How to use a virtual disk in RAM. Optimizing Windows by using a RAM disk
If you often switch between a large number of applications and files, then a few seconds of difference at startup is far from trivial. You probably know that the easiest way to get such a boost is to buy an SSD. But what if you don't have the opportunity to use it? Or maybe you already have an SSD and want to save another second or two while reducing wear on the drive? In this case, you should experiment with a RAM disk - launching applications directly from the image in RAM.
While writing this article, it was difficult for me to shake off the feeling of déjà vu. I remember about seventeen years ago I created disks in memory to speed up the work of the old “Searchs”, which worked without hard drives. Loading took place from a floppy disk; when loading into memory, a RAM disk (an image with DOS software) was used. After loading the image into memory, all DOS utilities were loaded from this RAM disk, and not from a floppy disk, thanks to which the old “Search” worked much faster and the floppy disks themselves wore out less.
It turned out that the RAM disk is still relevant today. With its help (if you have a sufficiently large amount of RAM), you can speed up your computer (a memory disk works faster than an SSD) or Live USB (the idea is the same as with “Search”), and extend the life of your hard drive/SSD.
Why is this necessary?
Goals can be absolutely anything. You can either install applications on the RAM disk or use it to store data. Those who like to play can install their favorite toy on the RAM disk, but then the system must have more than 8 GB of RAM.
The most logical scenario for a RAM disk is computers with regular hard drives - especially on entry-level laptops, where hard drives do not shine with performance. True, it will not be possible to completely replace an SSD in this way, if only because of the price. Let's say a 60GB SSD can be purchased for about $60. Organizing a RAM disk of such capacity will be problematic. Firstly, not all computers support 64 GB of RAM. Secondly, finding a module with a capacity of 32 GB is still a problem. At the time of writing, offers on Yandex.Market were mainly for memory with a frequency of 1333–1600 MHz with a price starting from 22 thousand rubles per module.
To summarize, the best option for using a RAM disk is a laptop with a regular hard drive and 8 GB of RAM. Of the 8 GB, 4 GB can be allocated for a RAM disk. The remaining 4 GB is enough for quite comfortable work. And on the RAM disk you can install either one “heavy” application or a set of frequently used applications.
What do we need
Firstly, at least 6 GB of RAM, the more the better. Secondly, we will need a 64-bit version of Windows to support large (more than 3.25 GB) amounts of RAM. Thirdly, you need a program to create a RAM disk and work with it. In this article we will look at the Lite version of Dataram RAMDisk. This version is free, but the maximum supported disk space is only 4 GB. The paid version costs $18.99 and supports drives larger than 4GB.
Setting up a RAM disk
There is nothing complicated about setting up a RAM disk. First of all, download and install the Dataram RAMDisk program. There are no problems with the installation, the program works in both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows (I personally tested it in 32/64-bit Windows 7 and 64-bit Windows 8), however, as already noted, The 64-bit version is recommended - this way you can support larger RAM disks.
After installation, you need to run the configuration utility (Fig. 1) - either through the main menu or directly from the installer. I had a little confusion with the configuration program. At first I didn’t pay attention to the action being performed - by default, the program does not try to create a RAM disk, but to use an existing one (even when starting it for the first time), so when I pressed the Start RAMDisk button, naturally, nothing happened, and I also could not select the RAM size -disk.
Therefore, the first thing you need to do is select the Create a new FAT disk action, after which you will have the opportunity to set the size of the RAM disk and additional parameters. You also need to select the Save them on shutdown action so that the data written to the RAM disk is saved when the system or disk is shut down. You can select the disk location by clicking the Browse button: do not try to enter it manually, otherwise, every time you press the key, the program will tell you that such a file does not exist and it will be created :).
The minimum size of a RAM disk is 40 MB (who needs that - I don’t know). The maximum is calculated approximately like this: the maximum amount of RAM is approximately 30%.
Theoretically, you can click the Start RAMDisk button and start working. But we’re not looking for easy ways, right? Therefore, select the menu command View, Advanced to set additional parameters. After this, tabs with advanced parameters will appear. So, on the Settings tab, you can set the size of the RAM disk, determine the type of file system (you can even create an unformatted disk, and then format it as NTFS using Windows), select the boot sector format, set the disk label and create the TEMP directory.
