2

I've tried several RAMDisk programs already. I have 64 gigs of RAM and I would like to dedicate a chunk of it as a RAMDisk.

However, the ones I tried didn't turn out so well. It was too difficult to get them working. For example, just to get them mounted on its worn drive was quite an ordeal in itself. Then, to install Windows 10 programs to start on them when the OS boots were a real big pain that always ended in failure.

The problem I faced was that the programs were all old and haven't been updated in a long time. I guess people find RAMDisks not especially useful and no one has been considerable time to keep one up to date.

Anyone can recommend a RAMDisk that shows that I'm wrong?

Improve this question
9
  • Which ones have you tried? I fear bringing up an answer for something that you've already tried.
    – Thomas Weller
    Apr 25, 2020 at 19:24
  • 1
    "people find RAMDisks not especially useful" - indeed. The OS does quite a good job with caching. Have a look at task manager. In my case it says 11 GB cached, which is kinda the same as a RAM disk.
    – Thomas Weller
    Apr 25, 2020 at 19:29
  • 1
    You have asked a similar question before. Why don't the suggestions work for you? What features do you need? A RAMDisk will not help speeding up Word.
    – Thomas Weller
    Apr 25, 2020 at 22:23
  • 1
    @ThomasWeller If John, Thomas, or anyone else is interested, I recently participated in a short discussion that touched on RAMdisks: superuser.com/questions/1541861/…
    – End Anti-Semitic Hate ♦
    Apr 27, 2020 at 7:50
  • 1
    I'm so sorry, everyone, I didn't notice these comments until today. I posted a few questions and I'm new to stack so I missed some responses. I hate being rude when people are trying to be helpful so please accept my apology! THOMAS, it was a while ago but I think I've tried Softperfect RAMDisk, Radeon RAMDisk, and Dataram RAMDisk. After countless weeks, I couldn't get those 3 to work and I just gave up. But, I want to try again. I have 64 gigs of RAM so I'd like to devote perhaps 48 gigs? 16 gigs seem good enough to operate my computer, no?
    – QuietInMontana
    May 1, 2020 at 21:12

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

I use free Starwind RAM for a long time mainly for homebrew application performance testing. The disk can be created via GUI or CLI and is mounted via iSCSI as raw block device. Certainly, as any other RAM disk, it loses all data (including filesystem) after reboot, but small PS script may automate filesystem formatting and application installation. https://www.starwindsoftware.com/high-performance-ram-disk-emulator

Note: To download this software, you need to complete a very small form and provide an email address. The software is then emailed to you for free by Starwind.

Improve this answer
7
  • I haven't researched RAMDisks in a while and I'm just starting again. Why would it lose all it's data? I thought that upon shutdown, the RAMDisk program copies all of the current programs, files, etc. onto the local drive. This takes some times and when you boot your computer, it takes some times to move all of this info back into the RAM, but once you do, everything works off the RAM then. Doesn't this how it work? By the way, have you tried other RAMDisk programs and what did you think compared to Starwind? What other programs have you tried? Pros and Cons? Thanks for your help.
    – QuietInMontana
    May 1, 2020 at 21:34
  • @JohnGreer John, I haven't used RAM disks in a while, but I previously used them extensively. In my experience, most of them lose all their contents when you reboot the system. The only exceptions are ones that include or interface with a backup system.
    – End Anti-Semitic Hate ♦
    May 3, 2020 at 13:46
  • Rock, thanks for the info. I might have done what you did. I tried using them before. Used SoftPerfect's and another one. SoftPerfect was the easier one but even then I would get it to work and then things would fall apart. After a few weeks, I called it quits. This was like 2 years ago so I'm wondering if the programs have improved at all so I can give it another try. I'd love to install a lot of entire programs (not just the cache, temp files, etc.) and hopefully see an improvement in my OS speed. It's runs a little slow now since I put a tons of 3rd party programs on it.
    – QuietInMontana
    May 4, 2020 at 2:40
  • Thank you for the recommendation. I tried downloading it, and it required completing a small form and having the software emailed to me. Does Starwind offer a direct download page?
    – End Anti-Semitic Hate ♦
    Jan 19, 2021 at 21:53
  • @RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket - I think, no. At least I also got a download link in email after short registration.
    – batistuta09
    Jan 20, 2021 at 10:12
1

Let me recommend OSFMount. It's not primarily a RAMDisk tool, but a forensic tool, so it primarily focuses on mounting disk images. It is and I verified that it works on .

For the tests, I used a 32 GB RAM disk on my PC with 96 GB of RAM without any problems.

However, it has a feature of creating a RAM disk as well. Here's how it needs to be set up:

Settings

Note that you need to format the drive after creating it initially.

Copying data to the RAM disk the first time is obviously limited by my hard disk:

Copying data to RAM disk first time

Copying from RAM disk to RAM disk is much faster:

Copying from RAM disk to RAM disk

The tool will give you an option to save the contents to disk when you're about to destroy the RAM disk. That way you can even keep your data. However, next time you want to load that file, it may take a while, based on your disk speed.

Save to disk

It also supports command line parameters:

osfmount -a -t vm -m "X:" -o format:ntfs:"RamDisk" -s 8G
  • -a: add (mount) a virtual disk
  • -t vm: type = virtual memory (RAM disk)
  • -m "X:": mount as X:
  • -o format:ntfs:"RamDisk": format as NTFS and label it "RamDisk"
  • -s 8G: size 8 GB
Improve this answer
7
  • Thomas, thanks for your suggestion! I really appreciate it! I must be doing something wrong because I tried SoftPerfect and Primo RAMDisk and I had trouble with both. I can't seem to get the 4 temp folders on my hard drive to save on the RAM disk. I'll give it a try.
    – QuietInMontana
    May 12, 2020 at 20:37
  • Thomas, I was thinking about giving your recommendation a try. Are you creating it automatically on each boot? If so, which technique(s) did you find works well to do so (scheduled task, shortcut, batch file, WSH, PowerShell, etc)? Also, did you automate the formatting once the drive is created?
    – End Anti-Semitic Hate ♦
    Jan 18, 2021 at 23:18
  • 1
    @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket: No sorry, I haven't used it like that. The tool itself does not seem to support command line parameters. It also needs UAC permissions, so it will become a bit hard
    – Thomas Weller
    Jan 19, 2021 at 7:46
  • Thanks Thomas. The lack of command line parameters would definitely be an issue for my desired use. Getting around UAC for a specific app is very doable, without disabling UAC or anything like that. If you ever need help with that, just ping me in chat, and I'll lend a hand.
    – End Anti-Semitic Hate ♦
    Jan 19, 2021 at 9:31
  • 1
    @jamacoe: thanks for the hint. I added this to the answer
    – Thomas Weller
    Feb 20 at 17:35

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.