<s>
RAM	B-Application
drive	I-Application
software	O
allows	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
computer	O
's	O
RAM	O
(	O
memory	O
)	O
to	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
if	O
it	O
were	O
a	O
disk	O
drive	O
,	O
with	O
volume	O
name	O
and	O
,	O
if	O
supported	O
by	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
drive	O
letter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
RAM	B-Application
drive	I-Application
has	O
much	O
faster	O
read	O
and	O
write	O
access	O
than	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
with	O
rotating	O
platters	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
volatile	B-General_Concept
,	O
being	O
destroyed	O
with	O
its	O
contents	O
when	O
a	O
computer	O
is	O
shut	O
down	O
or	O
crashes	B-General_Concept
—	O
volatility	O
is	O
an	O
advantage	O
if	O
security	O
requires	O
sensitive	O
data	O
to	O
not	O
be	O
stored	O
permanently	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
prevent	O
accumulation	O
of	O
obsolete	O
temporary	O
data	O
,	O
but	O
disadvantageous	O
where	O
a	O
drive	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
faster	O
processing	O
of	O
needed	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
can	O
be	O
copied	O
between	O
conventional	O
mass	B-Device
storage	I-Device
and	O
a	O
RAM	B-Application
drive	I-Application
to	O
preserve	O
it	O
on	O
power-down	O
and	O
load	O
it	O
on	O
start-up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
RAM	B-Application
drives	I-Application
automatically	O
back	O
up	O
contents	O
on	O
normal	O
mass	B-Device
storage	I-Device
on	O
power-down	O
,	O
and	O
load	O
them	O
when	O
the	O
computer	O
is	O
started	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
this	O
functionality	O
is	O
not	O
provided	O
,	O
contents	O
can	O
always	O
be	O
preserved	O
by	O
start-up	O
and	O
close-down	O
scripts	B-Language
,	O
or	O
manually	O
if	O
the	O
operator	O
remembers	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
software	O
allows	O
several	O
RAM	B-Application
drives	I-Application
to	O
be	O
created	O
;	O
other	O
programs	O
support	O
only	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
RAM	B-Application
drives	I-Application
when	O
used	O
with	O
32-bit	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
(	O
particularly	O
32-bit	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
)	O
on	O
computers	O
with	O
IBM	O
PC	O
architecture	O
allow	O
memory	O
above	O
the	O
4GB	O
point	O
in	O
the	O
memory	B-General_Concept
map	I-General_Concept
,	O
if	O
present	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
;	O
this	O
memory	O
is	O
unmanaged	B-General_Concept
and	O
not	O
normally	O
accessible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
using	O
unmanaged	B-General_Concept
memory	O
can	O
cause	O
stability	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
in	O
IBMPC	O
based	O
32-bit	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
some	O
RAM	B-Application
drives	I-Application
are	O
able	O
to	O
use	O
any	O
'	O
unmanaged	B-General_Concept
 '	O
or	O
'	O
invisible	O
 '	O
RAM	O
below	O
4GB	O
in	O
the	O
memory	B-General_Concept
map	I-General_Concept
(	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
3	O
GB	O
barrier	O
)	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
RAM	O
in	O
the	O
'	O
PCI	B-General_Concept
hole	I-General_Concept
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
:	O
Do	O
not	O
assume	O
that	O
RAM	B-Application
drives	I-Application
supporting	O
'	O
AWE	B-Device
 '	O
(	O
or	O
Address	B-Device
Windowing	I-Device
Extensions	I-Device
)	O
memory	O
above	O
4GB	O
will	O
also	O
support	O
unmanaged	B-General_Concept
PAE	O
(	O
or	O
Physical	B-General_Concept
Address	I-General_Concept
Extension	I-General_Concept
)	O
memory	O
below	O
4GB	O
—	O
most	O
do	O
n't	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
Linux	O
systems	O
come	O
pre-installed	O
with	O
a	O
user-accessible	O
ramdisk	B-Application
mounted	O
at	O
/dev/shm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RapidDisk	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-Application
and	O
open	O
source	O
project	O
containing	O
a	O
Linux	O
kernel	O
module	O
and	O
administration	O
utility	O
that	O
functions	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Ramdiskadm	O
of	O
the	O
Solaris	B-Application
(	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
rxadm	O
utility	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
capable	O
of	O
dynamically	O
attaching	O
,	O
removing	O
,	O
and	O
resizing	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
volumes	O
and	O
treat	O
them	O
like	O
any	O
other	O
block	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	B-Application
and	O
open-source	B-Application
utility	O
that	O
allows	O
using	O
RAM	O
as	O
a	O
folder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
tmpfs	B-Application
and	O
ramfs	O
in	O
a	O
Linux	O
environment	O
is	O
as	O
follows	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
the	O
mount	O
point	O
is	O
identified	O
the	O
mount	O
command	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
mount	O
a	O
tmpfs	B-Application
and	O
ramfs	O
file	O
system	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
that	O
mount	O
point	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Now	O
each	O
time	O
/var/ramdisk	O
is	O
accessed	O
all	O
reads	O
and	O
writes	O
will	O
be	O
coming	O
directly	O
from	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
2	O
differences	O
between	O
tmpfs	B-Application
and	O
ramfs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1	O
)	O
the	O
mounted	O
space	O
of	O
ramfs	O
is	O
theorically	O
infinite	O
,	O