On the Load/Save tab, you can enable automatic loading of the disk image at startup, as well as enable/disable saving the image upon shutdown. The Options tab allows you to set various options such as Clear RAMDisk memory on exit - an option for the paranoid, prohibiting compression of the image file on NTFS (Do not compress image file on NTFS filesystems) and others. As for me, the only useful option here is to prohibit disk compression (Do not compress image file on NTFS filesystems), since if compression is already enabled on an NTFS disk, I see no reason to compress the disk image again, however, I also don’t see It makes sense to use compression on NTFS. Why first forcefully reduce performance using compressed disks, and then heroically try to improve it using a RAM disk?
Now you can press that treasured Start RAMDisk button. When you start the RAM disk for the first time, you will need to install its driver, so in the window that appears, click the “Install” button.
Next, you need to wait until the RAM disk is created and formatted. On my not very fast laptop, this operation took a couple of seconds, which felt like system slowdown while creating the image file. After this, you can work with the RAM disk as with a regular disk.
If automatic loading of the disk at startup is not selected in the program settings, then next time (after rebooting the system) you will need to select the Load a saved image action.
Results
Fans of numbers and diagrams can run a disk performance test and compare the results with a regular hard drive and an SSD. In this article, I will not specifically present such results, since in theory (in these diagrams) everything will be very colorful - reading performance will increase by 50 times, and when writing, a 20-fold acceleration will be felt.
But what will we get in practice? In practice, everything will not be so beautiful, but the results will still be there. So, loading the same Word 2010 from a regular hard drive on an average computer takes about three seconds. Loading Word 2010 from a RAM disk, the image of which is located on a regular hard drive, will happen twice as fast - in about 1.5 seconds. However, loading the same application from an SSD without any RAM disks takes less than a second. Launching an application from a RAM disk whose image is located on an SSD disk will take less than half a second.
Optimizing Windows as a method of improving computer performance is usually inferior to hardware upgrades. A rare exception to this rule may be the use of a RAM disk - a virtual disk created by special software using RAM resources - and the transfer of certain system and program operations to this disk. Why are there rare exceptions? This method of improving computer performance has quite a lot of conventions and nuances. We'll talk about them in more detail below, but first a few words about the performance of the RAM disk.
1. RAM disk performance
One of the reasons for a slow computer is the limited reading and writing speed of HDD hard drives. Even the most productive hard drive, which impressed with test results for sequential reading and writing data, is unlikely to surprise with serious numbers when working selectively with small files. Namely, small files for the most part make up the system cache, the cache of browsers and other programs. A new format of drives – SSDs – is designed to solve the problem of low HDD performance. But not every user can handle their cost yet. SSD is today the only possible compromise between low-performance HDDs and ultra-fast RAM, but unable to permanently store data. A RAM disk created using the RAM resource can provide a speed of 400-600 MB/s, which only SSDs from good manufacturers are capable of under conditions of sequential reading and writing of data, when selectively working with small files. And the speed of sequential data reading and writing of a RAM disk is determined by thousands of MB/s.
Let's compare these results with the HDD.
As you can see, the read and write speed of the HDD is many times slower. The speed of sequential reading and writing of HDD data will be 150-170 MB/s at best. And based on the results of measuring the speed of selective reading and writing of small files, alas, we get a catastrophic figure - 0.5-1 MB/s.
2. Conventions and nuances of optimizing Windows using a RAM disk
The inability of RAM to store information is a nuance that limits the use of a RAM disk only for storing temporary data. Fortunately, this problem is solved through the functionality of separate programs for implementing RAM disks. Such programs provide periodic recording of RAM disk data to a file on the hard disk. But with other nuances it’s not so simple.
A RAM disk can only be created if there is excess RAM. If, when performing normal operations, the RAM load is 70-80%, there can be no talk of any extra space. The remaining 20-30% of RAM can be used for some one-time operations. You can work with a RAM disk with at least 40% of RAM free - a resource that is regularly idle and does not participate in the operation of the system. It is advisable to consider the possibility of working with a RAM disk provided that the system has at least 8 GB of RAM. If this volume is not designed to operate special software - hypervisors, complex professional software for working with video or 3D graphics, resource-intensive games, etc., the system can be left with 6 GB of RAM for its tasks, and the rest can be used for RAM -disk. In any case, excess RAM will be determined by the specifics of the tasks performed on the computer.
