# How to: Set up and Utilize RAM Disks



## Lazloisdavrock

Awesome. was thinking about doing this. need to make use of this 16gb of ram.


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## ChaoticKinesis

Nice guide! I second the Dataram suggestion. It may be worth including a link to this detailed compilation of RAMDisk Benchmarks.


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## foilfence

Would a 1gb ramdisk be enough for use just as a browser cache?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lazloisdavrock*
> 
> Awesome. was thinking about doing this. need to make use of this 16gb of ram.










Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ChaoticKinesis*
> 
> Nice guide! I second the Dataram suggestion. It may be worth including a link to this detailed compilation of RAMDisk Benchmarks.


Cool, thanks.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *foilfence*
> 
> Would a 1gb ramdisk be enough for use just as a browser cache?


Yea it should be fine


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## foilfence

Ayt thanks. Not sure if i can afford to play around with ramdisks given that I only have 8gb. Just gonna give it a shot.


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## bruflot




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## Geeboi

^^ lol

wheeeee!!!



By the way.nice guide Sean


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## james_ant

Thanks for doing a guide about this, now we have something to link next time someone says "you don't need more than 8gb" in a thread.

Subed for when I finally put my SB-E rig with 16gb of ram together.


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## LosNir

Hi Sean, I think you should read my reply on this thread (and also page p.6):

http://www.overclock.net/t/1193401/why-it-is-bad-to-store-the-page-file-on-a-ram-disk/60

And modify your guide accordingly








Thanks for the guide.


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## sepheroth003

Few things I could see as FAQ.

-What are you giving up to get a ramdisk? (ram space obviously?, 1 core for overhead?)
-What are the real world benefits?
-How many GB could/should you sacrifice to get a ramdisk.

It sounds like a real interesting concept but I would imagine my overall system would be better off with an SSD rather than more ram.


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## Buska103

Crazy! Makes me wish I had 16GB to load BF3


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LosNir*
> 
> Hi Sean, I think you should read my reply on this thread (and also page p.6):
> 
> http://www.overclock.net/t/1193401/why-it-is-bad-to-store-the-page-file-on-a-ram-disk/60
> 
> And modify your guide accordingly
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the guide.


what do you want me to change?


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## LosNir

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> *What you should NOT use a RAM disk for :*
> 
> Windows Page File: (link)


This part.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LosNir*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> *What you should NOT use a RAM disk for :*
> 
> Windows Page File: (link)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This part.
Click to expand...

Why? I see no point, putting a page file on ram makes no sense, there is *no benefit*...


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## LosNir

Have you read the last pages of the thread?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LosNir*
> 
> Have you read the last pages of the thread?


yes i have, there is no point.


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## LosNir

Do you think it is normal to have 2.7GB pagefile usage, when there is 12.7GB of free RAM? I don't want to disable it because then I'll have program errors, and the lack of the ability to create a crash dump.

So the solution is to put about 400MB of pf on a RAMDisk. That way you don't disable it completely, but dont degrade your perfomance.
The point is to force windows to use all of the free RAM - it is clear that it fails to do so.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LosNir*
> 
> 
> 
> Do you think it is normal to have 2.7GB pagefile usage, where is 12.7GB of free RAM? I don't want to disable it because then I'll have program errors, and the lack of the ability to create a crash dump.
> 
> So the solution is to put it on a RAMDisk. That way you don't disable it completely, but dont degrade your perfomance.
> The point is to force windows to use all of the free RAM - it is clear that it fails to do so.


As for the crash dump, depending on the RAM disk driver, the RAM drive may get shut down in a crash and the RAM is volatile and the page file is on the RAM drive and the kernel dumps the memory into the page file, but the crash dump wont be made because the page file no longer exists for the the contents to be put in before it is written to the disk if the driver is shut down.

And you can set the page file to what ever you want it to be. If you don't want windows to use it a lot use a small 400MB page file so crash dumps can still be made.

And where is there a performance increase? That 2.7GB of data is simply not needed for use at the moment, not high enough priority, thus it was tossed into the page file for later use.


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## Blameless

My page file usage percentage is normally in the 1-2% range with only a 2GiB page file, and 24GiB of system memory, even if the system memory is mostly full.

Windows really doesn't seem to be putting much of anything in the page file unless I am almost totally out of memory.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sepheroth003*
> 
> -What are you giving up to get a ramdisk? (ram space obviously?, 1 core for overhead?)


Just memory.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sepheroth003*
> 
> -What are the real world benefits?
> -How many GB could/should you sacrifice to get a ramdisk.


Both of these depend on what you are doing.


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## ChaoticKinesis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> As for the crash dump, depending on the RAM disk driver, *the RAM drive may get shut down in a crash* and the RAM is volatile and the page file is on the RAM drive and the kernel dumps the memory into the page file, but *the crash dump wont be made because the page file no longer exists* for the the contents to be put in before it is written to the disk if the driver is shut down.
> And you can set the page file to what ever you want it to be. If you don't want windows to use it a lot use a small 400MB page file so crash dumps can still be made.
> And where is there a performance increase? That 2.7GB of data is simply not needed for use at the moment, not high enough priority, thus it was tossed into the page file for later use.


I agree with the point I highlighted. When I first got my 16GB of RAM, I experimented with putting a small page file on a RAMDisk, based on the same assumptions presented in favor of doing so. I was also in the process of testing my overclocks at the time. I found that many times the crash dump did not happen.


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## IEATFISH

And just FYI, Newegg is having a 48-hour sale with 32GB of RAM for $190.


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## Blameless

Yeah, memory is dirt cheap atm. I've been stocking up...have about 100GiB of DDR3 laying around.


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## Sean Webster

Holy shiatjqlathaltghgbhobggjgosbljnAb'ognowbgowbg

100GiB of DDR3 just lying around eh?

I only have 8 GB









I'm grabbing 32GB when I get my i7 3770k.


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## ragtag7

Wait so...is this like turning your RAM into an SSD to store stuff in to load faster?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ragtag7*
> 
> Wait so...is this like turning your RAM into an SSD to store stuff in to load faster?


Nope, it is like turning your RAM into a storage device so stuff will load faster. SSDs are slow in comparison.


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## ragtag7

Quote:


> SSDs are slow in comparison


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## Kosire

Also might wanna add that you should NOT use them to install windows on lol


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ragtag7*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> SSDs are slow in comparison
Click to expand...

SSD


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!







RAM Drive


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!










Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kosire*
> 
> Also might wanna add that you should NOT use them to install windows on lol


Actually, I do do that.


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## sepheroth003

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Blameless*
> 
> Both of these depend on what you are doing.


So any recommendations on how to tell how much of my ram I really need? Open the programs I generally use and look at task manager? I currently only have 8Gb, I'm thinking that would only leave me maybe 2Gb to do a Ramdisk with. However, if I can find good reasoning behind this, I'll buy more ram. I was planning on an SSD, which I still might to load my OS on, but if the ramdisk is considerably faster...

My computer is primarily a gaming computer. Obviously I can't make a Ramdisk large enough to hold WoW or BF3, so is it worth it just to load chrome on? That's abotu the only thing I can think of that I could put on it. What else is there? lol

Sorry these questions are so open ended, I'm just trying to figure out if any of the real benefit/practical applications apply to me.

You get an SSD to speed up your system as a whole. Boot time and windows just feels faster. Can't really do that with ramdisk.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sepheroth003*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Blameless*
> 
> Both of these depend on what you are doing.
> 
> 
> 
> So any recommendations on how to tell how much of my ram I really need? Open the programs I generally use and look at task manager? I currently only have 8Gb, I'm thinking that would only leave me maybe 2Gb to do a Ramdisk with. However, if I can find good reasoning behind this, I'll buy more ram. I was planning on an SSD, which I still might to load my OS on, but if the ramdisk is considerably faster...
> 
> My computer is primarily a gaming computer. Obviously I can't make a Ramdisk large enough to hold WoW or BF3, so is it worth it just to load chrome on? That's abotu the only thing I can think of that I could put on it. What else is there? lol
> 
> Sorry these questions are so open ended, I'm just trying to figure out if any of the real benefit/practical applications apply to me.
> 
> You get an SSD to speed up your system as a whole. Boot time and windows just feels faster. Can't really do that with ramdisk.
Click to expand...

Get a SSD. No way a RAM disk is going to = what a SSD will bring you.

As for size of a RAM disk, it depends on what you are using it for. I have a 1GB RAM Disk I use for my photo editing cache.


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## sepheroth003

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Get a SSD. No way a RAM disk is going to = what a SSD will bring you.
> As for size of a RAM disk, it depends on what you are using it for. I have a 1GB RAM Disk I use for my photo editing cache.


Photo editing? So you put photoshop or the program on it? Or the actual pictures?

So you have 8gb ram and only sacrificed 1gb for a ramdisk?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sepheroth003*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Get a SSD. No way a RAM disk is going to = what a SSD will bring you.
> As for size of a RAM disk, it depends on what you are using it for. I have a 1GB RAM Disk I use for my photo editing cache.
> 
> 
> 
> Photo editing? So you put photoshop or the program on it? Or the actual pictures?
> 
> So you have 8gb ram and only sacrificed 1gb for a ramdisk?
Click to expand...

I use it for my Adobe Lightroom 3 cache folder. All my current images are on my secondary SSD. It helps a lot when editing through bunch of pics at a time.

I only need a 1GB RAM Disk for my task. I am however getting 16-32GB when I upgrade my system so i can run my VMs, games, and whatever else I can think of off of it.


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## sepheroth003

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> I use it for my Adobe Lightroom 3 cache folder. All my current images are on my secondary SSD. It helps a lot when editing through bunch of pics at a time.
> I only need a 1GB RAM Disk for my task. I am however getting 16-32GB when I upgrade my system so i can run my VMs, games, and whatever else I can think of off of it.


Cool, well thanks for the ideas. I was planning on using your SSD guide as well when I get one. Just waiting for this deployment to be over!


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## Sean Webster

No problem.









Good luck and if you have any more questions feel free to ask.


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## ChaoticKinesis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sepheroth003*
> 
> So any recommendations on how to tell how much of my ram I really need? Open the programs I generally use and look at task manager? I currently only have 8Gb, I'm thinking that would only leave me maybe 2Gb to do a Ramdisk with. However, if I can find good reasoning behind this, I'll buy more ram. I was planning on an SSD, which I still might to load my OS on, but if the ramdisk is considerably faster...
> My computer is primarily a gaming computer. Obviously I can't make a Ramdisk large enough to hold WoW or BF3, *so is it worth it just to load chrome on?* That's abotu the only thing I can think of that I could put on it. What else is there? lol
> Sorry these questions are so open ended, I'm just trying to figure out if any of the real benefit/practical applications apply to me.
> You get an SSD to speed up your system as a whole. Boot time and windows just feels faster. Can't really do that with ramdisk.


Get an SSD for the OS and programs and just put the Chrome cache on your RAMDisk. Doing that made pages load a bit faster but I didn't see any further improvement from placing the browser itself on the RAMDisk. Programs like Chrome already open just about instantly from an SSD.


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## Blameless

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sepheroth003*
> 
> So any recommendations on how to tell how much of my ram I really need? Open the programs I generally use and look at task manager? I currently only have 8Gb, I'm thinking that would only leave me maybe 2Gb to do a Ramdisk with. However, if I can find good reasoning behind this, I'll buy more ram. I was planning on an SSD, which I still might to load my OS on, but if the ramdisk is considerably faster...
> My computer is primarily a gaming computer. Obviously I can't make a Ramdisk large enough to hold WoW or BF3, so is it worth it just to load chrome on? That's abotu the only thing I can think of that I could put on it. What else is there? lol
> Sorry these questions are so open ended, I'm just trying to figure out if any of the real benefit/practical applications apply to me.
> You get an SSD to speed up your system as a whole. Boot time and windows just feels faster. Can't really do that with ramdisk.


For most uses, a RAM drive won't really be perceptibly faster than an SSD. Only if you do something that is massively I/O bound will you really notice a difference.

A small ram drive is a good idea for temp files and browser cache, because these are written to very frequently and running them off the RAM drive will spare your SSD quite a bit of wear and tear. They are also good for a general scratch disk for similar reasons. I often extract, delete, compile, etc, to/from my ram drives then save the finish product to a physical drive later. For similar reason I also do most of the setting up of my VMs on a RAM drive, because it involves lots of random writes that would waste write/erase cycles on an SSD, or be vastly slower on an HDD. When I'm done I usually run the VMs off a HDD though.

I have more games installed than will fit on my SSDs, and often copy the more I/O bound ones to a RAM drive off the HDD where they are nominally installed. This takes quite a bit of memory, but I have two systems with 24GiB, and two more with 16GiB, so devoting 8-12GiB to a game usually isn't a big deal.

I've considered setting up a 10 gigabit network at my place and having a persistent ramdrive in the 128GiB range on a cheapo Opteron file server so I can consolidate some of my stuff that needs faster access. SSDs would be cheaper, but I would be doing huge amounts of writes, and MLC SSDs probably wouldn't last very long.


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## tCoLL

Could you do a guide for a program other than browsers? A game perhaps?


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## LosNir

I highly doubt that you can fit a game inside a RAMDrive. Do you have 12GB (avg game?) of spare RAM?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tCoLL*
> 
> Could you do a guide for a program other than browsers? A game perhaps?


...use junctions/symbolic links: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/

Remember what ever you put on the RAM drive can disappear for ever in a power outage or something due to RAM being volatile memory.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LosNir*
> 
> I highly doubt that you can fit a game inside a RAMDrive. Do you have 12GB (avg game?) of spare RAM?


lol, cant wait for 32GB of RAM


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## TomcatV

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> ...use junctions/symbolic links: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/
> Remember what ever you put on the RAM drive can disappear for ever in a power outage or something due to RAM being volatile memory.
> lol, cant wait for 32GB of RAM


Hey Sean congrats on your new title! You earned it







....
Ram Disks are certainly an interesting option, especially if your spec'ing a new X79 build? I don't have much experience with them, but if your trying to maximize performance /$$$ spent, I have my doubts. Especially when it comes to gaming as mentioned in the previous post. or even large Programs like Adobe Master a topic for another day?

Lets use BF3 as a modern example, that requires appx 20GB free disc space , holy cow back in the day I thought 8GB for Crysis+ was monumental :O
So here are my thoughts for comment ...

1)Why not buy a simple 32GB SataII SSD dedicated to loading current game(s) for appx $60 vs appx $280 for a matched set of (4x8) 32GB ram which you would need if you want stable overclocks. I've not had much success getting an 1155 platform stable with anything over 16GB of mixed ram kits while OC'ing.

2)Honestly would you see any real world "noticeable" performance gains with a RamDisc vs even a SataII SSD? Wouldn't it be like the age old argument 40FPS vs 100FPS ... Can you really see the difference? Then there is stability/reliability?

3) What happens to the game files on a RamDisc vs HDD/SSD if you get a BSOD which is all to common still with BF3 or any modern game it seems these days. I have no clue here, but from what I've read it seems far more vulnerable to corrupt files and/or a stable recovery without having to repair or even re-install the entire game? What do you think?


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TomcatV*
> 
> Hey Sean congrats on your new title! You earned it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ....


Thanks
Quote:


> Ram Disks are certainly an interesting option, especially if your spec'ing a new X79 build? I don't have much experience with them, but if your trying to maximize performance /$$$ spent, I have my doubts. Especially when it comes to gaming as mentioned in the previous post. or even large Programs like Adobe Master a topic for another day?


