Ram Drives for temp files

[jwilson]

Has anyone used Ram Drives to access virtual memory beyond the 1.2 gig application ram limit? This would apply to a p.c. running win2000.

[clausb]

Hmmm.... first of all, there is no such thing as a 1.2 GB application RAM limit on Windows. Without the special /3GB option, Windows gives each application an address space of 2 GB. Part of this address space is occupied by drivers and other system components, but you should usually be able to get something in the range of 1.5 to 1.8 GB for your data (depending on system configuration).

With the /3GB option enabled, you get approximately 1 GB more virtual address space for each application.

Of course, if you don't have enough RAM in the system, you'll have to make sure that the pagefile is large enough to back all those data. Moving a pagefile into a RAM disk drive, however, sounds counterproductive to me. After all, if you have enough RAM to hold the complete pagefile in it, you don't really need the pagefile anyway... or maybe I just misunderstood.

Claus

[jwilson]

Claus, how do you set the 3 gig limit? This post was in responce to the ram limits applications have versus the max. ram a machine can handle.

[clausb]

See, for example, the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;171793

This article describes the configuration for Windows NT Server, but the same applies to Windows 2000 Server (!) and Windows XP. Windows NT and Windows 2000 non-server versions do not support the /3GB mode.

See also the earlier thread on the same subject at http://www.cocreateusers.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4519&perpage=15&pagenumber=2 - in this thread, more detail information was already posted.

Claus