If both the hard drive and the processor are the weak point in the system, optimization using the RAM disk will not be of much use. RAM does not solve the problem of a low-power processor.
A RAM disk is a virtual device implemented by third-party software. Accordingly, in order to avoid problems in the operation of Windows, such software must be supported by developers and adapt to updates of operating system versions for which support is declared. Before testing programs that implement RAM disks, creating a rollback point or Windows backup, as well as preparing emergency media for system recovery are mandatory precautions.
Free programs for implementing a RAM disk usually do not support the function of saving data to the hard drive. If the implementation of a RAM disk requires both an increase in RAM and the purchase of a licensed program, it is advisable to compare these expenses with the cost of a 120 GB SSD.
Another important nuance is the red tape associated with creating a RAM disk and transferring data to it. In this regard, of course, the SSD will win - I bought the drive, connected it and forgot about the problems. Modern versions of Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 themselves know which operations they should disable when an SSD appears on board the computer. By the way, creating a RAM disk and transferring to it individual system and program folders in which data is being actively rewritten is considered by some not only as an optimizing operation, but also as a way to extend the life of the SSD. This method may be relevant in conditions of production-scale data rewriting or as a result of unsatisfactory results of assessing the remaining SSD resource. When using a computer at home, the SSD resource can last for many years. So, before diving into the red tape of setting up processes for the sake of extending the life of the SSD, it would not be superfluous to find out the approximate time remaining until the drive is exhausted. Such analysis can be carried out by special programs for testing the health of hard drives, in particular, Hard Disk Sentinel and SSD Life.
3. What data can be transferred to a RAM disk?
The easiest way to benefit from a RAM disk is to work with portable programs transferred to it. But based on the performance of the system as a whole and when working with installed programs, you will have to tinker with the settings.
Typically, RAM disks created without using the function of saving information to a file on the hard drive are used to store temporary data. By editing the values of Windows environment variables, the RAM disk can be specified as the new location for the “Temp” system folders. A RAM disk can be a storage place for the cache of browsers and other programs that provide for its placement not only on the system drive C, but also in another location on the computer. To a RAM disk, implemented using programs that support the function of saving data to a file on the hard drive, for greater performance when surfing the web, you can transfer not only the browser cache, but also its entire profile. This is done using symbolic links. Using the same principle, working data of other programs is transferred to the RAM disk. And especially sophisticated gamers purchase an extra 8 GB of RAM specifically for the RAM disk to fully install the game.
It is not recommended to transfer user profile folders, databases, project files of specialized programs and other important information to a RAM disk, even if implemented through programs with the function of saving data to a file on the hard disk.
4. Programs for implementing a RAM disk
A RAM disk can be created using programs such as: SoftPerfect RAM Disk, Radeon RAMDisk, Gilisoft RAMDisk, Primo Ramdisk, etc.
SoftPerfect RAM Disk is one of the easiest tools to install, configure and use.
After installing the application, you just need to select the “Add boot-mounted disk” option to specify the letter, size and format of the partition on your hard drive or SSD to which data from the RAM disk will be written.
Its size can vary depending on the amount of RAM available, as well as what percentage of it you are willing to allocate for use as an in-memory disk.
Most modern PCs have at least 4 GB of RAM, which makes them ideal for using SoftPerfect RAM Disk - in such a system you can safely allocate 20-25 percent of the available RAM.
SoftPerfect RAM Disk takes care of the rest, including the ability to create more than one virtual disk. After assigning a letter, the drive will appear in the Windows Explorer menu and you can use it like any other device in the system.
But how to benefit from such a disk? First of all, it can significantly speed up the loading of any program that uses temporary (cache) buffers - for example, Adobe Photoshop.
The same applies to any web browser - if you configure it so that it uses the RAM disk as a buffer cache, it will not only work faster, but will also not clog up your hard drive with unnecessary temporary files.
RAM disks are also useful if you want to extend the life of an SSD device. It is a known fact that after a certain number of rewrite cycles, solid-state drives “wear out” and stop working. So if you deal with applications that love to constantly access the disk device, redirect them to the created RAM disk - this will extend the life of the system SSD.
