" RAMDisk "  for Windows 2000 / Windows XP / Server 2003 / Vista

Introduction :



A RAMDisk acts as a virtual drive on your system. It allows you to create directories, copy files to and from it, etc.... The data however is not written onto a hard disk, but remains purely stored into a particular part of the RAM memory. Hard disks have mechanical parts that are needed to seek to a particular position on the magnetic storage media and to read/write data. This makes them relative lazy. A RAMDisk does not need to seek , and by this , it can read and write the same data to upon 30-60 times faster than a hard disk ! However, the data stored in RAM is "volatile" : it disappears when you cut off the power to the RAM memory, in other words, if you turn off your system. This applies to the content of the RAMDisk too !

A ramdisk can perfectly be used to store :

- web content of web servers.
- temporary index files and tables of database servers ( MS-SQL-Server , MySQL , ...).
- temporary files ( TEMP and TMP environment variable ) and "Temporary Internet Files".
- the scratch disk for Adobe (R) Photoshop (R).
- games and installed programs (1). The startup times of programs may decrease drastically !
- audio and video capture / editing.
- creation and playback of slide shows.
- data that has to be written to CD , to prevent underrun during the burn process.
- as storage of the "ReadyBoost" cache on Vista.
- all kinds of data that may be lost ( or MUST be lost for security reasons ) at shutdown.

(1) The software may be installed directly to the ramdisk , or an existing installation may be remapped using a "junction" ( with means of i.e. linkd.exe ) to a copy on the ramdisk. In both cases , the content of the ramdisk must reload automatically at boot time from an image file , or by means of a backup program.

These are only a few examples. There will certainly be many more tasks for which a ramdisk can be used, depending on people's "inventivity" .



Overview :


There are currently two versions available for the 32-bit and 64-bit OS's :


Be aware that a 32-bit version of the RAMDisk will not install and run on a 64-bit OS. The 64-bit version of the RAMDisk will also not install and run on a 32-bit version of the OS.

To try out and/or to purchase a Single User License , go to the Evaluation Download and Purchase   page.

More details about each version can be read at :

A fully free , but unsupported version for the 32-bit OS's ( with source code ) is available at : www.freeramdisk.com

Personalized OEM RAMDisk versions Do you need a RAMDisk within your company or to redistribute it with your own product ? Do not decline into illegality by distributing/reselling the version that you received upon your "Single User" donation , but decide to ask for the personalized OEM version . OEM versions are not provided for a "Single User". To donate as a single user , please go to the detailled "Extended" or "Enterprise" RAMDisk web page. An OEM version is technically identical to the "QSoft" labeled version , but "personalized" with "company name" , "logo" , "author" , etc... of your choice. To integrate this information, the "resource files" ( see Ramdisk_resources.doc.zip ) has to be adapted ( texts to be adapted are written in "red"). There is also need for a small picture that can be used as company "logo" ( i.e. a 256 color bitmap with a max. size of 160 x 50 pixels ) . Other default settings to be set at installation time , for example a specific drive letter , disk size, disk format , ... are also allowed. Requests for new features are not foreseen , unless they can be provided in no time. See Screenshot for an example of an existing OEM release. As intermediate result, a "nagged" ( with [QSOFT] popup message reminder ) evaluation version is built using these resources, or , if possible , a "proposal" is made based on the information that can be found on the web site of the requesting company or organisation. The evaluation version is sent back to enable to evaluate and check the result. Do not hestitate and ask for more details about the OEM version before making any decision. Some product developers already incorporate a OEM version of the RAMDisk software into their own products or use it within their organization : Bart Lagerweij's PE Builder ( "BartPE" ) : http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder Xipix Inc. : http://www.surveillanceControl.com ThinExpress Technology Inc. : http://www.thinexpress.com.tw IMA S.p.A. : http://www.ima.it CalOptic Duplication System Inc. : http://www.caloptic.com Preemptive Consulting Pty Ltd. : http://www.preemptive.com.au Life-Tech Inc. : http://www.life-tech.com Department of Parliamentary Services ( Australia ) : http://www.aph.gov.au Siemens AG Medical Solutions : http://www.medical.siemens.com Neiman Marcus Information Services : http://www.neimanmarcus.com Auragan, LLC : http://www.auragan.com Compuniek Bedrijfsautomatisering : http://www.compuniek.nl MOVE MEDIA : http://www.movenetworks.com Surtronic B.V. : http://www.surtronic.nl Sciemetric Instruments Inc. : http://www.sciemetric.com Ardence Inc. : http://www.ardence.com                     University of Michigan, HITO : http://staff.housing.umich.edu/hito/ Tele Columbus AG : http://www.kabel-tv.de Ministerie van Defensie, RNLA : http://www.C2SC.ORG                  Westinghouse Rail Systems Limited : http://www.westsig.co.uk/ HSR Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil : http://www.hsr.ch Hartl EDV : http://www.hartl-edv.de Yahoo! Inc. : http://www.yahoo.com                           TriMetrics : http://www.TriMetrics.com Visual Sports Systems : http://www.visualsportssys.com SNAPS GmbH Bildagentur-Pressefoto : http://www.SNAPS.de ALMANOR Personalized Computers : http://www.almanorpc.com CMDI : http://www.cmdi.net SECAR Bohemia, a.s. : http://www.secar.cz Fingerprint Technologies, FRANCE : http://www.fingerprint.fr BAE SYSTEMS : http://www.baesystems.com Planon B.V. : http://www.planon-fm.com Delphax Technologies Inc. : http://www.delphax.com VIA Rail Canada Inc. : http://www.viarail.ca Alan's Tech World : http://www.atechworld.com Prime Vision B.V. : http://www.primevision.com eVisionGolf Technologies LLC : http://www.evisiongolf.com/ CIPAL : http://www.pnl.gov/                           SoftService GmbH : http://www.softservice.de/ Intercom, Inc. : http://www.intercom.co.jp/                           OPSWAT, Inc. : http://www.opswat.com Megasoft GmbH : http://www.megasoft.com/ Feelanet Co.,Ltd : http://www.feelanet.com                           John P. Burke , JPB Enterprises : no URL available BMLV/ÖBH : http://www.bmlv.gv.at/ Reed Data, Inc. : http://www.reeddata.com                           Fraunhofer IPSI : http://www.ipsi.fraunhofer.de Scout web based systems Ltd. : http://www.scout.co.il VITRONIC Bildverarbeitungssysteme GmbH : http://www.vitronic.de/ Got Corporation , Inc. : http://www.gotcorp.com/ FMC : http://www.franking.com/ Picsel Technologies Ltd : http://www.picsel.com UBCD4Win : http://www.ubcd4win.com UKWtechnik Jaeger : http://www.ukwtechnik.com/ Intuivo Soft : http://www.intuivo.com GC Micro Corporation : http://www.gcmicro.com/ Righteous Software Inc. : http://www.r1soft.com/ DBMS : no URL available Bluberi Gaming Technologies : http://www.bluberi.com                           OSS Software GmbH : http://www.oss.de FSRK : no URL available ALcoa Inc. : http://www.Alcoa.com EHS Electronic Systems GmbH : http://www.ehs-gmbh.com/ KLEIN Elektronik GmbH : http://www.klein-elektronik.com Image Systems AB : http://www.imagesystems.se Direct Training Ltd. : http://www.directgroup.co.il Con-way Inc. : http://www.con-way.com Business Objects SA : http://www.businessobjects.com Baron Services, Inc. : http://www.baronservices.com eWerk Gruppe : http://www.ewerk.com National Agricultural Statistics Service : http://www.nass.usda.gov modus High-tech electronics GmbH : http://www.modus-hightech.de DConPlus Co., Ltd. : http://www.dconplus.com National Recovery Technologies Inc. : http://www.nrtsorters.com Westinghouse Rail Systems Australia : http://www.wrsa.com.au Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority : http://eant01.hkeaa.edu.hk/hkea/new_look_home.asp (*) Organizations that obtained a "unlimited license" ( regular , non PE ) have their logo displayed.