You are missing the point of a RAM disk then...it has nothing to do with the $ you spend or gaming.
Quote:


> Lets use BF3 as a modern example, that requires appx 20GB free disc space , holy cow back in the day I thought 8GB for Crysis+ was monumental :O
> So here are my thoughts for comment ...
> 
> 1)Why not buy a simple 32GB SataII SSD dedicated to loading current game(s) for appx $60 vs appx $280 for a matched set of (4x8) 32GB ram which you would need if you want stable overclocks. I've not had much success getting an 1155 platform stable with anything over 16GB of mixed ram kits while OC'ing.


lol, like I said you are missing the point. I will have 32GB of RAM so I can do what I want with it and having a large RAM disk is great for high I/O applications. I am not saying it is a replacement for a SSD at all. It is not. Do what you feel you want with your RAM, if a small RAM disk or large one could benefit you then good for you if not oh well it doesn't matter.
Quote:


> 2)Honestly would you see any real world "noticeable" performance gains with a RamDisc vs even a SataII SSD? Wouldn't it be like the age old argument 40FPS vs 100FPS ... Can you really see the difference? Then there is stability/reliability?


Load times for everything = super fast and more consistent FPS most of the time.
Quote:


> 3) What happens to the game files on a RamDisc vs HDD/SSD if you get a BSOD which is all to common still with BF3 or any modern game it seems these days. I have no clue here, but from what I've read it seems far more vulnerable to corrupt files and/or a stable recovery without having to repair or even re-install the entire game? What do you think?


The data on the RAM disk will be forever lost unless you have the RAM disk back it self up every x amount of minutes or something like that. Like I said in my previous post RAM is volatile memory.


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## TomcatV

OK thanks ...
*You are missing the point of a RAM disk then...it has nothing to do with the $ you spend or gaming.*

Yep I must be missing the point I guess? ... was looking for a little more info on the "Real World performance", your valued personal experiences?

*The data on the RAM disk will be forever lost unless you have the RAM disk back it self up every x amount of minutes or something like that.*

Where does it back itself up? Do you have to allocate more ram or disc space for this in addition to the ram disc? So if the game crashes there would be a good chance of corrupting the files and/or lose the game program altogether?

*Would you load your favorite game on a ram disc? For the performance gains you suggest above?*


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TomcatV*
> 
> OK thanks ...
> *You are missing the point of a RAM disk then...it has nothing to do with the $ you spend or gaming.*
> 
> Yep I must be missing the point I guess? ... was looking for a little more info on the "Real World performance", your valued personal experiences?


I use a RAM disk as my editing drive space for photos and video. I get a nice boost in responsiveness in large photo editing projects.

Basically if you have a high bandwidth application you can use a RAM disk to speed it up. Also, programmers use it for compiling lots of code as another example.
Quote:


> *The data on the RAM disk will be forever lost unless you have the RAM disk back it self up every x amount of minutes or something like that.*
> 
> Where does it back itself up? Do you have to allocate more ram or disc space for this in addition to the ram disc? So if the game crashes there would be a good chance of corrupting the files and/or lose the game program altogether?


You need to set it up to back up the disk as a .img to a HDD automatically or something.

If you r system shuts down or crashes the data will be lost, gone, no more if you do not back up. There will be no corruption because there will be no data to corrupt lol.
Quote:


> *Would you load your favorite game on a ram disc? For the performance gains you suggest above?
> *


Yep.

Right now, make a small 1Gb ramdisk and think of ways to use it...see if you can find a way to utilize it your self.


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## Use

Thanks for the guide. Recently bought an SSD (60Gb) and your storage guide was a lot a help, freed up a lot of space, thanks! Also Id like to know how could I benefit from RAMDisk in a CAD program. Ive setup FF cache but Id like to use it for Allplan (its very similar to AutoCAD).


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Use*
> 
> Thanks for the guide. Recently bought an SSD (60Gb) and your storage guide was a lot a help, freed up a lot of space, thanks! Also Id like to know how could I benefit from RAMDisk in a CAD program. Ive setup FF cache but Id like to use it for Allplan (its very similar to AutoCAD).


umm, if there is a cache folder then put it on teh RAM disk, put any work data on there like the project files and sources.


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## Use

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> umm, if there is a cache folder then put it on teh RAM disk, put any work data on there like the project files and sources.


Thought so too







but I dont get this part :
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> *The data on the RAM disk will be forever lost unless you have the RAM disk back it self up every x amount of minutes or something like that.*
> Where does it back itself up? Do you have to allocate more ram or disc space for this in addition to the ram disc? So if the game crashes there would be a good chance of corrupting the files and/or lose the game program altogether?
> 
> 
> 
> You need to set it up to back up the disk as a .img to a HDD automatically or something.
> If you r system shuts down or crashes the data will be lost, gone, no more if you do not back up. There will be no corruption because there will be no data to corrupt lol.
Click to expand...

If I shut down the RAMDisk or my PC I lose all data on it? Ive put some files on it and they were there after restart, I kinda got lost there, could you please clarify when do I lose data from RAMdisk.

Thank you!


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Use*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> umm, if there is a cache folder then put it on teh RAM disk, put any work data on there like the project files and sources.
> 
> 
> 
> Thought so too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> but I dont get this part :
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> *The data on the RAM disk will be forever lost unless you have the RAM disk back it self up every x amount of minutes or something like that.*
> Where does it back itself up? Do you have to allocate more ram or disc space for this in addition to the ram disc? So if the game crashes there would be a good chance of corrupting the files and/or lose the game program altogether?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> You need to set it up to back up the disk as a .img to a HDD automatically or something.
> If you r system shuts down or crashes the data will be lost, gone, no more if you do not back up. There will be no corruption because there will be no data to corrupt lol.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> If I shut down the RAMDisk or my PC I lose all data on it? Ive put some files on it and they were there after restart, I kinda got lost there, could you please clarify when do I lose data from RAMdisk.
> 
> Thank you!
Click to expand...

You apparently have your RAM disk save on shut down and load at boot up then.

If there was a power outage after say a 8hr project and the data was not saved off the RAM disk during the time then all data that was created in those 8 hrs would be gone because the RAM disk was not saved.


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## Use

Thank you very much! Ive already installed a drawing viewer (portable) on it, working with 300MB files and my jaw is on the ground, need to invest in RAM and a UPS. This is going to save me so much time. Thanks again!


----------



## Use

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!



Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Put your browser cache on your RAM disk:
> This is how you put the browser cache on the RAMDisk. When you make the folder on the RAMDisk for the cache for each you need to go to that folder's properties and uncheck read only, I was having an issue where these weren't working b/c the cache folder couldn't be written to and that fixed it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Firefox Cache Tweak:*
> *Information:*
> You will need to add a single command string into Firefox to make it store temporary internet files and all cache data to the RamDrive.
> *Instruction:*
> 
> Open up Firefox. In the address bar type about:config
> Click the I'll be careful I promise button.
> Right click anywhere in the values in the lower portion of the screen and choose New -> String.
> Type in browser.cache.disk.parent_directory into the "Preference name"
> Click OK
> Type in R:\FF_Cache in the "string value" [if R: is the RamDisk and you created a folder called FF_Cache].
> Click OK.
> Restart Firefox.
> That's it. Now all browser cache from Firefox will go to the RamDrive and save writing over and over to your SSD saving the number of writes.






Is the new cache folder supposed to be empty? There are no files in it when I use firefox. I was wondering if I set it up right. Ive unchecked Read Only.


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Use*
> 
> Is the new cache folder supposed to be empty? There are no files in it when I use firefox. I was wondering if I set it up right. Ive unchecked Read Only.


If there is a space in the folder name it will not work.


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## Use

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> If there is a space in the folder name it will not work.


No, theres no space in it. Ive double checked everything, identical to your guide but the folder is empty. Chrome cache working, could there be a conflict if my browser is not english? Settings in config are all in english.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Use*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> If there is a space in the folder name it will not work.
> 
> 
> 
> No, theres no space in it. Ive double checked everything, identical to your guide but the folder is empty. Chrome cache working, could there be a conflict if my browser is not english? Settings in config are all in english.
Click to expand...

I can't check it over right now...google how to change the cache location of firefox if I don't update you by the time you read this.


----------



## Use

Fixed it! Clear private data at shutdown disables cache to disk.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Use*
> 
> Fixed it! Clear private data at shutdown disables cache to disk.


wow nice find I'll add it to OP if anyone else has the same issue.


----------



## Use

Web browsing is lightning fast, like navigating in explorer.


----------



## rafety58

Thanks for the guide Sean, I made a 3GB ram disk. I ended up putting the cache, for waterfox on it. As well I installed MOHAA on it (one of the only games I can play well my card is in rma) The game loads in a split second now, and I'm always first to spawn (so many spawn kills







)

Firefox is now lighting fast, feels like I'm in windows explorer when browsing the web. OCN is no longer slow to load, like it was after the update a few months back.


----------



## TomcatV

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Right now, make a small 1Gb ramdisk and think of ways to use it...see if you can find a way to utilize it your self.


You were right on! Just needed to start experimenting with it







The performance is so noticeable it reminds me of when multicore CPU's and/or SSD's 1st came out! Where it really shines is on a machine that doesn't already have an SSD, like my laptop, it really breathed some new life into the 2 year old i3/4GB/HDD Asus, now I need more ram for it instead of an SSD







... 3 machines done just a dozen or so more to go ... :O

But I Still don't believe it warrant's the cost of buying a 32GB ram kit and then dedicating 20+GB's for gaming purposes over even a dedicated SSD ...
*UNTIL* I build a new quad-channel X79 rig for myself ... instead of all my wealthy friends! I see now why you made that comment earlier


----------



## Rowey

Good guide, dont think im going to be giving it a go though because Chrome already works lighting fast on my SSD. Main reason i don't want to risk it is because numpties in my household always forget to top up the electric meter, then remember when the power cuts off... -.-

Very good guide nevertheless!


----------



## kevindd992002

Following steps 1 to 5, I got this:










Is it normal?

Would mounting the RamDrive as GPT be beneficial compared to MBR?

Is it better to enable "file and folder compression" upon formatting? How about alignment and allocation unit size for the RamDrive, are those the same as to that of optimal values in SSDs?

Don't you think 50MB would also be better to set for the cache size of firefox?


----------



## kevindd992002

Also, why is it that sometimes after a restart I get a corrupted drive R (RamDisk drive) and I have to repeat the steps all over again. This happens randomly, sometimes there's no problem.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Following steps 1 to 5, I got this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Is it normal?


Nope
Quote:


> Would mounting the RamDrive as GPT be beneficial compared to MBR?


Nope
Quote:


> Is it better to enable "file and folder compression" upon formatting? How about alignment and allocation unit size for the RamDrive, are those the same as to that of optimal values in SSDs?


Doesn't matter
Quote:


> Don't you think 50MB would also be better to set for the cache size of firefox?


i dont use firefox and it doesnt matter more cache size is better tho. You wont need to redownload the same things all the time going on site to site.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Also, why is it that sometimes after a restart I get a corrupted drive R (RamDisk drive) and I have to repeat the steps all over again. This happens randomly, sometimes there's no problem.


IDK maybe uninstall and run ccleaner then reinistall


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Nope
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Would mounting the RamDrive as GPT be beneficial compared to MBR?
> 
> 
> 
> Nope
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Is it better to enable "file and folder compression" upon formatting? How about alignment and allocation unit size for the RamDrive, are those the same as to that of optimal values in SSDs?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Doesn't matter
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Don't you think 50MB would also be better to set for the cache size of firefox?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> i dont use firefox and it doesnt matter more cache size is better tho. You wont need to redownload the same things all the time going on site to site.
> IDK maybe uninstall and run ccleaner then reinistall
Click to expand...

So do you enable file and folder compression with yours?

But still the cache size builds up if you visit multiple websites, yes?

You never experienced a corrupted RamDisk? I tried uninstalling (not using CCleaner) but still the problem is there.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> So do you enable file and folder compression with yours?


No
Quote:


> But still the cache size builds up if you visit multiple websites, yes?


yes
Quote:


> You never experienced a corrupted RamDisk? I tried uninstalling (not using CCleaner) but still the problem is there.


No. Maybe delete the RAIM disk iso if you have it set to save and load at shutdown and start up.


----------



## Blameless

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LosNir*
> 
> I highly doubt that you can fit a game inside a RAMDrive. Do you have 12GB (avg game?) of spare RAM?


Most of my games will fit in a RAM drives on my desktops with plenty of room to spare. Really the extra RAM costs less than most games at this point. All 24GiB in my main system was 120 dollars, and that more than enough for virtually any game.

Many games can be stripped down quite a bit as well. MWLL is a mod for Crysis Wars and combined they add up to about 14GB. However, I deleted all the in game movies, the redundant 32-bit executables/resources, all the texture/detail files for lower details, and all the Crysis Wars levels, which let me get the game down to about 9.5GB.

The Witcher is similar. Since I only use Polish dialog and only English text, I can save quite a bit of space by removing all the excess language files I'll never use.


----------



## airdeano

sean,
awesome guide, hey i'm running xp pro 32-bit. but i have 4GB RAM. since the OS can only recognize 3GB, can the RAM drive be created before OS launch and utilize the full 4GB? if so, i have capabilities to run 8GB and expand the RAM drive, yes?

airdeano


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *airdeano*
> 
> sean,
> awesome guide, hey i'm running xp pro 32-bit. but i have 4GB RAM. since the OS can only recognize 3GB, can the RAM drive be created before OS launch and utilize the full 4GB? if so, i have capabilities to run 8GB and expand the RAM drive, yes?
> 
> airdeano


Since you have a 32-bit OS you can enable PAE for your system to "see"/use more than 4GB of RAM.

google it and there are a few good links on it: https://www.google.com/webhp?rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS473US473&sourceid=chrome-instant&ie=UTF-8&ion=1#hl=en&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS473US473&sclient=psy-ab&q=enable+pae+windows+xp&oq=enable+PAE&aq=2&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_l=hp.1.2.0l4.406l11852l0l15690l7l6l1l0l0l2l203l804l1j4j1l7l0.frgbld.&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=9b0c83a130f3bca0&ion=1&biw=1366&bih=643


----------



## airdeano

once completed, then RAM disk away!

airdeano

using DataRam, i've made a folderin R: called FF_Cache, but i unchecked the Read Only, click OK and recheck and its back to being checked. i am admin
i keep hearing the HDD writing still, so this RO switch has got to be changed, the FF_Cache folder isnt being used.

airdeano


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> No
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> But still the cache size builds up if you visit multiple websites, yes?
> 
> 
> 
> yes
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> You never experienced a corrupted RamDisk? I tried uninstalling (not using CCleaner) but still the problem is there.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> No. Maybe delete the RAIM disk iso if you have it set to save and load at shutdown and start up.
Click to expand...

Still the same, I tried uninstalling the program, deleting the RamDisk.img file and every combination you could think of. When I restart the laptop, sometimes it is there sometimes it is corrupted.

What version of DATARAM RamDisk do you use?

Oh by the way, the only option that I've checked different from your guide is the "Do not create backup file when saving disk image". I don't know if that makes a difference.


----------



## anotheralex

This ram disk, thing, is cool, would there be anything wrong with setting up say, a 512mb ram disk specifically to install Catalyst drivers and sound drivers on?
I'm just thinking it might help speed up my windows start-up, since I've noticed graphics and audio drivers tend to be rather large in size.

Edit:
Question -
What happens to the ram disk if I were to install a new bios/reset bios, or change memory timings/speed, or add new ram?

Nvm.. just found out it isn't persistent.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> No
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> But still the cache size builds up if you visit multiple websites, yes?
> 
> 
> 
> yes
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> You never experienced a corrupted RamDisk? I tried uninstalling (not using CCleaner) but still the problem is there.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> No. Maybe delete the RAIM disk iso if you have it set to save and load at shutdown and start up.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Still the same, I tried uninstalling the program, deleting the RamDisk.img file and every combination you could think of. When I restart the laptop, sometimes it is there sometimes it is corrupted.
> 
> What version of DATARAM RamDisk do you use?
> 
> Oh by the way, the only option that I've checked different from your guide is the "Do not create backup file when saving disk image". I don't know if that makes a difference.
Click to expand...