On Alex Axler's website, an interesting battle. One of the commentators wrote that he created a RAM Disk in the memory of a Windows computer and transferred “environment variables, the page file and the browser cache” to it. When another asked him why there was a swap file in the RAM disk, which is used (usually) in cases where Windows and applications do not have enough RAM, the third commentator pointed out that some programs require its unconditional presence, and noted that A RAM disk speeds things up a lot. Then the hacking started and the topic became tough. It will be interesting to remember one more thing: some commentators noted a logical point - a RAM disk allows you to save the infinite resource of an SSD. There is a certain reason for this.
But what about the page file? And this is interesting. Exists Windows swap file, and transferring it to a RAM disk is somewhat illogical, here the critics are right. In order not to explain for a long time, I’ll say it in a charade: “winrar.rar”. Think about it and you will understand why the idea of such a design is absurd. But, there is not only the Windows swap file, but also swaps of individual applications, and here... the absurd idea of transferring the swap file to a RAM disk begins to become more logical and logical. In general, it is not entirely correct to call these resources swap files - rather, they are some kind of temporary files. The peculiarity of Photoshop and LR, for example, is that they are created in any case - whether you like it or not. And the commentator on the Exler forum was right, he just called it incorrectly, which is why he received harsh, ironic criticism.
I’ll move a little away from the topic of swapping and tell you what a RAM disk is. I actively tinkered with them back in DOS times, and then it was possible to get good acceleration for some programs using ramdrive.sys. Then the topic somehow faded into the background; there was no time for ramdisks. But the concept has not changed today - RAM is orders of magnitude faster than disk memory. Even the fastest SSDs (such as OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2, with their read speeds of up to 1500 megabytes per second) cannot compete with the RAM disk located in the main RAM of the computer. What can we say about HDD - a modern 3-terabyte hard drive, for example, transfers data at speeds of up to 158 megabytes per second at the edge of the platter, and only up to 80 MB in its center (be curious - in our review of 3-terabyte HDDs there are specific numbers ). For comparison, when testing the RAM disk with Crystal Disk Mark, I got the following numbers:
Writing 8 gigabytes (!) per second, reading - five. And this is also measured at DDR3 with a frequency of 1333 MHz, and if you return the settings to the standard 1600, I’m sure the numbers will be even higher. Obviously, the speed of the RAM disk is enormous, and the timings are minimal compared to anything else. Minuses? Very serious. If the computer freezes or turns off unexpectedly, everything written on the RAM disk will not be saved. After restarting Windows, the drive will be clean. You cannot store any work on it - it is unsafe. Actually, that’s why a RAM disk is needed only for storing temporary files and something that you don’t mind erasing, but which will speed up significantly when transferred to a fast drive. Such as temporary files, folders with operational cache, etc. Well, you can put the “swap file” there ;-) (see the beginning)
So, I didn’t think much about it, but for some reason a lot of unrelated acquaintances started talking about RAM disks. Today we sat with podakuni , for example, at the Photoproject school in the evening, they tested a funny new Iomega hard drive (a model especially for Mac) on his MacBook, and he also said that he uses a RAM disk, and on a Mac, and that he transferred temporary Photoshop and Lightroom files there. According to him, this greatly speeds up programs. Well, I couldn’t stand it anymore - I came home, found the software and downloaded it. And at the same time I checked something. So far only preliminary, because a more detailed study will take time. The first impression is that yes, a RAM disk in Windows is needed if you work with Photoshop and LR. Moreover, both speed up noticeably on a computer that one wouldn’t dare call weak. Someone manages to get acceleration for other programs, but I’ll ignore this topic for now. And now the nuances.
By default, Lightroom keeps a gigabyte cache of pre-rendered files (its capacity can be varied), and Photoshop creates a TMP file on the specified drive. And turn off disk usage in such a role indeed it is forbidden. But they can actually be transferred to a RAM disk.