Contacts


Questions & Requests : QSoftRAMDisk@Yahoo.com.

You will find already some useful links here that describe the "goodies" of this software :

SuraSoft : http://www.surasoft.com/tut/ramdisk.htm
"Dah! It's a RAM Drive!" at Lockergnome : http://channels.lockergnome.com/windows/backissues/20031105.phtml
Windows Support Center : http://aumha.org/freeware/mfram.php#ramdisk
FREE Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 EXTRAS : http://www.mdgx.com/xptoy.htm#2KXP
BD Software ( astrophotography ) : http://www.bdsoft.com/astro/#resources
Amateur Astronomy : http://www.astronomy-chat.com/astronomy/Ram_Disk_followup_588995.html
Using Firebird ( FireFox ) With a ramdisk on Windows XP : http://www.patik.com/guides/mozilla/ffram
How to Speed Up Firefox by Running It In RAM : http://wiki.ehow.com/Speed-Up-Firefox-by-Running-It-In-RAM
Windows 2000 - FAQ ( German Site ) : http://www.ebend.de/w2k-faq.htm#F59
Disk Privacy Guard pour Windows ( French Site ) : http://www.chez.com/winterminator/DiskPG/#teleram
Wohin mit all dem RAM? RAMDisk als System-Turbo : http://www.planet3dnow.de/artikel/diverses/ramdisk/4.shtml
"HickoryHacksXP" , dated "Saturday, May 01, 2004" : http://www.hickoryhacksxp.com/2004/05/qsoft-ramdrive.html
"THE BUSINESS TUNER" : http://www.thebusinesstuner.com/downloads.htm#ramdisk. Take a moment to visit the Web Store
"SSSoft" ( German Site ) : http://www.sssoft.de.vu and referenced at the Programm Links page.
"How to keep it clean before it gets messy" :
http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=197&topic_id=2504&mesg_id=4248&page=.
"solid state hard drive (SSD) alternative >..." :
http://forum.tweakxp.com/forum/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=7&MessageID=156237.
"Windows 2003 Web Edition" & "MySQL" : http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?11,4418,5890#msg-5890.
"Merak Mail Server" & RAM DISK : http://forum.icewarp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1015&sid=8520981fa59d26d8a103de3e800bd358.
Using excess RAM as Ramdisk with QSoft : http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1030930797.

Microsoft recommends ( her ) RAMDisk for privacy issues :
"eine RAMdisk für die temporären Internetdateien einrichten"  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;DE;834886

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