Best Ram Disk software?

[BugOutMachine]

Ihave looked at a few software solutions, namely Dataram's RamDisk, ImDisk (open source), GiliSoft RAMDisk and Romex's FancyCache (beta). I see they offer other programs too but I'm unfamiliar with them.

Does anyone have a particular software they prefer? Also, does the file system matter (NTFS vs FAT32)? My intentions are to use it for temp files and caches only

My computer is a dual-drive SSD and I want to reduce the amount of writes for longevities sake.. I have 12GB of memory so space is not a concern.

 

[OldMX]

DataRam Ramdisk is what i use and recommend, a 4gb ramdisk is enough for browser cache, just dont move the windows temp folder to rd because it might run out of space and throw errors on program installs, like Vectorworks.

 

[BugOutMachine]

Thank you, I'll check it out.

 

[MilesAhead]

Thank you, I'll check it out.

I used DataRam in the past. FAT32 should give you higher performance. Esp. if the data is disposable. I used to load Firefox portable into the ramdisk at logon to get FF to open quickly even when the HD was busy. If the data is throwaway then you can just destroy the ramdisk on shutdown rather than saving an image. Saving and restoring an image really slows down the boot process. At least when booting from a conventional HD.

 

[BugOutMachine]

Thank you, I'll check it out.

I used DataRam in the past. FAT32 should give you higher performance. Esp. if the data is disposable. I used to load Firefox portable into the ramdisk at logon to get FF to open quickly even when the HD was busy. If the data is throwaway then you can just destroy the ramdisk on shutdown rather than saving an image. Saving and restoring an image really slows down the boot process. At least when booting from a conventional HD.

This is good to know. I don't intend to save an image and I only plan to use it for my IE temp files & FF cache. Are there any other files that are good to throw onto the drive? I know not to put my Windows temp folder. Out of the 12GB I have I probably won't even need to make a drive larger than maybe a 1GB at most but I'm honestly not sure how large to make it...

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Just to explain what's going on, I want to put my OS' on the first SSD and my programs and files on the second. Then use the Ram Drive for any folders and files that are not needed to reduce unnecessary writing to the SSD's. I'm not doing it for performance gains but to improve the lifespan of my new drives.

 

[BugOutMachine]

I found an excellent snippet from an article on RAM Disk that I thought was worth sharing for others considering this type of storage option:

"One of the easiest ways to use the RAM disk is for temporary Internet files. You can move the temporary folder for Internet Explorer over to your RAM disk, which will do two things: First, it will speed up Web browsing, and second (if you set the RAM disk to not save the image) it will lose all browsing history every time the machine is rebooted. So you get a speed increase and an increase in security."

Source: How do I use a RAM disk to help speed up disk-intensive applications? | TechRepublic

My conclusion on using a RAM drive is that it's totally worth it for SSD owners if you have extra memory to spare.

 

[MilesAhead]

I found an excellent snippet from an article on RAM Disk that I thought was worth sharing for others considering this type of storage option:

"One of the easiest ways to use the RAM disk is for temporary Internet files. You can move the temporary folder for Internet Explorer over to your RAM disk, which will do two things: First, it will speed up Web browsing, and second (if you set the RAM disk to not save the image) it will lose all browsing history every time the machine is rebooted. So you get a speed increase and an increase in security."

Source: How do I use a RAM disk to help speed up disk-intensive applications? | TechRepublic

My conclusion on using a RAM drive is that it's totally worth it for SSD owners if you have extra memory to spare.

If you are interested in the security angle, see this post for combination of RunItOnce and IndexDotDatCleaner. I don't run it every boot. Just on occasion.

http://www.sevenforums.com/software/92-free-great-programs-windows-7-a-187.html#post1664422

 

[BugOutMachine]

Right on. Although security is not very important for me when it comes to browsing history I always love to learn about new things so I'm going to check it out.

 

[BugOutMachine]

Has anyone here used ImDisk yet?

 

[BugOutMachine]

Can anyone tell me how to move my System Logs that I see in Event Viewer to the Ram Drive?