The screenshot shows a good example - after opening 14 pictures in Photoshop (and closing them), a 2 GB temporary file was created. Let me emphasize once again - the Windows swap file is on my computer completely turned off and the system has 32 (thirty-two) gigabytes of RAM. As you can see, this does not prevent Photoshop from creating temporary files, and if you have a laptop, for example, with a slow HDD that writes at a speed of only 100 megabytes per second, then it needs 20 seconds to create such a file. And he will waste time, no matter how much RAM you feed him. And even a fast SSD will need to spend some resources on this file. As practice has shown, access to this file occurs quite actively during Photoshop operation, both when using plug-ins, and during operations with files, and during serial processing. With Lightroom, the situation is somewhat similar - when you view photos, its built-in Camera RAW engine creates a preview, which it puts in a special folder. You can see where this folder is located in the settings. The files there are small - 500 kilobytes each, but in the process of processing the wedding photography there will be a gigabyte of them, and LR will access them. Thus, there really is a lot of meaning in transference. And considering that these files are “temporary”, there is no need to regret that they will be erased if the computer suddenly freezes or turns off.
Which RAM disk to choose? As an experiment, I installed Qsoft RAMDisk Enterprise under Windows 7 x64 Ultimate. Russian version of this driver free, and some reviews indicate that this is the best (and most productive) ramdisk for Windows. I can’t refute or confirm, I’ll just say that it started up under my OS, it works and doesn’t ask for money, and that’s already good. I note that the functions include such a thing as resetting and loading the contents of the RAM disk at startup and exit. It is understood that before turning off the PC, the contents are “hibernated” to the main media, and when Windows starts, they are loaded from there into the RAM disk. This allows you to keep the content of such a disk up-to-date and at least somehow combat the volatility of this type of “drive”.
I decided that I would experiment. Does anyone already have experience? It would be great to hear what you think.
RAM drive, RAM disk (disk in memory), electronic disk - computer technology that allows you to store data in high-speed RAM as on a block device (disk). Can be implemented both in software and in hardware.
The idea of using semiconductor memory as the main storage medium in a PC did not arise today. Its implementation is possible both as a separate device and as a virtual disk in RAM.
The effectiveness of this approach can be debated; there are different opinions: some talk about an increase in productivity by orders of magnitude, others deny the feasibility of RAM Disk in principle.
Having read some information on the Internet and tried using memory as a disk on my computer, conducting appropriate tests, my experiments and those of other users showed that with a sufficient amount of RAM, using a RAM Disk almost always has a positive effect.
The number of accesses to the hard drive decreases (the HDD resource increases), the execution speed of some applications increases, although not hundreds of times, as some promise.
For example, we need to work with photographs or a video file, we write it (them) to a disk in memory and work with these files at the speed and speed of the memory we have. True, there is a nuance: the memory must be commensurate with the files and the cache for processing them. And if the power suddenly goes out, all your work can be lost. So we use UPS or a laptop :)
Many browsers store a lot of all sorts of junk in databases that hardly use the computer’s memory, as a result, after a month of use, even typing an address becomes torture - the hard drive creaks, letters are typed in a second. All these problems are removed.
Main advantages:
# Extremely high access speed (up to several gigabytes per second);
# No delays during random access;
# Implementation without the use of additional hardware components;
Main disadvantages:
# Consumption of an extremely valuable resource (RAM);
# Small capacities (if there are 500-1000 GB hard drives on the market, RAM modules are calculated in units of gigabytes);
# Loss of content on shutdown (can be partially overcome by saving content to disk when shutting down, but the risk of losing information due to an unexpected power outage still exists);
Attention! I warn you - this article is for advanced users, there are many pitfalls! So everything you do, you do only at your own peril and risk.
So, the idea is simple. Make a RAMDisk (virtual “disk” in the computer’s memory) and force programs to store their work there.
1. Download one of the programs for creating a virtual disk in RAM - RAMDisk “\Enterprise\”. Among all similar products, RAMDisk “\Enterprise\” stands out, if only because the Russian version of RAMDisk “\Enterprise\” is distributed free of charge, and also has sufficient functionality and stability.
RAM Disk: http://ramdisk.nm.ru/ramdiskent -rus.htm
The software consists of a RAMDisk driver (RAMDriv.sys), an installer support library and property page (RAMDriv.dll) and an installation file (RAMDriv.inf), which together, through the “Hardware Setup” wizard, allow you to install RAMDisk on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Server 2003 and Vista.