I use ImDisk mostly.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *anotheralex*
> 
> This ram disk, thing, is cool, would there be anything wrong with setting up say, a 512mb ram disk specifically to install Catalyst drivers and sound drivers on?
> I'm just thinking it might help speed up my windows start-up, since I've noticed graphics and audio drivers tend to be rather large in size.
> 
> Edit:
> Question -
> What happens to the ram disk if I were to install a new bios/reset bios, or change memory timings/speed, or add new ram?
> 
> Nvm.. just found out it isn't persistent.


Having the RAM disk load at start up actually slows boot time too.


----------



## axipher

Would a RAMDisk have any benefit for a webserver?

- Create 1 GB RAMDisk
- Copy all files on to RAMDisk
- Use that location

This brings me to the question of how well Ubuntu in a VMWare Player install would be able to access the files on a RAMDisk made in the host Windows OS.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Would a RAMDisk have any benefit for a webserver?
> 
> - Create 1 GB RAMDisk
> - Copy all files on to RAMDisk
> - Use that location
> 
> This brings me to the question of how well Ubuntu in a VMWare Player install would be able to access the files on a RAMDisk made in the host Windows OS.


Test and see.

As for VMs on a RAMdisk...







Instant boot for them lol.


----------



## axipher

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Would a RAMDisk have any benefit for a webserver?
> 
> - Create 1 GB RAMDisk
> - Copy all files on to RAMDisk
> - Use that location
> 
> This brings me to the question of how well Ubuntu in a VMWare Player install would be able to access the files on a RAMDisk made in the host Windows OS.
> 
> 
> 
> Test and see.
> 
> As for VMs on a RAMdisk...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Instant boot for them lol.
Click to expand...

I'm running off a Solid 3, the VM is up and running before the Metro UI in Windows 8 is done loading, everything is set to auto-login. About 30 seconds form a cold boot to my webserver being up and running.

Are there any good RAMDisk programs for Ubuntu or would I be better off just using Windows and sharing the folder with Ubuntu.


----------



## Sean Webster

IDK, I only use Windows.

I just goggled it quick and found this: http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-create-linux-ram-disk-filesystem/


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> I use ImDisk mostly.


Is it supposed to be better than RamDisk? Or just because it has no 4GB limit?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> I use ImDisk mostly.
> 
> 
> 
> Is it supposed to be better than RamDisk? Or just because it has no 4GB limit?
Click to expand...

They do the same thing, and ImDisk just lets me make a 5GB drive no problem for free.


----------



## Disturbed117

Excellent guide Sean.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> They do the same thing, and ImDisk just lets me make a 5GB drive no problem for free.


Oh ok. Is it OK for you to try using DataRAM RAMDisk for me and check "do not create backup image" and see if it does not get corrupted? Because I unchecked that (default) and now it doesn't get corrupted but I want to check that to avoid double space on my SSD.


----------



## axipher

Well I used IMDisk in Windows 8 to create a 2 GB S: drive, and using VMWare 4.0.2 and Ubuntu 11.04 was able to share the drive with no issues.

Set up SyncToy to back-up the RAMDrive every half hour and added a Task Scheduler event to save the RAM drive on Shutdown/Restart and reload on login


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> They do the same thing, and ImDisk just lets me make a 5GB drive no problem for free.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh ok. Is it OK for you to try using DataRAM RAMDisk for me and check "do not create backup image" and see if it does not get corrupted? Because I unchecked that (default) and now it doesn't get corrupted but I want to check that to avoid double space on my SSD.
Click to expand...

If I set it to load Disk Image at start up before making the RAM disk and don't have a RAM disk then I get that message. But Once the RAM disk is created and you have a saved iso of it then when you start it up you will not have the issue.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Well I used IMDisk in Windows 8 to create a 2 GB S: drive, and using VMWare 4.0.2 and Ubuntu 11.04 was able to share the drive with no issues.
> 
> Set up SyncToy to back-up the RAMDrive every half hour and added a Task Scheduler event to save the RAM drive on Shutdown/Restart and reload on login


Nice!


----------



## axipher

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> They do the same thing, and ImDisk just lets me make a 5GB drive no problem for free.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh ok. Is it OK for you to try using DataRAM RAMDisk for me and check "do not create backup image" and see if it does not get corrupted? Because I unchecked that (default) and now it doesn't get corrupted but I want to check that to avoid double space on my SSD.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> If I set it to load Disk Image at start up before making the RAM disk and don't have a RAM disk then I get that message. But Once the RAM disk is created and you have a saved iso of it then when you start it up you will not have the issue.
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Well I used IMDisk in Windows 8 to create a 2 GB S: drive, and using VMWare 4.0.2 and Ubuntu 11.04 was able to share the drive with no issues.
> 
> Set up SyncToy to back-up the RAMDrive every half hour and added a Task Scheduler event to save the RAM drive on Shutdown/Restart and reload on login
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Nice!
Click to expand...

It's working like a dream right now, thanks again for the great guide. I highly recommend a RAM drive for the following:
- webserver
- game server
- incomplete torrents
- files you want to share on the network

Just be sure to set up something like Synctoy and set a task to back up the RAM drive on shutdown and reload it on startup.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> If I set it to load Disk Image at start up before making the RAM disk and don't have a RAM disk then I get that message. But Once the RAM disk is created and you have a saved iso of it then when you start it up you will not have the issue.


That's actually not my issue, I already understood that error message so no worries.

My issue here is that when I check the "do not backup....." in Options tab, I get a corrupted RamDisk drive when I restart my computer. Can you reproduce the same problem?


----------



## Sean Webster

nope i have no issue


----------



## kevindd992002

Ok, now I don't know what to do. Any more ideas in mind? I don't like to have that backup file since it takes up double the space in my SSD to use RamDisk if I leave that option unchecked.


----------



## Sean Webster

I put mine on my HDD


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> I put mine on my HDD


Really? Your guide says to put it on drive C and I was assuming that you have an SSD as your OS drive (C), right?


----------



## Sean Webster

that is just a screenshot on the basic level of showing you how to set it up...


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> that is just a screenshot on the basic level of showing you how to set it up...


Ok. Why do you have it setup in the HDD? Won't that slow things down?


----------



## axipher

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> that is just a screenshot on the basic level of showing you how to set it up...
> 
> 
> 
> Ok. Why do you have it setup in the HDD? Won't that slow things down?
Click to expand...

Depends on how often he restarts. I have mine stored on my SSD, but my rig is on 24/7 so it wouldn't really matter anyway.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Depends on how often he restarts. I have mine stored on my SSD, but my rig is on 24/7 so it wouldn't really matter anyway.


Well, I don't mind mine being on the SSD because I'm not too worried about the "lifetime" of the SSD as others are.

Are you using DataRAM RAMDisk as well?


----------



## axipher

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Depends on how often he restarts. I have mine stored on my SSD, but my rig is on 24/7 so it wouldn't really matter anyway.
> 
> 
> 
> Well, I don't mind mine being on the SSD because I'm not too worried about the "lifetime" of the SSD as others are.
> 
> Are you using DataRAM RAMDisk as well?
Click to expand...

Nope, IMDisk with a 2 GB RAM Drive and the following scripts:

*imdisk-start -2gb.cmd* - _Used to make the disk initially_

Code:



Code:


imdisk -a -s 2G -m S: -p "/fs:ntfs /q /y"

*imdisk-start.cmd* - _Used on start-up to reload contents of RAMDisk from file_

Code:



Code:


imdisk -a -t vm -f "C:\RAM disks\S.img" -m S:

*imdisk-save.cmd* - _Used on shutdown/restart to save contents of RAMDisk to file_

Code:



Code:


rawcopy -mld \\.\S: "C:\RAM disks\S.img"


----------



## tCoLL

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TomcatV*
> 
> 1)Why not buy a simple 32GB SataII SSD dedicated to loading current game(s) for appx $60 vs appx $280 for a matched set of (4x8) 32GB ram which you would need if you want stable overclocks. I've not had much success getting an 1155 platform stable with anything over 16GB of mixed ram kits while OC'ing.


$280 for 32 gb of ram? hell naw.


----------



## mtbiker033

I am using asrock x-fast ram which came with my motherboard utilities and i'm sure is pretty much the same as ramdisc. It has a button for IE file cache but not for chrome. I tried to use the chrome cache location you listed in your OP, just substituting F: for R: which is the drive letter of my virtual drive. I got an error message, maybe because I didn't create the folder on the drive we targeted?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mtbiker033*
> 
> 
> 
> I am using asrock x-fast ram which came with my motherboard utilities and i'm sure is pretty much the same as ramdisc. It has a button for IE file cache but not for chrome. I tried to use the chrome cache location you listed in your OP, just substituting F: for R: which is the drive letter of my virtual drive. I got an error message, maybe because I didn't create the folder on the drive we targeted?


Sorry I replied soo late lol.

Most likely, make a folder then try.


----------



## Kramy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tCoLL*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *TomcatV*
> 
> 1)Why not buy a simple 32GB SataII SSD dedicated to loading current game(s) for appx $60 vs appx $280 for a matched set of (4x8) 32GB ram which you would need if you want stable overclocks. I've not had much success getting an 1155 platform stable with anything over 16GB of mixed ram kits while OC'ing.
> 
> 
> 
> $280 for 32 gb of ram? hell naw.
Click to expand...

I've seen 32GB kits as low as $220 + FS. I figure within a half year they'll be around or under $150.


----------



## Molybdenum

I set up an 8 GB RAM disk with imdisk and used SyncToy to back it up every hour with task scheduler. Thanks for the idea, axipher. I'm getting a 0x2 code for run result, but it seems to work. Did you have this problem at all?

I'm trying to figure out what to put on my new RAM disk. I only have my FF cache so far, so I have about 7.5 GB free, anything else I can put on it? I don't do any of the things listed in the first post, and I'm not currently playing any single player games. (Put LoL on it for ****s, but now I just watch other people load slowly







)

Can I put the windows temp files on a RAM disk? Maybe it's dumb, but I'm not sure whether windows would need them when I boot up, before they're available on the RAM disk. I currently have them on my HDD (not my SSD), would I notice any difference even if I did move them?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Molybdenum*
> 
> I set up an 8 GB RAM disk with imdisk and used SyncToy to back it up every hour with task scheduler. Thanks for the idea, axipher. I'm getting a 0x2 code for run result, but it seems to work. Did you have this problem at all?
> 
> I'm trying to figure out what to put on my new RAM disk. I only have my FF cache so far, so I have about 7.5 GB free, anything else I can put on it? I don't do any of the things listed in the first post, and I'm not currently playing any single player games. (Put LoL on it for ****s, but now I just watch other people load slowly
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )
> 
> Can I put the windows temp files on a RAM disk? Maybe it's dumb, but I'm not sure whether windows would need them when I boot up, before they're available on the RAM disk. I currently have them on my HDD (not my SSD), would I notice any difference even if I did move them?


Yea, go ahead and put the temp folder on there.

Did you do it this way before?
Quote:


> Moving TEMP and TMP Folder
> Information:
> This tweak takes the Windows TEMP folder and also the TMP folder, and moves it to the RamDrive.
> 
> Instruction:
> 
> Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Advanced Tab
> Click on Environment Variables
> 
> 
> Select The TEMP variable and then click Edit.
> 
> Then change the Variable Value to where the RamDrive is. I set up a Temp folder on my R: drive, i.e. R:\Temp.
> Then click OK.
> 
> 
> Repeat the same thing for the TMP folder and click OK.


----------



## kevindd992002

Sean, any ideas on the error we are having when using AS SSD to benchmark DATARAM RAMDisk?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Sean, any ideas on the error we are having when using AS SSD to benchmark DATARAM RAMDisk?


just a bug with the bench, idk, doesn't matter to me tho lol.


----------



## 072665995

are there any spaces and if so where. cuz the writing there that tells u wat to write in the command prompt is very confusing and i cant tell where the spaces are
also in the very detailed guide it says starting RAM disks automatically at window startup. Is this only for multiple RAM disks or is it automatic cuz imma just do one RAM disk


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *072665995*
> 
> are there any spaces and if so where. cuz the writing there that tells u wat to write in the command prompt is very confusing and i cant tell where the spaces are


copy paste...
Quote:


> also in the very detailed guide it says starting RAM disks automatically at window startup. Is this only for multiple RAM disks or is it automatic cuz imma just do one RAM disk


he shows you how to do it with 3, just use one line instead of all 3 lines.


----------



## 072665995

oo ok and also about the copy and paste thing. I did that but then in cmd it showed paste as ^V
wow this is very tricky lol have to set up so much. Lol Sean u made it look so simple. Then in DETAILED guide, i was like o sshhhheeeaaatttt lololololol


----------



## Sean Webster

When you copy paste, copy like normal, but then right click in CMD and click paste.


----------



## 072665995

o thanks OMG i msut have gone into cmd to do lots of things but i never knew u had to do copy right lcik paste lolololololllo


----------



## axipher

Ordered another 8 GB for my rig bumping it up to 16 GB. Once I get my motherboard back from RMA, I'll try pushing a 8 GB RAMDisk for my temp folder and a scratch drive for video encoding.


----------



## mtbiker033

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Sorry I replied soo late lol.
> Most likely, make a folder then try.


no worries thanks!


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Ordered another 8 GB for my rig bumping it up to 16 GB. Once I get my motherboard back from RMA, I'll try pushing a 8 GB RAMDisk for my temp folder and a scratch drive for video encoding.


nice, I may get 32 or 64 soon...cant decide yet
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *072665995*
> 
> o thanks OMG i msut have gone into cmd to do lots of things but i never knew u had to do copy right lcik paste lolololololllo


lol
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mtbiker033*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Sorry I replied soo late lol.
> Most likely, make a folder then try.
> 
> 
> 
> no worries thanks!
Click to expand...


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> just a bug with the bench, idk, doesn't matter to me tho lol.


Why does it seem to work for others though?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> just a bug with the bench, idk, doesn't matter to me tho lol.
> 
> 
> 
> Why does it seem to work for others though?
Click to expand...

IDK it used to work for me, now it doesn't because I have tested on AS SSD before. I think that the RAM disk driver or something was updated and not it is incompatible. I am not a programmer, I do not know what the issue is.


----------



## B-rock

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Nope, IMDisk with a 2 GB RAM Drive and the following scripts:
> *imdisk-start -2gb.cmd* - _Used to make the disk initially_
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> imdisk -a -s 2G -m S: -p "/fs:ntfs /q /y"
> 
> *imdisk-start.cmd* - _Used on start-up to reload contents of RAMDisk from file_
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> imdisk -a -t vm -f "C:\RAM disks\S.img" -m S:
> 
> *imdisk-save.cmd* - _Used on shutdown/restart to save contents of RAMDisk to file_
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> rawcopy -mld \\.\S: "C:\RAM disks\S.img"


Could someone explain this to me? When I try following it, it acts a little odd. I go to My Computer and right click on the newly created drive to make an image of it, it asks me if I want to do it with or without an MBR. I chose without and MBR (I don't know if this is right). Then after I run the 2nd code it uses up even more RAM (I created a 6gb drive), it pretty much doubles up to 12gb of ram after running the code. Why does it do this? Also the 3rd line of code just plain doesn't work for me. If you could help me with this that would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## axipher

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *B-rock*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> Nope, IMDisk with a 2 GB RAM Drive and the following scripts:
> *imdisk-start -2gb.cmd* - _Used to make the disk initially_
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> imdisk -a -s 2G -m S: -p "/fs:ntfs /q /y"
> 
> *imdisk-start.cmd* - _Used on start-up to reload contents of RAMDisk from file_
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> imdisk -a -t vm -f "C:\RAM disks\S.img" -m S:
> 
> *imdisk-save.cmd* - _Used on shutdown/restart to save contents of RAMDisk to file_
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> rawcopy -mld \\.\S: "C:\RAM disks\S.img"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Could someone explain this to me? When I try following it, it acts a little odd. I go to My Computer and right click on the newly created drive to make an image of it, it asks me if I want to do it with or without an MBR. I chose without and MBR (I don't know if this is right). Then after I run the 2nd code it uses up even more RAM (I created a 6gb drive), it pretty much doubles up to 12gb of ram after running the code. Why does it do this? Also the 3rd line of code just plain doesn't work for me. If you could help me with this that would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I know I had problems a couple times where it would say that the drive needs to be formatted. This means it didn't work properly so unmount the drive (by right-clicking it I believe) then run it again.

