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Joseph
Asked: 2009-05-06 09:20:46 +0800 CST

RAM disk for Vista 64-bit

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I have a workstation with 8GB RAM running Vista 64-bit. I'd like to try running some small server VMs in a virtual RAM disk to see how much performance improves. I haven't made a RAM disk since my DOS days, so I don't know if the option still exists. How do I got about creating one? Has anyone done this same idea successfully?

windows-vista memory 64-bit

5 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    The excellent free Gavotte Ramdisk has been updated for 64 bit, but I'm not sure if there's an authoritative source. You can find it by searching.

    Here's a 64 bit commercial ramdisk (free up to 400MB): http://www.cenatek.com/product_page_ramdisk.php

    -Adam

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  2. I would use a real RAM drive: a USB memory stick.

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  3. ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver 1.4.0 (released in Dec 2010):

    The install package is created using 7-zip sfx stubs and includes an .inf install script. No reboot is required after installing or uninstalling. The install package works on Windows NT 3.51/NT 4.0/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista/Server 2008, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

    64-bit versions share source code with the 32-bit version. All features and most limitations are the same in the 64-bit and 32-bit versions. One notable difference however is that the 64-bit versions do not have any practical size limits for RAM disks.

    64 bit drivers are now digitally signed with a certificate trusted by Microsoft. This means that ImDisk now works Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 even without running it testsigning mode.

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  4. I'd try using Vista's built in ram-disk tool ReadyBoost (2) (3).

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  5. That I know off, it isn't possible out of the box like it used to, when DOS and it's derivatives ruled PCs. There are quite a few third party applications (free and non) out there that will allow the creation on a RAM drive on Vista/Windows 7.

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