For Windows 7 - go to Toolbar, System and Security, Device Manager. In the Action menu, select install old device. And manually point to the driver file.
In other systems, I think you will figure out how to install it yourself.
The settings are set through the RAMDisk properties in “\Device Properties\” through “\Device Manager\” Windows. New values can be activated without rebooting.
Click configure operations with image file and create an image file.
To ensure that our data is not lost, check the “Save image when unloading driver” checkbox. Booting and shutting down the system will take a little longer, but for us the main thing is fast work.
If you work with photo or video data and don’t want to accidentally lose it, you can periodically dump the disk image onto a hard drive by selecting the appropriate option “Save the contents of RAMDISK in an image... etc.”
In principle, that's all. Check the box “Restart RAMDISK after clicking OK”, click “OK” and enjoy.
A virtual disk can also be used for its intended purpose (like a regular storage device - HDD), placing on it not only temporary and swap files, but also programs, user profiles, etc. There are publications with recommendations for using RAMDisk for storing temporary 1C files , one of Photoshop's "scratch disks", etc. Moreover, it is argued that productivity actually increases, although not significantly.
An interesting solution may be to use RAMDisk to improve system security, since data in RAM is destroyed when turned off. Naturally, in this case, the function of saving/recovering virtual disk images should be disabled.
Now a little about setting up Windows
It should be mentioned that the use of RAMDisk, depending on the tasks, may differ significantly, i.e. at the discretion of the user.
Eg:
To change system operating parameters using standard procedures:
Let's set the size and transfer the swap file to RAMDisk.
We will perform a similar procedure regarding the placement of “Temporary Internet files”
Speeding up Firefox.
Open the "Start" menu and click "Run...".
In the window that appears, type %appdata%\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\Profiles and press “Enter”. A window will open in which you will see a directory named “abracadabra.default”. This is your Firefox profile folder.
Open the "Start" menu and click "Run..."
In the window that appears, type %appdata%\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\profiles.ini and press “Enter”.
Notepad will open with the “profiles.ini” file loaded. Replace "Profiles/" in the "Path" variable with "Z:\\", where Z is the letter of your ramdisk.
Make sure the "IsRelative" value is zero.
StartWithLastProfile=1
Path=Z:\\ abracadabra.default
Launch firefox and enter about:config in the browser's address bar. We agree that we will be careful and end up on the firefoxa configuration page.
Right-click anywhere, select New -> String and set browser.cache.disk.parent_directory as the parameter name, and the path to the folder where the cache will be stored as the value. Z:\\ abracadabra.default
A few more settings:
// Cache and memory
user_pref(\”browser.cache.memory.enable\”, false); // memory cache loses its meaning
user_pref(\”browser.cache.offline.enable\”, false); // why is this needed at all?
user_pref(\”browser.turbo.enabled\”, false); // for those who have it enabled, disable it. The parameter loads the Fox part into memory for quick startup. Now we have everything quickly and in memory
user_pref(\”config.trim_on_minimize\”, false); // also not necessary. The parameter resets Fox from memory to swap. It still doesn't work on Vista and 7
Close Firefox.
Copy the “abracadabra.default” folder to the ramdisk. If there are requests to replace files, answer in the affirmative.
Restart Firefox.
We also change the paths of the system variables %TMP% and %TEMP%
Control Panel (this is for windows 7), system and security, viewing the name of this computer, additional system settings, environment variables.
Change the system variables %TMP% and %TEMP% to the letter of your RAMDISKa Z:\\Temp:
The problem is that many programs, for example, WinRAR or installers, will unpack temporary files in R:\\TMP, and if this file has more than free space, then the unpacking will not complete, and the archive will not be unpacked.
Is it worth it?
For me - yes. The health of the hard drive and browsing speed are very important to me.
There are inconveniences, but they are minor (saving the state before rebooting, restoring it when you turn it on - of course - not for a novice user), and you have to periodically clear the cache (but this can be avoided by taking up more memory for the RAMDisk or by writing a script that will clear the cache itself).
That's all for now, if anyone has any additions, write, we will add them.
The article is taken from open sources. Original article: //whitebrotherhood.ru/whitebrotherhood/node/15
After articles about creating a RAM disk And moving the system folder “Temp” In it, readers had a lot of questions, and a terrible holivar began in the comments on this topic. I've also been bombarded with them via email.