Once it created the drive the drive properly, then it worked fine after that.

Sadly my computer is out for RMA so I can't do a test for you, but PM me if you need more help.


----------



## axipher

More information to compliment my last post:

I made those 3 scripts and put them in "C:\RAM disks\". The first script you have to run yourself to create the RAM Disk. You might have to unmount the drive from "My Computer" if it pops up saying "The disk in drive S: is not formatted".

Once the RAM Disk has been created successfully, then you can create the tasks in task scheduler to run the other two commands.

I forget what the extra EvenID I had to add was, but in the guide below, it only sets up the task to activate on the SHUTDOWN/RESTART event ID 1074. I believe I had to add a second trigger with event ID 1073 which is for failed attempts to shutdown/restart. I can't check until I get my rig back form RMA.

Here's the guide I used, it has most of the info required to set up the Task Scheduler.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=356046


----------



## samwiches

This is the thread I was looking for. Thanks Sean. I just happened to learn about ImDisk last night, and holy shhhh..



And that's just at 5GHz (5.4 is even better).


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *samwiches*
> 
> This is the thread I was looking for. Thanks Sean. I just happened to learn about ImDisk last night, and holy shhhh..
> 
> And that's just at 5GHz (5.4 is even better).


So at higher CPU clocks the RAM access speeds would be faster as well?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> So at higher CPU clocks the RAM access speeds would be faster as well?


I think I remember it helping.


----------



## samwiches

10% more clocks looks like 4-8% higher rates.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> I think I remember it helping.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *samwiches*
> 
> 10% more clocks looks like 4-8% higher rates.


Oh ok. But surely overclocking RAM clock speeds will surely help by a lot, yes?


----------



## Just a nickname

Just wondering, for a single usage, install windows on ram, when you shut computer are you sure your computer is 100% clean?

Could a virus survive somehow? I need a system to go on deep-web I will have like 64GB of ram. I can boot on the SSD and also have a HDD.

So there would already be an OS on the SSD, by installing windows on the RAM and booting on the ram could a virus also spread into the other drives?


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Just a nickname*
> 
> Just wondering, for a single usage, install windows on ram, when you shut computer are you sure your computer is 100% clean?
> Could a virus survive somehow? I need a system to go on deep-web I will have like 64GB of ram. I can boot on the SSD and also have a HDD.
> So there would already be an OS on the SSD, by installing windows on the RAM and booting on the ram could a virus also spread into the other drives?


You cannot install Windows on RAM (RAMDisk) since the RAMDisk program itself is a Windows program.


----------



## Just a nickname

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> You cannot install Windows on RAM (RAMDisk) since the RAMDisk program itself is a Windows program.


Hum yea and how is that impossible? You know virtual machine exist?


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Just a nickname*
> 
> Hum yea and how is that impossible? You know virtual machine exist?


Ok, you didn't mention anything about virtual machine earlier.


----------



## samwiches

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> I think I remember it helping.
> 
> 
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *samwiches*
> 
> 10% more clocks looks like 4-8% higher rates.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Oh ok. But surely overclocking RAM clock speeds will surely help by a lot, yes?
Click to expand...

Definitely, the RAM speed is key. That shot is with Samsungs at 2133MHz.

But I don't see any improved performance from lower timings (1600 @ 11-11-11-27 vs 7-7-7-23) which surprised me. Should there be?


----------



## plum

I have a few questions concerning browser cache.

Let's say I make a 1gb ram disk for Firefox and it fills up to about 700mb. later I reboot/shut down my PC, when it's back up, will the 700mb of cache still be there or will it be gone?

If it's gone, is there any way to prevent it from doing that? otherwise, everytime I open Firefox on windows start up, it will have to recache everything...

If it stays, where does the data go when the PC isn't powered? apparently ram doesn't store the data anymore at that point, so does that mean it will go on my SSD instead and get transferred back to the ram on startup? if so, those are some unnecessary writes to the SSD...


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *plum*
> 
> I have a few questions concerning browser cache.
> 
> Let's say I make a 1gb ram disk for Firefox and it fills up to about 700mb. later I reboot/shut down my PC, when it's back up, will the 700mb of cache still be there or will it be gone?
> 
> If it's gone, is there any way to prevent it from doing that? otherwise, everytime I open Firefox on windows start up, it will have to recache everything...


If you have it save the disk at shutdown and restore at boot it will be there.
Quote:


> If it stays, where does the data go when the PC isn't powered? apparently ram doesn't store the data anymore at that point, so does that mean it will go on my SSD instead and get transferred back to the ram on startup? if so, those are some unnecessary writes to the SSD...


It will store the disk as a iso to what ever drive you want to set it to.


----------



## jRader

Anyone else unable to keep the FF_cache "read-only" box unticked? Every time I deselect it it reverts back to read-only.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jRader*
> 
> Anyone else unable to keep the FF_cache "read-only" box unticked? Every time I deselect it it reverts back to read-only.


This is normal if the folder doesn't have any files in it. If it already has some files inside you will notice that it will remain unchecked.

Hope that helps


----------



## gtfoxy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Use*
> 
> Thanks for the guide. Recently bought an SSD (60Gb) and your storage guide was a lot a help, freed up a lot of space, thanks! Also Id like to know how could I benefit from RAMDisk in a CAD program. Ive setup FF cache but Id like to use it for Allplan (its very similar to AutoCAD).


Hey good idea!

I was thinking of CADCAM as well...

I have 8G of 1600 HyperX & was looking to get another 8G & use that as the RAMDISK.

Seam Webster, excellent guide! Thanks soooo much for this. I did a lot of searching & found RAMDISK info very limited & of questionable functionality, but it appears here you have it down quite well.

Sry if this was asked already but is there anyway to use a RAMDISK with the intel cache so the info would be revolved like with an ssd?


----------



## kevindd992002

I set IE to have 50MB for temporary internet files only but when I looked at the Properties of the Temporary Internet Files folder on my RAMDisk, it indicates a size on disk of 128MB. Why is this?

For Firefox, I set cache to 50MB and the FF_CACHE folder in the RAMDisk is also 50MB.


----------



## ChaoticKinesis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> I set IE to have 50MB for temporary internet files only but when I looked at the Properties of the Temporary Internet Files folder on my RAMDisk, it indicates a size on disk of 128MB. Why is this?
> 
> For Firefox, I set cache to 50MB and the FF_CACHE folder in the RAMDisk is also 50MB.


Did you format the RAMDisk with a large block size? That can cause size on disk to be significantly greater than actual size. Large blocks are unnecessary on a RAMDisk, since random read/write speeds are so high. They only make sense on HDDs, since they lead to a lot of disk wastage.

Regardless of block size, I'm going to guess that IE respects the number of MB written, rather than the number used, when it manages the cache.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ChaoticKinesis*
> 
> Did you format the RAMDisk with a large block size? That can cause size on disk to be significantly greater than actual size. Large blocks are unnecessary on a RAMDisk, since random read/write speeds are so high. They only make sense on HDDs, since they lead to a lot of disk wastage.
> Regardless of block size, I'm going to guess that IE respects the number of MB written, rather than the number used, when it manages the cache.


Nope, I used the default 4096 cluster/block size.

What do you mean by your last sentence above?


----------



## ChaoticKinesis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *ChaoticKinesis*
> 
> Regardless of block size, I'm going to guess that IE respects the number of MB written, rather than the number used, when it manages the cache.
> 
> 
> 
> What do you mean by your last sentence above?
Click to expand...

If a file is 2KB in size and stored on a disk with 4KB blocks, its size is 2KB and its size on disk is 4KB. If you make 100 copies of this file, it's 200KB and 400KB on disk. If block size were 8KB, these files would take up 800KB.

It seems like a bit of a stretch, but if the average file size in your cache is 1.5625 KB (4 * 50/128), then 50MB of files would be 128MB on disk.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ChaoticKinesis*
> 
> If a file is 2KB in size and stored on a disk with 4KB blocks, its size is 2KB and its size on disk is 4KB. If you make 100 copies of this file, it's 200KB and 400KB on disk. If block size were 8KB, these files would take up 800KB.
> It seems like a bit of a stretch, but if the average file size in your cache is 1.5625 KB (4 * 50/128), then 50MB of files would be 128MB on disk.


Well, yesl but the thing is that even the size of my temporary internet files folder is 128MB which clearly presents that the 50MB limit is not being followed.


----------



## .:hybrid:.

I have a question.

I setup a ramdisk solely for Chrome cache, is there any benefit for me to save the state on shutdown, and load it on boot? Or is it faster to let it wipe itself each shutdown, and let chrome rebuild the cache when I use it.


----------



## TonyGrunt

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *.:hybrid:.*
> 
> I have a question.
> I setup a ramdisk solely for Chrome cache, is there any benefit for me to save the state on shutdown, and load it on boot? Or can I just let it wipe itself each shutdown, and let chrome rebuild the cache when I use it.


I would recommend not saving it. You lose some time saving and loading the ramdisk, and the only benefit you get is a percent of cached content that you don't have to redownload.
Plus more privacy for you, no risky material saved on your disk.


----------



## superj1977

I have been using the beta of FancyCache for a while now and i think its pretty good but.....
Wondering if anyone knows of an alternative that allows for persistant cache data through reboot, im sure it would come in handy for the caches i have set up for my games folders.

Just seems a waste to have to first let the cache fill up before its actually usefull and then wipe it all at reboot








Would be great to boot up PC and have a cache from previous gaming session, would really speed things up.

I wondered if creating a ramdisk that saves/ loads image at reboot and letting FancyCache use the ramdisk as an L2 cache for a drive...would the L2 cache be saved and made of use on reboot?









Hmmmm.


----------



## ACIDpwns

i use imdisk and have a 25GB ram disk that i have skyrim and assassins creed and Photoshop.. in games with huge worlds its amazing the world loads faster than you can play the game. If you would like to learn how to set a ramdisk that is constant through shutdowns and boots.. pm me


----------



## StormX2

my wifes PC has 8 GB Ram and I use it mostly for work and some various gaming (Source Engine Level games though, Vindictus probobly heaviest load)

And Im just looking ot see if there is any application i might Find Beneficial from using 1 or 2GB Ram Disc for something.

I no webster said get out if you dont know what to use it for, but since I have Have a crud ton of Ram, is there ANY benefit I could find with this?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *StormX2*
> 
> my wifes PC has 8 GB Ram and I use it mostly for work and some various gaming (Source Engine Level games though, Vindictus probobly heaviest load)
> 
> And Im just looking ot see if there is any application i might Find Beneficial from using 1 or 2GB Ram Disc for something.
> 
> I no webster said get out if you dont know what to use it for, but since I have Have a crud ton of Ram, is there ANY benefit I could find with this?


*GET OUT OF HERE!*








LOL JK.

Set one up and put the program cache, files, or what ever you want on the ramdisk and see if it helps you.


----------



## StormX2

haha i was waiting for u

I dont know how to actually do that

Ive not tinkered with OS in years, and had to have my wife help me with the SSD Optimizations last time.

if Im playing a specific Game, can I make use of page or chache or something?

The game is only Vindictus, which dont exactly require much. So I was thinking if useful, I could try 1GB or 2GB


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *StormX2*
> 
> haha i was waiting for u
> 
> I dont know how to actually do that
> 
> Ive not tinkered with OS in years, and had to have my wife help me with the SSD Optimizations last time.
> 
> if Im playing a specific Game, can I make use of page or chache or something?
> 
> The game is only Vindictus, which dont exactly require much. So I was thinking if useful, I could try 1GB or 2GB


IDK, I can't think of anything besides putting it on the RAMdisk itself.


----------



## StormX2

Yah I know Nothing about page files or cache drives etc its new to me lol


----------



## RedWabbit

ok I got everything working to save on shutdown and reload the img on startup. its working fine but it won't save anything to the cache on the ramdisk. I've gone over everything plenty of times and it will not save, I can't get the Read Only attribute off the folder either, even with stuff in there.

any suggestions?

I even moved the cache from the original location to see if it would work and still nothing


----------



## Sean Webster

your folder options need to have it unchecked:


----------



## RedWabbit

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> your folder options need to have it unchecked:


exactly, I know this, it will continuously revert back to read only after I close the properties. I have full access admin rights, so I don't know why I'm having issues. I click it, apply, second windows pops up telling me its gonna do it to the folder and all folder and files inside, click ok, does its thing. close then reopen and bam little blue box of kiss my ass I'm gonna stay read only.


----------



## Sean Webster

idk then lol, sorry


----------



## stubass

OMG!!!!


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stubass*
> 
> OMG!!!!












y u no on skype? ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ


----------



## rui-no-onna

*sigh* Wish you didn't need huge ATX boards in order to support more than 32GB of RAM. I'd love to be able to cram 64GB or more in Mini-ITX builds and run my virtual machines entirely from a RAMDisk. I/O bottleneck? What I/O bottleneck?


----------



## Figit090

So is there a direct comparison on which program performs better, dataram's or imdisk?

I'm not sure if I want free with a slightly longer learning curve or to just pay $15 and be done with it, so I figured I'd ask and see, since posters seem to be uploading unlabeled benchmarks...


----------



## stubass

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Figit090*
> 
> So is there a direct comparison on which program performs better, dataram's or imdisk?
> I'm not sure if I want free with a slightly longer learning curve or to just pay $15 and be done with it, so I figured I'd ask and see, since posters seem to be uploading unlabeled benchmarks...


i just use imdisk and it is fast. i cant say if dataram is better but i doubt performance would be that much better to be even noticable.. dataram may have more features tho but i am not sure as imdisk worked well for me


----------



## tompsonn

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stubass*
> 
> i just use imdisk and it is fast. i cant say if dataram is better but i doubt performance would be that much better to be even noticable.. dataram may have more features tho but i am not sure as imdisk worked well for me


And imdisk is open source so it has infinite features


----------



## Figit090

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> *sigh* Wish you didn't need huge ATX boards in order to support more than 32GB of RAM. I'd love to be able to cram 64GB or more in Mini-ITX builds and run my virtual machines entirely from a RAMDisk. I/O bottleneck? What I/O bottleneck?


If you can find one of these and if it performs near as well as the main board controller/slots, it fits your wishes, I think, and has a battery backup for when you shut down, although i imagine replacing it would be annoying (old proprietary rechargeable batteries always are).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815168001

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tompsonn*
> 
> And imdisk is open source so it has infinite features


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stubass*
> 
> i just use imdisk and it is fast. i cant say if dataram is better but i doubt performance would be that much better to be even noticable.. dataram may have more features tho but i am not sure as imdisk worked well for me


Well I downloaded the free version of dataram and I plan to download IMdisk and run benchmarks on each. I realized that if I can learn imdisk without much issue, I can easily do a benchmark myself that tells me about my system. I'll post results if I do the test.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Figit090*
> 
> If you can find one of these and if it performs near as well as the main board controller/slots, it fits your wishes, I think, and has a battery backup for when you shut down, although i imagine replacing it would be annoying (old proprietary rechargeable batteries always are).
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815168001


Did have one of those. Unfortunately, you're limited to SATA1 speeds and I believe it only supports up to 4GB RAM. Either that or 2GB DDR RAM modules were prohibitively expensive. Would love to see a PCI express x16 version supporting DDR3, alas, there are now several software-based RAM disk solutions that a physical RAM disk solution like the iRAM is unlikely to be released.


----------



## Figit090

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Did have one of those. Unfortunately, you're limited to SATA1 speeds and I believe it only supports up to 4GB RAM. Either that or 2GB DDR RAM modules were prohibitively expensive. Would love to see a PCI express x16 version supporting DDR3, alas, there are now several software-based RAM disk solutions that a physical RAM disk solution like the iRAM is unlikely to be released.


