For some reason, you may want to change the SSD allocation unit size. How to do this? In this post, MiniTool Partition Wizard introduces how to change the allocation unit size for SSD without data loss. You can give it a try.

What’s the SSD Allocation Unit Size

Allocation unit size, also called cluster size, is the minimum unit size of disk space that can be allocated to hold a file. Usually, the allocation unit size for SSD or other storage devices is set by default while formatting. The default and best allocation unit size SSD typically varies depending on the file system, disk size, and the types of stored files.

For instance, the best allocation unit size for SSD that is formatted to NTFS with less than 16TB is 4KB. Whereas, a FAT32 SSD with 32GB has a 16KB default allocation unit size.

Since one allocation unit can only store a single file, it’s important to set the best allocation unit size for SSD. By doing so, you can reduce the wasted disk space and improve disk performance.

Tips:
Generally, it’s better to choose a smaller SSD cluster size for small files and a larger SSD cluster size for large files.
What’s the Best Allocation Unit Size for Gaming/Video Files?
What’s the Best Allocation Unit Size for Gaming/Video Files?

This post is about the best allocation unit size for gaming or video files in Windows 10. If you wonder about it, you can focus on this post.

Read More

How to Change SSD Allocation Unit Size Without Losing Data

Way 1: Use Disk Management

If you have a new SSD drive, you can easily change its cluster size with formatting. Here’s a simple guide on how to format SSD allocation unit size.

Note:
To format SSD allocation unit size, you may need to back up files in advance to avoid data loss.

Step 1: Right-click the Start icon and select Disk Management.

Step 2: Right-click the SSD to change cluster size and select Format.

Step 3: In the Format box, choose the allocation unit size you want. If necessary, you can change the file system as well.

Change the SSD allocation unit size

Step 4: After that, check the Perform a quick format option and click OK. When prompted, click OK for confirmation.

Way 2: Use MiniTool Partition Wizard

If you want to change the cluster size for SSD with important files, we’d like to recommend you make use of MiniTool Partition Wizard.

It’s a professional partition manager that enables you to directly change SSD cluster size without data loss. Additionally, you can also use the partition manager to partition/resize/clone hard drive, format USB to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT, convert MBR to GPT and vice versa, recover data from hard drive, and more.

To finish changing the cluster size via MiniTool Partition Wizard, simply follow the steps below.

Step 1: Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard on your PC. Then launch this program to enter its main interface.

Note:
MiniTool Partition Wizard only allows you to change cluster size with its Pro or higher edition. Therefore, make sure you get a suitable edition before the process.

MiniTool Partition Wizard DemoClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2: Right-click the target SSD partition and select Change Cluster Size. Alternatively, you can highlight the target partition and select Change Cluster Size from the left action panel.

Select Change Cluster Size

Step 3: In the pop-up window, choose a desired cluster size in sectors from the drop-down menu.

Set the preferred cluster size

Step 4: Finally, click Yes > Apply to save the pending operation.

Save the change

This post guides you on how to change the allocation unit size SSD without data loss in detail. When you plan to change SSD allocation unit size, you can refer to this post. If you have any problems with the topic, you can leave a message for discussion in our comment part below.

  • linkedin
  • reddit

About The Author

Yamila

Position: Columnist

Yamila is a fan of computer science. She can solve many common issues for computer users by writing articles with simple and clear words. The very aspect that she is good at is partition management including create partition, format partition, copy disk and so on. When she is free, she enjoys reading, doing some excerpts, listening to music and playing games.