Category : HD Utilities
Archive   : STACTECH.ZIP
Filename : 3201.TXT

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STACKER NOTE STACKER NOTE
Title: Creating a Stacked RAM drive for Windows Temporary Swap Files
STAC FAX Index #3201 - 02/08/93
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Background.

Windows can use temporary or permanent swap files as pseudo-memory. A
permanent swap file can only be created on a physical drive. A temporary
swap file can be created on either a physical or logical drive. Temporary
swap files are much slower than permanent swap files because DOS must be
used to access them. A temporary swap file on a Stacker drive is even
slower. A temporary swap file on a Stacked RAM drive, however, can be
faster than a permanent swap file. With an observed compression ratio of
3.0:1, 3Mb of RAM that is allocated for this purpose gives a total of 9MB
of usable memory for a Windows temporary swap file.

Procedure.

Modify your CONFIG.SYS file to create a RAM drive. In the example below,
X: is a generic representation of the drive letter for your RAM drive.
Substitute the actual drive letter taken by your RAM drive for all
references to X: below.

Sample CONFIG.SYS file.

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\RAMDRIVE.SYS 3072 /e (Add this line to create the RAM drive)
DEVICE=C:\STACKER\STACKER.COM C:\STACVOL.DSK @
DEVICE=C:\STACKER\SSWAP.COM C:\STACVOL.DSK /SYNC+
DEVICE=C:\STACKER\SCREATE.SYS X: /r=3 (Add this line to Stack your RAM drive)
where X: = the drive letter for the RAM drive

The next step is to add a line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, following the
PATH command line, to mount the Stacked RAM drive:

C:\STACKER\STACKER X:

Those of you who do not use Windows exclusively may want to add an
additional two lines to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This will permit other
DOS-based applications to use the Stacked RAM drive for storing temporary files: These two lines should added after the command to
mount the Stacked RAM drive referenced above.

SET TEMP=X:\
SET TMP =X:\

Finally, in the Windows SYSTEM.INI file, make the following changes or
additions to allow Windows to use the Stacked RAM drive for a temporary
swap file:

[386enh]
PagingFile=X:\WIN386.SWP
MinUserDiskSpace=1

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Copyright 1993, Stac Electronics