So why do you need more than 32gb? I bought 32 for future overhead and a 20 gig ramdisk but honestly, that's a lot. lol. I'm just hoping I can utilize a lot of it. Now if you want to leave your PC on 24/7 with a UPS as backup, I could see any number of program installations being awesome on more than 32gigs...







Have one SSD for image writing on shutdowns perhaps...then HDDs


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Figit090*
> 
> So why do you need more than 32gb? I bought 32 for future overhead and a 20 gig ramdisk but honestly, that's a lot. lol. I'm just hoping I can utilize a lot of it. Now if you want to leave your PC on 24/7 with a UPS as backup, I could see any number of program installations being awesome on more than 32gigs...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Have one SSD for image writing on shutdowns perhaps...then HDDs


Want to run virtual disks on the RAM disk (~10-20GB per VM) while still having enough RAM to allocate to the virtual machines. Disk images will be flushed to an SSD RAID-0 (SATA III) at shut down. I'm estimating it'll take around 1 minute per 20GB at a conservative estimated transfer speed of 500MB/s. A couple of VelociRaptors in RAID-1 (SATA II) will be used for back-up. If I create a 200-400GiB partition for virtual disk backups, I reckon copy speeds should be around 150-200MB/s or around 2-3 minutes per 20GB.


----------



## Figit090

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Want to run virtual disks on the RAM disk (~10-20GB per VM) while still having enough RAM to allocate to the virtual machines. Disk images will be flushed to an SSD RAID-0 (SATA III) at shut down. I'm estimating it'll take around 1 minute per 20GB at a conservative estimated transfer speed of 500MB/s. A couple of VelociRaptors in RAID-1 (SATA II) will be used for back-up. If I create a 200-400GiB partition for virtual disk backups, I reckon copy speeds should be around 150-200MB/s or around 2-3 minutes per 20GB.


woah. what will this setup be used for, if you don't mind?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Figit090*
> 
> woah. what will this setup be used for, if you don't mind?


Pr0n, lots and lots of pr0n.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Figit090*
> 
> woah. what will this setup be used for, if you don't mind?


Mostly PHP+MySQL development and some test environments. In answer to your previous post, yes, I do leave my PCs on 24/7 and I do have a UPS for back-up. However, strongly considering upgrading the current UPS (CyberPower 1500 PFC) to something a bit more robust (SURTA1500XLJ + SURTA48XLBPJ extended batteries) to give sufficient time for array rebuilds (UPS also powers my 12TB unRAID server).

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Pr0n, lots and lots of pr0n.


Nah. That's way too small for pr0n.







I'd like to have Murlocke's servers for that.









http://www.overclock.net/t/1282253/my-unraid-servers-83tb-total


----------



## Sean Webster

lol


----------



## Figit090

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Mostly PHP+MySQL development and some test environments. In answer to your previous post, yes, I do leave my PCs on 24/7 and I do have a UPS for back-up. However, strongly considering upgrading the current UPS (CyberPower 1500 PFC) to something a bit more robust (SURTA1500XLJ + SURTA48XLBPJ extended batteries) to give sufficient time for array rebuilds (UPS also powers my 12TB unRAID server).


Is there an english equivalent to the terms you used? I see it's a database thing, but what kinds of tests? I'm asking because I hear talk of crazy computers or unique components used for testing and it interests me as to what kinds of work they're specifically used for. like bridge or skyscraper stress testing models, something along the lines of folding, large medical databases and testing...etc...

Now those quad-processor units, i'm also curious what people use those for, just servers or does anybody need that kind of processing for other things?


----------



## axipher

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Figit090*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Mostly PHP+MySQL development and some test environments. In answer to your previous post, yes, I do leave my PCs on 24/7 and I do have a UPS for back-up. However, strongly considering upgrading the current UPS (CyberPower 1500 PFC) to something a bit more robust (SURTA1500XLJ + SURTA48XLBPJ extended batteries) to give sufficient time for array rebuilds (UPS also powers my 12TB unRAID server).
> 
> 
> 
> Is there an english equivalent to the terms you used? I see it's a database thing, but what kinds of tests? I'm asking because I hear talk of crazy computers or unique components used for testing and it interests me as to what kinds of work they're specifically used for. like bridge or skyscraper stress testing models, something along the lines of folding, large medical databases and testing...etc...
> 
> Now those quad-processor units, i'm also curious what people use those for, just servers or does anybody need that kind of processing for other things?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about him, but I set up multiple VM's for testing code on different platforms when coding applications. I can only guess that he is testing the PHP+MySQL and how well it can handle connections and queries from multiple locations as emulated by the multiple VM's. Also you can test database replication, back-up to other machines, and the affect of having databases on different machines than the one running the PHP.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Figit090*
> 
> Is there an english equivalent to the terms you used? I see it's a database thing, but what kinds of tests? I'm asking because I hear talk of crazy computers or unique components used for testing and it interests me as to what kinds of work they're specifically used for. like bridge or skyscraper stress testing models, something along the lines of folding, large medical databases and testing...etc...
> 
> Now those quad-processor units, i'm also curious what people use those for, just servers or does anybody need that kind of processing for other things?


Nah, nothing that exciting. Mostly just do it for fun and personal learning. The VM/servers are just accessible via LAN. Typically, I'm usually the only client so the connection's not being stressed or anything (although I do use multiple devices). I just have no patience to speak of and tend to do some weird CPU- and RAM-heavy stuff so I'd prefer to work with decent hardware. It's not like hardware's cost prohibitive nowadays. You can build veritable powerhouses for $1,000 or so. Basically, what other people spend in GPU, I tend to spend in storage (both SSD and HDD) and RAM. Lol, even my go to case is a cheap Rosewill mATX Mini-Tower since I like how compact it is.









Parts list of my latest PC (still need to build):

*Case:* Rosewill P101-P-BK, $25
*PSU:* Antec Neo 620C, $45
*MB:* ASUS P8Z77-M PRO, $150
*CPU:* Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz, $210
*RAM:* 4x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600, $150
*OS:* Intel 330 240GB, $140
*Data:* 2x Samsung 830 128GB, $170
*Data:* WD Green 2TB WD20EARX, $100
*TOTAL: $990*
As for the testing stuff, testing different Linux distros as well as various PHP+MySQL packages and set-ups, etc.


----------



## Figit090

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *axipher*
> 
> I'm not sure about him, but I set up multiple VM's for testing code on different platforms when coding applications. I can only guess that he is testing the PHP+MySQL and how well it can handle connections and queries from multiple locations as emulated by the multiple VM's. Also you can test database replication, back-up to other machines, and the affect of having databases on different machines than the one running the PHP.


Oh cool that makes sense.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Nah, nothing that exciting. Mostly just do it for fun and personal learning. The VM/servers are just accessible via LAN. Typically, I'm usually the only client so the connection's not being stressed or anything (although I do use multiple devices). I just have no patience to speak of and tend to do some weird CPU- and RAM-heavy stuff so I'd prefer to work with decent hardware. It's not like hardware's cost prohibitive nowadays. You can build veritable powerhouses for $1,000 or so. Basically, what other people spend in GPU, I tend to spend in storage (both SSD and HDD) and RAM. Lol, even my go to case is a cheap Rosewill mATX Mini-Tower since I like how compact it is.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Parts list of my latest PC (still need to build):
> 
> *Case:* Rosewill P101-P-BK, $25
> *PSU:* Antec Neo 620C, $45
> *MB:* ASUS P8Z77-M PRO, $150
> *CPU:* Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz, $210
> *RAM:* 4x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600, $150
> *OS:* Intel 330 240GB, $140
> *Data:* 2x Samsung 830 128GB, $170
> *Data:* WD Green 2TB WD20EARX, $100
> *TOTAL: $990*
> As for the testing stuff, testing different Linux distros as well as various PHP+MySQL packages and set-ups, etc.


thanks for the reply.







Nice to know someone else spent money everywhere but on a GPU.


----------



## raymond122

I'm sure everyone has access to this resource:
http://www.radeonramdisk.com/

It seems like a very well applied item for tech challenged peeps like me....


----------



## Hattifnatten

I have a question:
What's the point of making your ram disk a scratch disk for ps? Doesen't Ps utilize the scratch disk when it's out of memory? Why divide up the available memory like that when you could just as well...just not do it?


----------



## Figit090

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *raymond122*
> 
> I'm sure everyone has access to this resource:
> http://www.radeonramdisk.com/
> It seems like a very well applied item for tech challenged peeps like me....


Nice I haven't seen that mentioned before, it is however limited to 4gb or 6gb with AMD memory... I wish there was a freebie that was "easy" that would allow more than 4gb! I'm going to tough it out and download imdisk though, I'm only using 39% of my 32gb including a 4gb ramdisk; time to ramp it up!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hattifnatten*
> 
> I have a question:
> What's the point of making your ram disk a scratch disk for ps? Doesen't Ps utilize the scratch disk when it's out of memory? Why divide up the available memory like that when you could just as well...just not do it?


From what I understand, photoshop uses ram but ALSO has a scratch disk for things like history states, storing large files for quicker switching between projects, layers...etc....

Here's the information page on Adobe's site, lots of good info right from the source: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/optimize-performance-photoshop-cs4-cs5.html


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Holy molly! Here is mine now to setup something in this lil piece of speed of light...









*What about for example, adding just cache of games, is that possible or u need to install the full game into de Ramdisk?*

Thanks for the guide

*EDIT:* Added, I already moved the cache files from FIREFOX, I just have one doubt the _NOTE: Clear private data at shutdown disables cache to disk._ Is this only done if I clear it manually, or its an auto option already set in firefox that I need to UNABLE?

+ What is the set up that I should give to PHOTOSHOP to use the RAMDISK as the cache disk?







once again, great guide








+ Is there anyway to test that the RAMDISK its already being using with the FIREFOX cache? any sign?


----------



## lurker2501

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Overclocker.Monster*
> 
> + Is there anyway to test that the RAMDISK its already being using with the FIREFOX cache? any sign?


Just check the appropriate folder on the ramdisk for newly created files.


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lurker2501*
> 
> Just check the appropriate folder on the ramdisk for newly created files.


I've just configured the root one without a folder and I can't see a thing there, its clean like new, there is only few TEMP files from windows... just that


----------



## nizda

Either that or in FF type about:cache in URL bar and it will display details of memory usage and disk usage.


----------



## nizda

Clear private data is an option under tools where you set allow cookies etc.. It shouldnt be checked as default, but make sure its unchecked. If you clear your cache manually in FF then it will delete it from the ramdisk just like normal.


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nizda*
> 
> Either that or in FF type about:cache in URL bar and it will display details of memory usage and disk usage.


Number of entries: 150
Maximum storage size: 32768 KiB
Storage in use: 2618 KiB
Inactive storage: 2618 KiB

good info chart but I made a 2048mb ram disk... :S it says 32768kib :S is it right?


----------



## zipper17

l4d2 ~ 14gb
GTA 4 ~ 15gb
bf3 ~22gb

i have only 8 gb, is not really necessary to use ramdisk , ssd is all the way to go for now..

but this will be the next future technology for storage


----------



## stn0092

Is there any _noticeable_ benefit to installing a game on a RAMdisk compared to an SSD? I don't really care if benches show the RAMDisk loading games 100 µs faster than the SSD...


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zipper17*
> 
> l4d2 ~ 14gb
> GTA 4 ~ 15gb
> bf3 ~22gb
> 
> i have only 8 gb, is not really necessary to use ramdisk , ssd is all the way to go for now..
> 
> but this will be the next future technology for storage


It isn't goin to be future tech, it has been around for many years.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stn0092*
> 
> Is there any _noticeable_ benefit to installing a game on a RAMdisk compared to an SSD? I don't really care if benches show the RAMDisk loading games 100 µs faster than the SSD...


Yea, instant map/level and texture loading. What else is there to expect?


----------



## Crazy9000

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stn0092*
> 
> Is there any _noticeable_ benefit to installing a game on a RAMdisk compared to an SSD? I don't really care if benches show the RAMDisk loading games 100 µs faster than the SSD...


I loaded Diablo 3 into a ramdisk and it did load very notably faster, and the lag when you first start was gone... not enough to be worth the 12GB Ram disk though xD. I threw in 6gb that I had lying around just to test that.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> It isn't goin to be future tech, it has been around for many years.


Old windows 95 or whatever recovery disks used a ramdisk (they loaded DOS), since you generally just had a floppy drive and would need to put another floppy in. Heck I think they were used back before all computers had hard drives for similar reasons.


----------



## stn0092

What about the logistics of managing your games? Even with a 32GB RAMDisk, that's not much space; do you guys often move your games back and forth between the RAMDisk and another drive?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Crazy9000*
> 
> Old windows 95 or whatever recovery disks used a ramdisk (they loaded DOS), since you generally just had a floppy drive and would need to put another floppy in. Heck I think they were used back before all computers had hard drives for similar reasons.











Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stn0092*
> 
> What about the logistics of managing your games? Even with a 32GB RAMDisk, that's not much space; do you guys often move your games back and forth between the RAMDisk and another drive?


You can use steam mover or symbolic links. I don't use ramdisks for games myself.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stn0092*
> 
> What about the logistics of managing your games? Even with a 32GB RAMDisk, that's not much space; do you guys often move your games back and forth between the RAMDisk and another drive?


In the first place, RAM is volatile. Unless you never shut down your PC and you never get any power interruptions, you'd need to flush the contents of the RAM disk to some form of permanent storage every so often. The easiest way (unless you have oodles of RAM) is to create one RAM disk image per game and to just load whatever game image you want to play at the moment.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Crazy9000*
> 
> Old windows 95 or whatever recovery disks used a ramdisk (they loaded DOS), since you generally just had a floppy drive and would need to put another floppy in. Heck I think they were used back before all computers had hard drives for similar reasons.


Actually, I don't think they even bothered creating RAM disks. I think what they do is just load the entire program into memory. Some of the older (K)ubuntu Live CDs do the same thing (I believe they had a 512MB RAM minimum requirement for running live).


----------



## stn0092

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> In the first place, RAM is volatile. Unless you never shut down your PC and you never get any power interruptions, you'd need to flush the contents of the RAM disk to some form of permanent storage every so often. *The easiest way (unless you have oodles of RAM) is to create one RAM disk image per game and to just load whatever game image you want to play at the moment.*


Very interesting indeed...

How long does it usually take to save or load a 9-12GB RAMDisk, assuming I'm working with an SSD?

This is fun stuff.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stn0092*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> In the first place, RAM is volatile. Unless you never shut down your PC and you never get any power interruptions, you'd need to flush the contents of the RAM disk to some form of permanent storage every so often. *The easiest way (unless you have oodles of RAM) is to create one RAM disk image per game and to just load whatever game image you want to play at the moment.*
> 
> 
> 
> Very interesting indeed...
> 
> How long does it usually take to save or load a 9-12GB RAMDisk, assuming I'm working with an SSD?
> 
> This is fun stuff.
Click to expand...

Depends on the speeds of the SSD and the compression of the data being transfered.

Say you have a SSD 500MB/s read 300MB/s write.

You have 15GB game/iso.It will take you 2 seconds per GB to load the game into the RAM = ~30 seconds for 15GB.It will take ~50 seconds for write.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Depends on the speeds of the SSD and the compression of the data being transfered.
> 
> Say you have a SSD 500MB/s read 300MB/s write.
> 
> You have 15GB game/iso.It will take you 2 seconds per GB to load the game into the RAM = ~30 seconds for 15GB.It will take ~50 seconds for write.


This pretty much. Copy/transfer speeds would depend on the drive you're loading from/offloading to. Assuming your Samsung 830's are in RAID-0 configuration, then loading a 15GB image would probably take 15 seconds @ 1GB/s sequential read.









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> You can use steam mover or symbolic links. I don't use ramdisks for games myself.


