the performance improvement tools in the following sequence:
- Determine the type of central processing unit (CPU) in your computer: Intel® or AMD®.
- Determine what operating system will be installed.
- Use another computer to download the required sector alignment and performance tools that are listed in the charts below, based on the operating system.
- Install the operating system but do not install your favorite applications yet.
NOTE:Do not try to recover your backed up data until you run the sector alignment tool. It will take longer if you try to install your normal programs first. - Run the required sector alignment and performance tools. See tables below.
- Run Windows Update multiple times to install all Service Packs and updated drivers.NOTE:For Windows Vista, install SP1 to be AF aware, and consider installing SP2 for better performance.
At this point, you can install your favorite programs and restore your backed up data.
Resolving slow performance
To avoid the potential performance problems on an Advanced Format hard drive, download and run the following recommended alignment and performance optimization tools after installing the operating system on a new hard disk drive.
The Rapid Storage Technology (RST) tools can be used to optimize your Windows 7 or Vista (with SP 1 or later) installation on an Advanced Format hard drive. The Alignment Tool should only be used with the specified AF aware operating systems.
| CPU | Operating System | Recommended Tools to Install |
|---|---|---|
| Intel® | Windows 7 | Download and install the following driver if you have Intel Rapid storage technology driver - 9.6.0.1014.A.23 or later.
SP50624
Download and install Essential system updates for Microsoft Windows 7 - 1.1.F, 1or later. SP47131 |
| Windows Vista | Download and install the following driver if you have Intel® Rapid storage technology driver - 9.6.0.1014.A.23 or later.
SP50624
Recommended OS Update: Minimum Vista SP1, Preferred Vista SP2 | |
| Windows XP | Download and install the following driver if you have Intel® Rapid storage technology driver - 9.6.0.1014.A.23 or later.
SP50624
Download and install Partition Alignment Tool version 10.0.16.13196 or later. SP51013 for Chinese/Cantonese/Korean . | |
| AMD | Windows 7 | Download and install Essential system updates for Microsoft Windows 7 - 1.1.F, 1or later. SP47131 |
| Windows Vista | No storage driver update required. Recommended OS Update: Minimum Vista SP1, Preferred Vista SP2 | |
| Windows XP | Download and install the following driver. AMD SATA AHCI Controller Driver-3.2.1540.60,H,2 or later SP50304 Download and install Partition Alignment Tool version 10.0.16.13196 or later. SP51013 for Chinese/Cantonese/Korean . | |
| N/A | SuSE | SuSE Linux information is provided in Novell Corporation Knowledge Base document #7007193 Partition alignment of drives with internal sector size larger than 512 bytes |
| N/A | RedFlag | Redflag Linux DT 6.0 released after Oct. 13th 2010. Check Redflag website for more information |
| N/A | FreeDOS | Reference sections above for OS being installed. FreeDOS itself has no requirements for the new technology HDD. |
Supported Languages
The software tools referenced in this document are compatible with, and operate properly, in most languages. For most software, the application interface displays instructions in the supported language; however, some tools install programs in another language but display the instructions in the English language only.
Computers with different types of Intel® central processing units (CPUs) use different hard drive storage technologies. If your computer has an Intel® Rapid Storage technology
driver, you must update to driver version 9.6 or higher.
For computers with an Intel® CPU, follow the steps below to determine if your computer has an Intel® Rapid Storage driver.
- Open Device Manager.
- For XP - Click Start , select Control Panel , select System , select Hardware , and then select Device Manager .
- For Vista or Windows 7 - Click Start , select Control Panel , select Hardware , and then select Device Manager .
- Select and expand the IDE controller entry.
- If the controller is listed as Intel® Rapid Storage technology:Right click the storage device, select Properties , select the Driver tab, and make note of the Driver Version .Depending on the current driver version, click on the following links to download and install the latest Intel® Rapid Storage Driver version 9.6.0.1014.A.23 or later.
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Driver for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP View Instructions for SP50624 Download Driver SP50624 - If any other type of hard driver controller is listed, no additional actions are needed.