Indeed, the topic is not unambiguous and there are many nuances with features. I decided to express my opinion on this matter in a separate article, based on personal experience and googled information - such an answer to user questions about the benefits of using a virtual disk in the computer’s RAM.
Is there any benefit to using a RAM disk?
No matter how some smart people bang their heads against the wall, there is! And that's a fact. The Internet is full of screenshots with measurements of the speed of reading/writing data on the ramdisk...
I, too, was not lazy and made the following measurements (screenshots in the first article on this topic). Besides, why would they even create special boards...
...and entire external blocks for this purpose...
At this point in time, RAM is still the fastest storage medium.
Who needs a RAM disk?
Another thing is that not in all cases of using such a disk, performance acceleration is visible. Positive changes are very noticeable when installing programs (which unpack installers into a temporary folder), working with large graphic images in editors, transcoding videos, processing large amounts of information (databases), provided that temporary system files are transferred. A profile with a cache of any browser in RAM will also impress you with the result.
I don’t work with video encoding, but in Photoshop I immediately noticed a reduction in the time it took to open and save large images. The built-in file manager (Explorer) has also improved. Should we talk about the speed of the portable browser in my virtual disk? It just “flies” like a bullet.
Owners of SSD drives can thus reduce the wear and tear of their drives - the number of read/write operations (cycles) will be significantly reduced.
Who doesn't need a disk in RAM?
It is absolutely not needed by players (gamers) - modern games are simply RAM hogs. Such a virtual disk will only steal a piece of it and ruin the whole thrill (if you don’t have 32, 64 or 128 GB of this stuff).
This method of speeding up a computer is contraindicated for those who like to keep 2-3 browsers running at the same time. dozens of active tabs in each (I know several weirdos personally). With such a thoughtless manner of using machine resources, the more RAM, the better.
If you have less than 4 GB of RAM, it’s better to forget about this technology like a bad dream. Your system itself barely has enough of this volume, and also take into account the appetites of modern programs.
If you don’t have a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) or you don’t own a laptop, I recommend that you think 100 times - if there is a power outage, you will lose all the data on such a disk (they will not have time to be saved to the physical disk).
I categorically do not recommend to inexperienced, suspicious and cowardly users to use this method of speeding up the system - with trembling hands and not fully understanding what you are doing and why, you will only ruin the operating system (hello blue screen) and then blow your entire brains out to people on forums and websites, at the same time cursing me or the one who advised you to “speed up” like that.
For those who haven’t realized yet, such a drive is not at all suitable for storing photos, movies and music.
How much memory to allocate for RAMDisk
“I have 2-4-8... GB of RAM - should I make this fast disk?”
This is the most common question from users... to which there is simply no answer. Everything is very individual and depends on many factors. What is important here is the way you use the computer (I wrote about this above), the total amount of memory, the performance of the processor (it may simply not have time to process quickly incoming data), type of memory, its manufacturability(modernity) and speed...
This whole thing is very intuitive, I would say. You need to use logic, experience and the results of experiments (your own and others) in order to calculate the optimal and safe size of such an “accelerator” for yourself.
I already wrote - I have 8 GB of memory in my laptop. It’s unlikely that I would have noticed even half of it was missing. I don’t play games, I don’t convert videos, I don’t create masterpieces in graphical monster programs, I automatically close unnecessary tabs in browsers - this RAM disk has failed me. I am completely satisfied with its work (I allocated 3 GB).
Why clean out the Temp folder?
A slight digression from the topic of the article, but also an answer to numerous questions. If you have moved a system folder with temporary files, it needs to be periodically cleared of accumulated garbage.
The fact is that this folder is dynamic (its size is constantly changing) and when closing programs, not all their temporary data is deleted from the “Temp” folder. Eventually they can accumulate to obscene sizes and significantly reduce the size of a limited virtual disk, leading to glitches and other problems. This is not tens of gigabytes of the system partition on your hard drive.
In a previous article, a commentator under the nickname Shill kindly suggested this method of cleaning our transferred folder - create a separate RAM disk for it and in the settings disable saving to a physical disk when finishing work, so that it is automatically cleared for us.