One consideration why I recommended the load image to RAM disk route instead of Steam Mover is because reading/writing one big image (basically sequential read/write) should be much quicker compared to reading/writing a game folder with thousands of small files. I don't really game much nowadays so I haven't actually tried this for games but that's the route I take for my portable apps folder.

P.S.
Using a RAM disk does introduce some overhead. I wouldn't recommend loading 10GB games to RAM disk if you only have 16GB of RAM. You don't want to have a situation like the following: 2GB RAM system, 2GB RAM available, 12GB RAM RAMDisk (game), and then have the game hitting the page file continuously because majority of your RAM is in use by the RAM disk and you only have 2GB RAM useable.


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

I've already used this command to set the firefox folder in my ramdisk:

Code:



Code:


mklink /j %appdata%\mozilla\firefox P:\

Is it ok it will be caching everything from the SSD or I need to tweak another options... I also set the cache folder in about:config like the FIRST POST said.

NOW... I would like to back it up not only when it shutdowns but IM USING *SOFTPERFECT ram disk* is there another way than using the .bat files and schedule the task? or I will need to use that one?


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Overclocker.Monster*
> 
> I've already used this command to set the firefox folder in my ramdisk:
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> mklink /j %appdata%\mozilla\firefox P:\
> 
> Is it ok it will be caching everything from the SSD or I need to tweak another options... I also set the cache folder in about:config like the FIRST POST said.
> NOW... I would like to back it up not only when it shutdowns but IM USING *SOFTPERFECT ram disk* is there another way than using the .bat files and schedule the task? or I will need to use that one?


Just set the cache of firefox to a RAMDISK, not the whole Firefox Profile Folder.


----------



## El_Capitan

In case anyone wants to see some 10GB RAMDisk benchmarks, and comparisons to two Crucial M4 512GB's in RAID 0 for Read speeds: http://computerhardwareupgrades.blogspot.com/2012/10/ramdisk-benchmarks.html

Another great guide Sean, gonna gleam what I can off of all the uses for RAMDisks. I tried using RAMDisk for Intel SRT, too bad Intel RST doesn't recognize the RAMDisk.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *El_Capitan*
> 
> In case anyone wants to see some 10GB RAMDisk benchmarks, and comparisons to two Crucial M4 512GB's in RAID 0 for Read speeds: http://computerhardwareupgrades.blogspot.com/2012/10/ramdisk-benchmarks.html
> 
> Another great guide Sean, gonna gleam what I can off of all the uses for RAMDisks. I tried using RAMDisk for Intel SRT, too bad Intel RST doesn't recognize the RAMDisk.


Don't be concerned about the higher CPU usage when running the benchmark. It's most likely just the benchmark software needing more CPU power to max out the RAM Disk. If you're interested in using part of the RAM as HDD (or even SSD) cache, you might want to check out FancyCache.


----------



## El_Capitan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Don't be concerned about the higher CPU usage when running the benchmark. It's most likely just the benchmark software needing more CPU power to max out the RAM Disk. If you're interested in using part of the RAM as HDD (or even SSD) cache, you might want to check out FancyCache.


Sweet, I'll check that out.

Also, if anyone is getting BSOD errors and if you have Acronis installed, remove the snapapi and install this one: http://kb.acronis.com/content/15097


----------



## dennyb

I presently have 4 gb RAM ...soon to be 12gb. I want to set up a RamDisk to take care of FireFox and my Windows Temporary Folder. Problem is I don't know how much of the 12gb to allocate to the task. What happens as data is added to it ? Does it get full ? Does it flush older unused files...write over them ? This would seem to be a determining factor in choosing how large to make the Disk.

So ,how about it some of you guys that have experience in this endeavor...can you give me some guidance?


----------



## ACHILEE5

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dennyb*
> 
> So ,how about it some of you guys that have experience in this endeavor...can you give me some guidance?


Hello mate









I can guide you to a free RAM Disk app, that lets you make RAM Disks as big as you like (amount of RAM fitted dependent of course)








http://www.softperfect.com/products/ramdisk/
And it comes with very good instructions! Which is handy, to say the least











edit
Just made a couple of drives


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ACHILEE5*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *dennyb*
> 
> So ,how about it some of you guys that have experience in this endeavor...can you give me some guidance?
> 
> 
> 
> Hello mate
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I can guide you to a free RAM Disk app, that lets you make RAM Disks as big as you like (amount of RAM fitted dependent of course)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.softperfect.com/products/ramdisk/
> And it comes with very good instructions! Which is handy, to say the least
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> edit
> Just made a couple of drives
Click to expand...

LOL, just a couple drives.









thanks. I looked at it before but I think they were charging for it or had a 4GB limit when I saw it/used it last. I'll add it now.


----------



## rui-no-onna

Here's some performance comparisons.








http://www.raymond.cc/blog/12-ram-disk-software-benchmarked-for-fastest-read-and-write-speed/


----------



## dennyb

Thanks for the links Achille5 and the reply Sean. I expect to get the new RAM early next week (snail mail) and will give it a go then. Of course ,if ...make that ...when I get stuck you guys will help me out ????

edit: What about my question concerning the disk filling up ? Does it drop older unused files off of it or do you need to manually clean it out ? Also, what size Disk is appropriate for FireFox cache and Temporary files. Should they be separate disks ?

edit again: Gary, I see your Disks are mostly 1 gb...so, that is sufficient for each application ?


----------



## ACHILEE5

With that App Denny, you won't need any help apart from a quick look through the "help file"








As for my drives! I only made them all, to make some noise. Because that App is well worth shouting about IMO








Quote:


> edit: What about my question concerning the disk filling up ? Does it drop older unused files off of it or do you need to manually clean it out ? Also, what size Disk is appropriate for FireFox cache and Temporary files. Should they be separate disks ?


We need Sean


----------



## rui-no-onna

Just curious, why are people going through the hassle of moving their Firefox cache to RAM disk when Firefox has a built in option to utilize RAM for cache?


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Just curious, why are people going through the hassle of moving their Firefox cache to RAM disk when Firefox has a built in option to utilize RAM for cache?


Interesting. Is that option enabled by default in firefox?


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Sometimes my drives get corrupted cuz the windows shutdown so fast that they dont finish copying the files for the image backup, I know that I saw this already in a post but I cant remmember where...


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Overclocker.Monster*
> 
> Sometimes my drives get corrupted cuz the windows shutdown so fast that they dont finish copying the files for the image backup, I know that I saw this already in a post but I cant remmember where...


Weird. Windows should not shutdown if there is a process, in this case the ramdisk, involved in the backgrouns. I guess you edited the registry to automatically close all programs and services when shutting down windows?


----------



## rui-no-onna

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Interesting. Is that option enabled by default in firefox?


Back when I started using the option, it wasn't. I used to run Firefox Portable from a USB thumb drive and it tended to kill thumb drives pretty quickly that's why I needed to learn tricks to minimize disk writes as much as possible. I've since switched to using an SSD in USB3 enclosure but my Firefox Portable install still uses RAM for caching.


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Overclocker.Monster*
> 
> Sometimes my drives get corrupted cuz the windows shutdown so fast that they dont finish copying the files for the image backup, I know that I saw this already in a post but I cant remmember where...


What program are you using for the ramdisk?


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> What program are you using for the ramdisk?


softperfect ram disk


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Overclocker.Monster*
> 
> softperfect ram disk


I use ImDisk.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rui-no-onna*
> 
> Back when I started using the option, it wasn't. I used to run Firefox Portable from a USB thumb drive and it tended to kill thumb drives pretty quickly that's why I needed to learn tricks to minimize disk writes as much as possible. I've since switched to using an SSD in USB3 enclosure but my Firefox Portable install still uses RAM for caching.


So that means the Firefox now enables this option by default? Which makes using ramdisks for ff cache useless?

Oh and is softperfect the fastest ramdisk software available?


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> So that means the Firefox now enables this option by default? Which makes using ramdisks for ff cache useless?
> Oh and is softperfect the fastest ramdisk software available?


That I know of, check this out: http://www.raymond.cc/blog/12-ram-disk-software-benchmarked-for-fastest-read-and-write-speed/

I benched the two on my computer. It's a 2500k overclocked to 4.4 and 4 GB memory 1600 6-8-6-24-1T.

Here's a 384mb ram disk with SoftPerfect:



Here's a 512mb ram disk with ImDisk.


----------



## K62-RIG

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> I use ImDisk.


Does it slow down your boot time by much.


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *K62-RIG*
> 
> Does it slow down your boot time by much.


About a second to load the saved image off my SSD.


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> I use ImDisk.


So after benching and seeing that softperfect runs like a lot faster on 4k did you started to use it?


----------



## K62-RIG

I once used Superspeed RAMDISK and OMG the boot time into windows was literally 15mins.


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Overclocker.Monster*
> 
> So after benching and seeing that softperfect runs like a lot faster on 4k did you started to use it?


I tried it, but I don't know how to get it to save on shutdown so I'm still using ImDisk.


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> I tried it, but I don't know how to get it to save on shutdown so I'm still using ImDisk.


When u add the image you will have the option to save it, u can also configure it to save it frequently not only with the shut downs...

But it would be nice for larg ram disks to have more time so it can finish saving the image before it gets corrupted while not being able to finish the transfer...


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Overclocker.Monster*
> 
> When u add the image you will have the option to save it, u can also configure it to save it frequently not only with the shut downs...
> But it would be nice for larg ram disks to have more time so it can finish saving the image before it gets corrupted while not being able to finish the transfer...


I'm at this screen, when you choose where to save the image it asks you to open a SoftPerfect Volume Image.


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Here it is how to create and setup a ram disk using SOFTPERFECT




While its mounting the ISO of the ram disk on the bottom right side of the menu there is an option that says "ADVANCE" there you can setup how many minutes do you want SOFTPERFECT to save your image

cheers


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> About a second to load the saved image off my SSD.


So it is safe to say that Softperfect is the fastest?

In the raymond tests, why was disc bond considered not the fastest when it was clearly the fastest among the benches?


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> So it is safe to say that Softperfect is the fastest?
> In the raymond tests, why was disc bond considered not the fastest when it was clearly the fastest among the benches?


I've only tried ImDisk and SoftPerfect, the later being faster, but they're both insanely fast compared to a SSD.


----------



## dennyb

Ok ,I have a ramdisk showing on "my computer".

It does not show up in disk management and it has been formatted....thru rt click.

It does not show up on ASSD benchmarking tool

I used the instructions in for caching the browser in Sean's Browser Cache instructions and have this screenshot to show what I have










So far FF doesn't seem any faster ...so I'm guessin' I need some instruction


----------



## ACHILEE5

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dennyb*
> 
> Ok ,I have a ramdisk showing on "my computer".
> 
> It does not show up in disk management and it has been formatted....thru rt click.





Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


----------



## dennyb

Thanks Gary. Does it look like I have it set up correctly? I mean do the files in my "R drive" look like they are supposed to ? How do I go about benching as it "R" doesn't show up in ASSD.

edit: I have 12 gb RAM installed now. Should the 1.25gb being used for RamDisk be subtracted from that figure/ Mine still shows 12 gb as per Computer...manage

edit again: Can't get the folder in ramdisk to stay unchecked on read

edit once more: I now have only 10+ gb left on my C Drive ,should have 25 gb...Time to start over?


----------



## ACHILEE5

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dennyb*
> 
> Thanks Gary. Does it look like I have it set up correctly? I mean do the files in my "R drive" look like they are supposed to ? How do I go about benching as it "R" doesn't show up in ASSD.
> 
> edit: I have 12 gb RAM installed now. Should the 1.25gb being used for RamDisk be subtracted from that figure/ Mine still shows 12 gb as per Computer...manage
> 
> edit again: Can't get the folder in ramdisk to stay unchecked on read
> 
> *edit once more: I now have only 10+ gb left on my C Drive ,should have 25 gb...Time to start over*?


No ! When you added the 8GB of RAM, Windows upped your page file by another 8GB









I'd go and change it to 4096MB

Also, it might have upped you hibernation space too!
And if you don't use hibernation, turn it off in command prompt









Click start, search for command, click command prompt, input,
*powercfg /hibernate off* and hit enter


----------



## nizda

Hey Sean, I ran across this at work and thought you should know about it as it effects current and previous versions of dataram ram disk(junk). I'm going to paste the relevant part of the email as its important for anyone that may be using it.

recently released RamDisk 4.0.0 from Dataram Inc.,
>
> (formerly known as Cenatek RamDisk) comes with several vulnerable and
> some superfluous as well as outdated/deprecated/superseded 3rd party
> OCXs and DLLs from Microsoft.
>
> 1. TABCTL32.OCX version 6.1.97.82 from 2004-03-09
> COMDLG32.OCX version 6.1.97.82 from 2004-07-14
> MSCOMCT2.OCX version 6.1.97.82 from 2004-03-08
> MSCOMCTL.OCX version 6.1.98.18 from 2009-12-19
>
> are all vulnerable, deprecated and have been superseded several
> times since their release.
> Cf. ,
> and
> ,
> ,
> and
> ,
> and
>
>
>
> Additionally these files are installed in the applications directory,
> not the Windows "System" directory.
>
> This prevents Windows Update from detecting and updating vulnerable
> and deprecated/superseded libraries (and fixing YOUR errors) now, and
> in the future too.
> Cf.
>
>
> To make things even worse, these application-local installed OCX are
> registered system-global, overwriting the existing registration of
> the current versions of these OCX installed elsewhere, and thus
> propagate their vulnerabilities and errors to any other application
> using these OCX.
>
>
> 2. COMCAT.DLL version 4.71.1460.1 from 1999-06-01
> OLEAUT32.DLL version 2.40.4275.1 from 1999-03-08
> OLEAUT32.DLL version 2.40.4275.1 from 2000-04-12
> OLEPRO32.DLL version 5.0.4275.1 from 1999-03-08
> STDOLE2.TLB version 2.40.4275.1 from 1999-06-03
>
> are all superfluous, outdated/deprecated/superseded and vulnerable too.
>
> Cf. and
>
>
>
> Additionally these files are part of ALL supported Windows versions
> and MUST NOT be redistributed since Windows 2000!
>
> Cf.
>
> | If these DLLs are not available in the target system, you need to
> | get them updated through the PRESCRIBED mechanism for updating the
> ~~~~~~~~~~
> | corresponding operating system.
>
> or cf.
>
> | Remove the commonly redistributed system files from the setup
> | package
>
>
> 3. MSVBVM60.DLL version 6.0.97.82 from 2004-02-23
>
> is superfluous and outdated/deprecated/superseded.
>
> A newer version of this file is part of ALL supported Windows
> versions!
> Cf.
>
>
>
>
> Timeline:
> ~~~~~~~~~
>
>
> 2010-06-28 vendor informed (for v3.5.20 of their "product")
>
> no reaction from vendor
>
> 2012-10-06 vendor informed (for v4.0.0 of their "product")
>
> no reaction from vendor
>
> 2012-11-06 report published
>
>
> Recommendation:
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Stay away from products of vendors/companies who dont follow even the
> most basic principles of software engineering!
>
>
> Stefan Kanthak
>
> _______________________________________________
> Full-Disclosure - We believe in it.


----------



## dennyb

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ACHILEE5*
> 
> No ! When you added the 8GB of RAM, Windows upped your page file by another 8GB
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'd go and change it to 4096MB
> Also, it might have upped you hibernation space too!
> And if you don't use hibernation, turn it off in command prompt
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click start, search for command, click command prompt, input,
> *powercfg /hibernate off* and hit enter


Thanks Gary







I'm back in business now.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> I've only tried ImDisk and SoftPerfect, the later being faster, but they're both insanely fast compared to a SSD.


Well yeah. I'm currently using Primo RAMDisk which is faster than an SSD, yes, but I'm looking fot even faster software for this application.

I will appreciate it much if you can confirm if softperfect is the best one around?


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Well yeah. I'm currently using Primo RAMDisk which is faster than an SSD, yes, but I'm looking fot even faster software for this application.
> I will appreciate it much if you can confirm if softperfect is the best one around?


