Alignment can be verified with diskpart (list disk > select disk number > list partition > offset should be 1024KB or some multiple of 64) or AS SSD (requires .NET Framework 3 or higher; on a fresh install of XP without it, the following error appears: AS SSD Benchmark.exe - Application Error The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.)
Sources:/windows | Dec 12, 2012