I found this online: http://www.raymond.cc/blog/12-ram-disk-software-benchmarked-for-fastest-read-and-write-speed/

If you want you can test them for yourself too with CrystalDiskMark.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> I've only tried ImDisk and SoftPerfect, the later being faster, but they're both insanely fast compared to a SSD.
> 
> 
> 
> Well yeah. I'm currently using Primo RAMDisk which is faster than an SSD, yes, but I'm looking fot even faster software for this application.
> 
> I will appreciate it much if you can confirm if softperfect is the best one around?
Click to expand...

You are not going to notice any performance difference btw any RAM disk software in use.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> I found this online: http://www.raymond.cc/blog/12-ram-disk-software-benchmarked-for-fastest-read-and-write-speed/
> 
> If you want you can test them for yourself too with CrystalDiskMark.


This was already posted earlier in this thread but still, thanks!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> You are not going to notice any performance difference btw any RAM disk software in use.


Regardless of any performance difference, I still am looking for the fastest.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> I found this online: http://www.raymond.cc/blog/12-ram-disk-software-benchmarked-for-fastest-read-and-write-speed/
> 
> If you want you can test them for yourself too with CrystalDiskMark.
> 
> 
> 
> This was already posted earlier in this thread but still, thanks!
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> You are not going to notice any performance difference btw any RAM disk software in use.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Regardless of any performance difference, I still am looking for the fastest.
Click to expand...

Why bother? Why not just use one that works well for you that you like the layout and control of?


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Why bother? Why not just use one that works well for you that you like the layout and control of?


No conrete reason. It's just how I am as a perfectionist


----------



## Ironman517

I put Imdisk in a bat file to create (and backup) my ram disk, it works wonderful







. I was able to get 32GB of RAM off of newegg for $80, so im upgrading to that xD


----------



## Overclocker.Monster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ironman517*
> 
> I put Imdisk in a bat file to create (and backup) my ram disk, it works wonderful
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . I was able to get 32GB of RAM off of newegg for $80, so im upgrading to that xD


Ripjaws X x4 1866 $80 AWESOME! I want to have your luck


----------



## Mr.N00bLaR

I have my RAMdisk all setup but I'm having trouble with the Chrome caching instructions. I can not change the path to anywhere on my RAMDisk or my actual disk. My target path looks a little different then what I guess is assumed in the OP but the flag does not seem to be working.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr.N00bLaR*
> 
> I have my RAMdisk all setup but I'm having trouble with the Chrome caching instructions. I can not change the path to anywhere on my RAMDisk or my actual disk. My target path looks a little different then what I guess is assumed in the OP but the flag does not seem to be working.
> "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"


Right click on the Chrome shortcut on your desktop or wherever you launch chrome from and click Properties. Add this to the target path: *--disk-cache-dir="DirectoryWhereYouWantTheCacheToBeStored"*

It should look something like this:


----------



## Mr.N00bLaR

That is what I am doing. I could type anything seemingly for the path and it will not change. It always says invalid path. I tried just putting it somewhere else on C: and could not do that either.

This is what I tried:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe --disk-cache-dir="R:\Chrome"

Tried it with an extra " at the end to just in case the first one needed to be closed, I don't really know how these work.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr.N00bLaR*
> 
> I have my RAMdisk all setup but I'm having trouble with the Chrome caching instructions. I can not change the path to anywhere on my RAMDisk or my actual disk. My target path looks a little different then what I guess is assumed in the OP but the flag does not seem to be working.
> 
> "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"


Where the properties says target put:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --disk-cache-dir="_FOLDER LOCATION_"

Also the folder name and path should not have a space anywhere. And you need to uncheck read only in the cache folder you make.


----------



## Mr.N00bLaR

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Where the properties says target put:
> "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --disk-cache-dir="_FOLDER LOCATION_"
> Also the folder name and path should not have a space anywhere. And you need to uncheck read only in the cache folder you make.


I have the target path correct I think. I noticed I cannot set the folder to read only. When I try it lets me know this will be applied to the folder and subfolders. After that, I see that read only is not checked anymore. After hitting ok and checking immediately after, it is read only again.


----------



## Rodinaz

I installed RAMDisk but have a problems. Win7 64bit 8gb of ram. Using Sean's guide it says > 3. Set what you see in the screen shot below. Notice the drive is set to Unformatted. You will see why in a moment.
First there is no explanation of why? Why is that? Then by the tutorial > Create Temp directory but that is greyed out. The manual states this > >>>>>

Create TEMP directory: This option will create a TEMP directory in the RAM disk when
it is started. If you have selected an "Unformatted" disk on the "Settings" tab, this
option will not be available. This option is also not available if you have selected "Load
Disk Image at Startup". This option is useful if you want to locate your temporary files
directory on the RAMDisk disk.

The option will be greyed out by default if Unformatted is selected so what is the trick to do so?

Thanks


----------



## Crazy9000

Looks like you forgot to attach a screenshot.

The RAMDISK, once created, will act like any other drive. You will have to format it in order to create a folder.


----------



## Rodinaz

My problem was not being able to put check marks in the C Temp box & the one below. As it turns out I had to check them first then the others last. Never knew it took a special order.
I created a drive & formatted but it was empty. The guide is confusing to me because of the exact order.

6. Then you need to mount the drive and format it.
7. Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management
8. Here you should now be greeted with a prompt that you have a new drive.
9. Mount the drive and quick format it NTFS or FAT32, give the name RamDrive and assign letter R.

It says mount the drive in step 6 then again in step 9. It never mentions removing it somewhere in between so it lost me there.
I did format & name it & was shown in disk management but even after a reboot it was an empty drive.
I can't assume the exact order things are done if there are grey areas. The drive should have some data on it correct?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rodinaz*
> 
> My problem was not being able to put check marks in the C Temp box & the one below. As it turns out I had to check them first then the others last. Never knew it took a special order.
> I created a drive & formatted but it was empty. The guide is confusing to me because of the exact order.
> 
> 6. Then you need to mount the drive and format it.
> 7. Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management
> 8. Here you should now be greeted with a prompt that you have a new drive.
> 9. Mount the drive and quick format it NTFS or FAT32, give the name RamDrive and assign letter R.
> 
> It says mount the drive in step 6 then again in step 9. It never mentions removing it somewhere in between so it lost me there.
> I did format & name it & was shown in disk management but even after a reboot it was an empty drive.
> I can't assume the exact order things are done if there are grey areas. The drive should have some data on it correct?


You're confusing yourself...

Also, I didn't write that guide myself, it was just a copy paste, however I can't understand what is confusing you/how you are getting lost. Everything is straight forward.


----------



## Rodinaz

Its not really straight forward because of the order. Not blaming you but step 9 should read > Now quick format it to NTFS or FAT32, give the name RamDrive and assign letter R.
That confused me because you can't mount the drive since you were already greeted with a prompt in step 8. Get it? It was already in place --
Should this drive be empty? After a reboot it was still an empty drive. My browser is not configured yet because I'm not sure it is working.
Also it did not put the backup inside the RamDisk program folder. It was shown on the outside at the bottom of program files. I'll try again & take a screen shot if necessary.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rodinaz*
> 
> Its not really straight forward because of the order. Not blaming you but step 9 should read > Now quick format it to NTFS or FAT32, give the name RamDrive and assign letter R.
> That confused me because you can't mount the drive since you were already greeted with a prompt in step 8. Get it? It was already in place --
> Should this drive be empty? After a reboot it was still an empty drive. My browser is not configured yet because I'm not sure it is working.


Mount is the same thing as initialize because you need to have the drive initialized in order to assign it a drive letter.
Quote:


> Also it did not put the backup inside the RamDisk program folder. It was shown on the outside at the bottom of program files. I'll try again & take a screen shot if necessary.


?


----------



## Rodinaz

OK thanks but let me ask again> Should this drive be empty once initialized & after a reboot? It was formatted -initialized & rebooted. I do not know is why I'm asking.
I will take a screen shot on where the backup is placed if its a problem.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rodinaz*
> 
> OK thanks but let me ask again> Should this drive be empty once initialized & after a reboot? It was formatted -initialized & rebooted. I do not know is why I'm asking.
> I will take a screen shot on where the backup is placed if its a problem.


When you instialize it and format and assign a letter it will not have any data on it as you ddidnt put anything on it. If you do put data and reboot then it should have the data still there after the reboot if you set it to save the image at shutdown and load at start up.


----------



## Rodinaz

That is what I thought. I made the drive 2gb & put load on start & save on shutdown & rebooted. In my computer it shows no files. I took a screen shot where its placed. It is not in C>program files x86> ramdisk as shown in the screen shot. It shows the size but no files are there. Is that normal? The file will not open as shown. When I click on it it gives an option to burn to disk - confusing. I thought about moving it to the program but not sure.


----------



## Blameless

Nothing unusual there.

ImDisk's image files are the same size as the total capacity of the ramdrive, even if nothing is inside it. Also, .img is an extension shared by many programs, including some optical media creators/editors/mounters; this is why you are seeing what you see when you r-click the file.

Moving the file won't change anything about how it works.


----------



## Rodinaz

OK thanks, I'll assume its OK but may never get it to work without more help. The guide in step 6 for FF says --- 6. Type in R:\FF_Cache in the "string value" [if R: is the RamDisk and you created a folder called FF_Cache]. I never created a folder called -- FF_Cache. Why would the guide assume I did & if I did where does it go? I appreciate guides but when its assumed most know this is where guides fall short. I'm stuck & don't want to kill my browser or make a mistake.


----------



## Rodinaz

Never mind, I found the same guide on the internet without the missing parts.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rodinaz*
> 
> OK thanks, I'll assume its OK but may never get it to work without more help. The guide in step 6 for FF says --- 6. Type in R:\FF_Cache in the "string value" [if R: is the RamDisk and you created a folder called FF_Cache]. I never created a folder called -- FF_Cache. Why would the guide assume I did & if I did where does it go? I appreciate guides but when its assumed most know this is where guides fall short. I'm stuck & don't want to kill my browser or make a mistake.


I showed the example. It says
Quote:


> Type in R:\FF_Cache in the "string value" *[if R: is the RamDisk and you created a folder called FF_Cache].*


for a reason. Because I thought readers on this forum would have enough common sense to figure out that it was simply an example and they are to make their own folder.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> I showed the example. It says
> for a reason. Because I thought readers on this forum would have enough common sense to figure out that it was simply an example and they are to make their own folder.


Lol, yeah. That guy needs to be spoonfed.


----------



## Rodinaz

Well it went passed me but I found the complete guide less omissions. Anyway I'm still not sure it really works plus the folder is checked read only. I cleared the box & hit apply but went back later & its still checked. The unexpected keep happening.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rodinaz*
> 
> Well it went passed me but I found the complete guide less omissions. Anyway I'm still not sure it really works plus the folder is checked read only. I cleared the box & hit apply but went back later & its still checked. The unexpected keep happening.


weird lol.

the folder you have has no spaces in it right?


----------



## Rodinaz

It was labeled RAM DRIVE (F so I took out the space,rebooted but the box is still blue. Not checked but blue like it was before. I assume that means checked. Its labeled F & its the same in the Browser.
We can discuss later if necessary, I realize it xmas eve. lol


----------



## Rodinaz

Oh BTW it says > only apply's to files in folder.


----------



## Sean Webster

this is fun:


----------



## Rodinaz

?


----------



## Kramy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rodinaz*
> 
> ?


He is copying from a RAMdisk to another RAMdisk at 3GB/sec.

Just wait until all storage is that fast!







When that happens... we'll be drooling over 15GB/sec storage, probably.


----------



## Vitaminx

After putting the IE cache on the RamDrive as per the instructions in the first post here, I've had odd boot problems. Main thing is upon boot up the screen starts to flash countless times over a period of 2-3 seconds. Sure its something I could live with, but this is annoying since I just built this computer. I can't remember the default location for the browsing history in IE before it was changed. I was wondering if someone could inform me of that location, so I could change it back to that and see if that solves my problem. If that doesn't, how exactly would one delete a the RamDrive (R) from their system?


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*
> 
> After putting the IE cache on the RamDrive as per the instructions in the first post here, I've had odd boot problems. Main thing is upon boot up the screen starts to flash countless times over a period of 2-3 seconds. Sure its something I could live with, but this is annoying since I just built this computer. I can't remember the default location for the browsing history in IE before it was changed. I was wondering if someone could inform me of that location, so I could change it back to that and see if that solves my problem. If that doesn't, how exactly would one delete a the RamDrive (R) from their system?


There is a restore to default location in IE in the same settings box where you changed it.


----------



## Vitaminx

I'm not seeing it on here though:


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*
> 
> I'm not seeing it on here though:


Here you go:


----------



## Vitaminx

Hmm, well I put in that default location, but I'm still getting this odd flickering. How would I uninstall this RamDrive exactly? I tried Unmount ImDisk Virtual Disk, but that doesn't really let me do anything it seems.


----------



## Vitaminx

Is it normal for shutdowns to be quite a bit longer after you set up the RamDisk on your computer? My shut downs in the beginning were around 5 seconds. Now they last at least 6 times longer. I even changed the shut down time in the registry to 5000, but that did nothing.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*
> 
> Is it normal for shutdowns to be quite a bit longer after you set up the RamDisk on your computer? My shut downs in the beginning were around 5 seconds. Now they last at least 6 times longer. I even changed the shut down time in the registry to 5000, but that did nothing.


Yes, because you are saving the RAM disk to your drive. And boot up will be longer too when you have it to load on boot.


----------



## Vitaminx

So if I ever wanted to remove the RamDisk from my computer, all I would have to do is open the configuration utility and press stop ramdisk?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*
> 
> So if I ever wanted to remove the RamDisk from my computer, all I would have to do is open the configuration utility and press stop ramdisk?


I believe so depending on what software you are using.


----------



## Shadowness

Thanks for the Guide, Sean ! Worked perfectly.


----------



## alabrand

This may have been asked before so allow me to apologize beforehand. Which RAM Disk software is recommended for a first-time user who wants to speed up Firefox if even by a little bit?

P.S: Will clearing the browsers history or using CCleaner affect the RAM Disk?


----------



## kevindd992002

I greatly recommend SoftPerfect RAMDisk and it is also a freeware. It's the fastest among popular RAMDisks.


----------



## alabrand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> I greatly recommend SoftPerfect RAMDisk and it is also a freeware. It's the fastest among popular RAMDisks.


Thanks for the quick answer! I kind of have a hard time understanding the Firefox cache part. Do I actually need to download and install a RAM Disk utility or will I only have to go into about:config and edit some stuff?


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *alabrand*
> 
> Thanks for the quick answer! I kind of have a hard time understanding the Firefox cache part. Do I actually need to download and install a RAM Disk utility or will I only have to go into about:config and edit some stuff?


Both. You install the RAMDisk software first and make a RAMDisk out of it. A RAMDisk drive will appear on your My Computer. Then you modify Firefox in the about:config to change the cache location to the drive letter of your RAMDisk drive.


----------



## alabrand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Both. You install the RAMDisk software first and make a RAMDisk out of it. A RAMDisk drive will appear on your My Computer. Then you modify Firefox in the about:config to change the cache location to the drive letter of your RAMDisk drive.


Thank you once again!

Edit: It says in the Firefox Cache Tweak paragraph that clearing your private data will negatively affect your RAM Disk. Does this mean that I cannot use CCleaner? Also, how big of a RAM Disk should I start off with on a laptop that has 4GB of RAM.


----------



## MikeF1A75-V

:thumb:est


----------



## MikeF1A75-V

Re:SoftPerfect RAMDisk
Hello, you recommended this software I am new at RAMDisk and want to give it a try. How about set up? I will not be gaming a lot on this PC but want to speed it up and keep it clean, what can you suggest


----------



## MikeF1A75-V

DeskRam RAMDisk

Hello, you recommended this software I am new at RAMDisk and want to give it a try. How about set up? I will not be gaming a lot on this PC but want to speed it up and keep it clean, what can you suggest. Is your original "How to" still current ?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MikeF1A75-V*
> 
> Re:SoftPerfect RAMDisk
> Hello, you recommended this software I am new at RAMDisk and want to give it a try. How about set up? I will not be gaming a lot on this PC but want to speed it up and keep it clean, what can you suggest


with softperfect just click teh big green plus and configure your ramdisk.

example:


Quote:


> Is your original "How to" still current ?


ya


----------



## A Bad Day

I had a bad experience with DataRAM RAMDisk last year when it came to moving the Windows TEMP location to it. Often times the software would fail to boot when the computer is turned on because the TEMP folder is missing, and it can't boot up the folder because it was missing it.

The RAMDisk also slowed down my laptop's startup, shutdown, and hibernate.


----------



## Jolly Roger

GEEK PORN!


But why so slow??? (relatively slow of course)

DATAram
4092MB ram disk
8GB total DDR3 1866 corsair vengeance


----------



## SoloCamo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *A Bad Day*
> 
> I had a bad experience with DataRAM RAMDisk last year when it came to moving the Windows TEMP location to it. Often times the software would fail to boot when the computer is turned on because the TEMP folder is missing, and it can't boot up the folder because it was missing it.
> 
> *The RAMDisk also slowed down my laptop's startup, shutdown, and hibernate*.


Bolded part is to be expected.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jolly Roger*
> 
> GEEK PORN!
> 
> 
> But why so slow??? (relatively slow of course)
> 
> DATAram
> 4092MB ram disk
> 8GB total DDR3 1866 corsair vengeance


This is what I have with SoftPerfect RAMDisk:



It is significantly faster. Oh and by the way, that's just running in my laptop with a 1600MHz 2x4GB Kingston HyperX kit. Imagine what would be my speeds for my desktop


----------



## Jolly Roger

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> This is what I have with SoftPerfect RAMDisk:
> 
> 
> 
> It is significantly faster. Oh and by the way, that's just running in my laptop with a 1600MHz 2x4GB Kingston HyperX kit. Imagine what would be my speeds for my desktop


I will give soft perfect a whirl and report back.


----------



## Ecstacy




----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*


Which RAMDisk software is that?


----------



## Ecstacy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kevindd992002*
> 
> Which RAMDisk software is that?


SoftPerfect. I was using ImDisk, but I was only getting about 7000/8000 sequential.


----------



## kevindd992002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ecstacy*
> 
> SoftPerfect. I was using ImDisk, but I was only getting about 7000/8000 sequential.


Great. SoftPerfect seems to be the fastest of them all. I can't wait to try it my desktop to see how fast it goes with all my components overclocked


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## stuffstuffa

how much space do I need for a ramdisk of chrome's cache?


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## crashnburn_in

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stuffstuffa*
> 
> how much space do I need for a ramdisk of chrome's cache?


I was thinking the same for Chrome and maybe also for Waterfox.


----------



## Sean Webster

As much as you want.


----------



## Jolly Roger

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *stuffstuffa*
> 
> how much space do I need for a ramdisk of chrome's cache?


I'm utilizing under 200MB......


----------



## MrDucktape

Would a RAM disk help achieve better times when benchmarking superpi 32m for a competition with CPU under LN2 and stuff (I'm talking z77 to clarify)?


----------



## Vagrant Storm

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MrDucktape*
> 
> Would a RAM disk help achieve better times when benchmarking superpi 32m for a competition with CPU under LN2 and stuff (I'm talking z77 to clarify)?


Doesn't it write to memory and then at the end it dumps stuff to the .txt file? I don't think it could help. If it does write to storage this would probably give you a fraction of a millisecond advantage. It doesn't take long for even the slowest hard drive to write a couple KB of data.


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## sleekz

using ASRock XFast RAM
One of my RAM slots is dead I think so I have them in A1/B1 or whatever, so maybe I'm not getting dual-channel usage/speeds?


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## Rar4f

Is it viable to not get a SSD and instead use Ramdisk only for games?

I have planned to get a 256gb ssd (samsung 840 pro) + 16GB ram.

But if i decide to get 32 GB ram instead of getting a SSD.

would that not work well?


----------



## Sean Webster

get the SSD


----------



## Rar4f

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> get the SSD


Could you elaborate on why ?


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## Sean Webster

cause it is the better choice.

I've used RAM disks for game loading, while ti is nice for some games, it isn't worth it. Shoot a SSD isn't even worth it for games for me as my HDDs load my games similarly to a SSD anyways.


----------



## Rar4f

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> cause it is the better choice.
> 
> I've used RAM disks for game loading, while ti is nice for some games, it isn't worth it. Shoot a SSD isn't even worth it for games for me as my HDDs load my games similarly to a SSD anyways.


What and how many HDDs are you using? And how are you getting similar speed to a SSD through them?


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rar4f*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> cause it is the better choice.
> 
> I've used RAM disks for game loading, while ti is nice for some games, it isn't worth it. Shoot a SSD isn't even worth it for games for me as my HDDs load my games similarly to a SSD anyways.
> 
> 
> 
> What and how many HDDs are you using? And how are you getting similar speed to a SSD through them?
Click to expand...

i have 4 1TB WD10EZEXs in RAID 0. Nearly 800MB/s read/write. lol

I'm probably just gonna get a 1TB SSD soon to replace them and use it for my photo editing and move the WDs into my server and put them in RAID 5 for my desktop data storage. I don't game much on PC anyways. Just borderlands 2 when I feel like it which just needs seq speeds for level loading. Or minecraft.


----------



## Rar4f

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> i have 4 1TB WD10EZEXs in RAID 0. Nearly 800MB/s read/write. lol
> 
> I'm probably just gonna get a 1TB SSD soon to replace them and use it for my photo editing and move the WDs into my server and put them in RAID 5 for my desktop data storage. I don't game much on PC anyways. Just borderlands 2 when I feel like it which just needs seq speeds for level loading. Or minecraft.


Well i wont have that many HDD, actually i planned only one.

Anyway assuming Ramdisk approach is safe and the computer will be used mostly for gaming and oher entertainment,
couldn´t Ramdisk be better than SSD?

Im not a hoarderer. I dont use much storage lol.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Rar4f*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> i have 4 1TB WD10EZEXs in RAID 0. Nearly 800MB/s read/write. lol
> 
> I'm probably just gonna get a 1TB SSD soon to replace them and use it for my photo editing and move the WDs into my server and put them in RAID 5 for my desktop data storage. I don't game much on PC anyways. Just borderlands 2 when I feel like it which just needs seq speeds for level loading. Or minecraft.
> 
> 
> 
> Well i wont have that many HDD, actually i planned only one.
> 
> Anyway assuming Ramdisk approach is safe and the computer will be used mostly for gaming and oher entertainment,
> couldn´t Ramdisk be better than SSD?
> 
> Im not a hoarderer. I dont use much storage lol.
Click to expand...

do you have a ssd already?

you can fit most games on 10GB of ram ans see how you like it compared to another drive.


----------



## Rar4f

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> do you have a ssd already?
> 
> you can fit most games on 10GB of ram ans see how you like it compared to another drive.


I plan on building a rig with 256GB ssd samsung 840 pro, 1TB Barracuda 7200rpm and 16gb of ram.

And what do you mean , with fitting most games on 10GB of ram?


----------



## Mercyflush64

I started to use SoftPerfect and the instructions are very vivid on their website. In the settings for the windows temp fil do I change it R:\Temp from the two original strings?
So far I have my Browser cache setup by the guide and the temp file pointing to R:\Temp (I hope that is correct). What else can I point there because out of 4gb it's only using 200mb of the space.


----------



## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mercyflush64*
> 
> I started to use SoftPerfect and the instructions are very vivid on their website. In the settings for the windows temp fil do I change it R:\Temp from the two original strings?
> So far I have my Browser cache setup by the guide and the temp file pointing to R:\Temp (I hope that is correct). What else can I point there because out of 4gb it's only using 200mb of the space.


point whatever you like.

Windows temp can be changed here:


----------



## Mercyflush64

Thank you! So within the software you get the original path and point it where you want. My changes showed in your variables example.


----------



## dukeReinhardt

What do people think about it being possibly bad to put Windows TMP and Temp folders from C:\Windows\Temp and the C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp directories into a volatile RAM disk?

I've read of there existing some Windows installer MSIs failing to find the new temp directories, or failing to continue installs after a restart because they expect to continue installing using a file left in the temp folders. I've also read about this configuration conflicting with some Windows Update patches. Is there any merit to these claims?


----------



## Kramy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dukeReinhardt*
> 
> What do people think about it being possibly bad to put Windows TMP and Temp folders from C:\Windows\Temp and the C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp directories into a volatile RAM disk?
> 
> I've read of there existing some Windows installer MSIs failing to find the new temp directories, or failing to continue installs after a restart because they expect to continue installing using a file left in the temp folders. I've also read about this configuration conflicting with some Windows Update patches. Is there any merit to these claims?


That can definitely happen. I suspect there'd be many such unintended side effects. Another would be Internet Explorer (if anyone still uses that) failing to download large files. Many versions of IE save files to the Windows temp folder, then copy it to its final destination. With an 8GB RAMDisk, you couldn't download anything larger than 8GB, unless using an alternate web browser.

I'd expect a lot of software to go slightly funny if the temp folder was in a RAMDisk. RAM caching seems like the safest proposition for stuff like that. (FancyCache, etc.)


----------



## dukeReinhardt

That sounds undesirable. Thanks







.
I'm gonna stick with Chrome user folder in a persistent drive and cache in a volatile drive.


----------



## danielhowk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> point whatever you like.
> 
> Windows temp can be changed here:


just found out about ram cache from asus rog
is it still worth doing now ? im planning on buying a 850 evo. is it still worth doing ram cache ? alot faster for browsing the internet?
thanks


----------



## carlhil2

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *danielhowk*
> 
> just found out about ram cache from asus rog
> is it still worth doing now ? im planning on buying a 850 evo. is it still worth doing ram cache ? alot faster for browsing the internet?
> thanks


----------



## danielhowk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *carlhil2*


is it very troublesome ? do i have to keep editing each time i on my pc ?


----------



## carlhil2

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *danielhowk*
> 
> is it very troublesome ? do i have to keep editing each time i on my pc ?


No, I use PrimoCache...


----------



## gigatiger

good morning, i have a question, i have 8gb ram memory 2 x 4 ddr3 1600 mhz and i am really cool with photoshop, i can open 200 jpeg files at once and 323 raw files at once and i am really pleased with this result _

if i apply this ram disk i will have better perfomrmance totaly in my computer? OR will i have any problem? i mean if i use 2 gb ram for converting it as a disk i can install photoshop there or any other application OR i just convert the ram memory and i simply have better speed ?

can you help me with this because i havent totaly understand it, thank you









PS: when i open 200 jpeg files the remaining space from my ssd 120 gb becomes from 15 gb to 1gb BUT when i close photoshop after editing all the photos the 1gb is 15gb again, no problem with speed, or stability all cool

if i make this ramdisk i shall use 2-3 gb from the ram that i all ready have because i want to instal the cyberlink suite for video audio and photo editing

thank you in advance, i am waiting for your advice







_


----------



## danielhowk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *carlhil2*
> 
> No, I use PrimoCache...


do i need to edit each time i restart my pc ?


----------



## carlhil2

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *danielhowk*
> 
> do i need to edit each time i restart my pc ?



No...also, this is my NUC, stays on 24/7. it's used as a HTPC, I do daily backups with this setting... oh, and my streaming files/backups get some love also.. This is that 3TB external drive


----------



## danielhowk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *carlhil2*
> 
> 
> No...also, this is my NUC, stays on 24/7. it's used as a HTPC, I do daily backups with this setting... oh, and my streaming files/backups get some love also.. This is that 3TB external drive


how much total ram do you have ? and how much ram did u cache ?


----------



## carlhil2

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *danielhowk*
> 
> how much total ram do you have ? and how much ram did u cache ?


My NUC has 16 gigs, I use about 5 gigs for ram cache, but, with my 5960x build, I have 32 gigs, in which I use 4096mbs each for my Steam drive and my GTA5 drive. I don't cache my OS drive because my intel 750 ssd is fast enough... 
this is the speed when copying some files between my drives..


----------



## EyeChoose

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *carlhil2*
> 
> My NUC has 16 gigs, I use about 5 gigs for ram cache, but, with my 5960x build, I have 32 gigs, in which I use 4096mbs each for my Steam drive and my GTA5 drive. I don't cache my OS drive because my intel 750 ssd is fast enough...
> this is the speed when copying some files between my drives..


hi im new here. is this the same as Rapid mode in Samsung magician software?
im using samsung 850evo


----------



## Sjqnqo3876

edit


----------



## GeneO

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *marccoc*
> 
> I've heard good of Primo, but can you tell me why have you decided to use a proprietary software over an open source one like imdisk ?
> I'm not favoriting any, just want to have some guideline in my own descision.
> thanks


imdisk is not a RAM cache like Primo cache - it is a ramdisk. Primo caches disk blocks at the driver level.

I use primo and it is pretty good. I cache 14GB of my C drive and 2 GB of my cache drive (photoshop, browsers, etc) - both are partitions on an 850 Pro SSD. It will persist the cache across boots.


----------



## Sjqnqo3876

edit


----------



## GeneO

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *marccoc*
> 
> I've just read on the difference between the two Primo app (cache vs ramdisk) . They seems to recommend using one *or* the other, not the two simultanously. I'm not sure yet to fully endorse my understanding for this point.
> - Are you yourself using both ?
> - If so, Would you think PrimoCache to work fine along with Imdisk instead of PrimoRamdisk ? (out of curiosity)
> - Have you tested both PrimoRamDisk and ImDisk ? Your verdict ?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Not English-Native... please focus on the content of my posts, not how dumb that language barrier makes me sounds like..


I used a variant (for ROG) of Primo ramdisk) and other ramdisks. I preferred the PromoCache. I have 32 GB of memory so the cache is more appealing. I have not used a disk and ram cache together.


----------



## Sjqnqo3876

edit


----------



## GeneO

I don't know what you mean by a "bridge". There should be no penalty for primo, in fact I think it has less overhead. You read blocks off of disk into cache memory and deliver it to the calling program fromthere. It is done in line in the drivers. Thereafter the block is accessed directly from memory. You do similar with a ram disk.

The difference between the two isn't really performance, but how you will use it. If you have specific files you want fast access to and don't have a lot of extra ram, then a disk cache may be the better choice. If you have ample memory and want to increase overall system performance, primo might be a better choice.


----------



## Sjqnqo3876

edit


----------



## GeneO

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *marccoc*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> There should be no penalty for primo, in fact I think it has less overhead. *You read blocks off of disk* into cache memory and deliver it to the calling program fromthere. It is done in line in the drivers. Thereafter the block is accessed directly from memory. You do similar with a ram disk.
> 
> 
> In bold is the "bridge" thing I was reffering to.. maybe not the right terms... basically, that step is not made on the ram drives (from what I understand) ... which is why it should technically be faster.. (you skip the initial SSD-to-RAM Read operation..)
> 
> Please correct me if im wrong.


Yes, it is read from disk to memory the first time you read an existing file from a ramdisk (moves the file data from disk to ram). or when the file gets loaded from disk into the ramdisk (restore). If you are writing a new file to ramdisk it goes directly to memory so the first read access is from memory. If you write a new file into primo cache it goes to the cache memory first, then gets copied to disk (eventually), and the first read is from the cache memory. Basically the same performance wise.


----------



## diggiddi

Anyone tried MaxVeloSSD by elitebytes? 450,000iops as per linked vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOnilXARfjQ


----------



## KedarWolf

The ROG Ram Disk you can get for free from the Rampage V Extreme support drivers download page under Utilities is a great option.

You can make any size and the ram disk stays when you reboot so you don't lose programs installed on it when you shutdown or reboot.


----------