as	O
ramfs	O
will	O
grow	O
if	O
needed	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
easily	O
cause	O
system	O
lockup	O
or	O
crash	B-General_Concept
for	O
using	O
up	O
all	O
available	O
memory	O
,	O
or	O
start	O
heavy	O
swapping	O
to	O
free	B-Application
up	O
more	O
memory	O
for	O
the	O
ramfs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
many	O
"	O
wrappers	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
RAM	B-Application
disks	I-Application
for	O
Linux	O
as	O
Profile-sync-daemon	O
(	O
psd	O
)	O
and	O
many	O
others	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
utilize	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
for	O
desktop	O
application	O
speedup	O
moving	O
intensive	O
IO	O
for	O
caches	O
into	O
RAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
free	B-Application
and	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
and	O
is	O
available	O
in	O
32	O
-	O
and	O
64-bit	O
variants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
digitally	O
signed	O
,	O
which	O
makes	O
it	O
compatible	O
with	O
64-bit	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
without	O
having	O
to	O
be	O
run	O
in	O
Test	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
64-bit	O
version	O
has	O
no	O
practical	O
limit	O
to	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
that	O
may	O
be	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ImDisk	O
Toolkit	O
is	O
a	O
third-party	O
,	O
free	B-Application
and	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
that	O
embeds	O
the	O
ImDisk	O
Virtual	O
Disk	O
Driver	O
and	O
adds	O
several	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
works	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP/	O
NT/	O
2000/	O
7/	O
10	O
(	O
32	O
and	O
64-bit	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AMD	O
Radeon	O
RAMDisk	B-Application
is	O
available	O
in	O
free	B-Application
versions	O
(	O
RAM	B-Application
drive	I-Application
up	O
to	O
4GB	O
,	O
or	O
6GB	O
with	O
AMD	O
memory	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
commercial	O
versions	O
for	O
drives	O
up	O
to	O
64GB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
free	B-Application
version	O
is	O
'	O
advertising	O
supported	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creates	O
only	O
a	O
single	O
drive	O
(	O
does	O
not	O
support	O
multiple	O
RAM	B-Application
drives	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Can	O
be	O
backed	O
up	O
periodically	O
to	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
and	O
automatically	O
loaded	O
when	O
the	O
computer	O
is	O
started	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AMD	O
Radeon	O
RAMDisk	B-Application
is	O
a	O
rebranded	O
version	O
of	O
Dataram	O
RAMDisk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dataram	O
's	O
RAMDisk	B-Application
is	O
freeware	B-License
(	O
up	O
to	O
1GB	O
(	O
reduced	O
from	O
4	O
to	O
1GB	O
-	O
per	O
October	O
2015	O
site	O
visit	O
)	O
disk	O
size	O
)	O
and	O
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
John	O
Lajoie	O
through	O
his	O
private	O
consulting	O
company	O
until	O
2001	O
,	O
when	O
he	O
sold	O
his	O
rights	O
to	O
Cenatek	O
,	O
before	O
being	O
acquired	O
by	O
Dataram	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RAM	B-Application
disks	I-Application
larger	O
than	O
4GB	O
require	O
registration	O
and	O
a	O
USD	O
$18.99	O
single-user	O
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
purchasing	O
physical	O
RAM	O
from	O
Dataram	O
,	O
the	O
RAMDisk	B-Application
license	O
is	O
provided	O
free	B-Application
of	O
charge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compatible	O
with	O
all	O
32-bit	O
and	O
64-bit	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
10	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
8	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
7	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	O
2008	O
,	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
RAMdisk	B-Application
built	O
specifically	O
for	O
gamers	O
which	O
features	O
real-time	O
file-synchronization	O
,	O
Steam	B-Application
integration	O
,	O
"	O
USB3	O
Turbo	O
Mode	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cost	O
is	O
$29	O
at	O
Dimmdrive.com	O
and	O
$30	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Can	O
use	O
Physical	B-General_Concept
Address	I-General_Concept
Extension	I-General_Concept
to	O
create	O
a	O
virtual	O
disk	O
in	O
memory	O
normally	O
inaccessible	O
to	O
32-bit	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
(	O
both	O
memory	O
above	O
the	O
4GB	O
point	O
,	O
and	O
memory	O
in	O
the	O
PCI	B-General_Concept
hole	I-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
also	O
an	O
open	O
source	O
plugin	O
that	O
replaces	O
the	O
RAM	B-Application
drive	I-Application
on	O
Bart	O
's	O
PE	O
Builder	O
with	O
one	O
based	O
on	O
Gavotte	O
's	O
rramdisk.sys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RAMDisk	B-Application
software	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
2000/2003/XP/Vista/Windows	O
7	O
(	O
x32	O
&	O
x64	O
)	O
/Windows	O
10	O
with	O
simple	O
setup	O
,	O
permits	O
mounting-and-unmounting	O
of	O
RAMDisk	B-Application
images	O
to/from	O
drive-image-files	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
automated/convenient	O
startup/shutdown	O
features	O
,	O
$25	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gizmo	O
Central	O
is	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
program	O
that	O
can	O
create	O
and	O
mount	O
virtual	O
disk	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
has	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
up	O
to	O
4GB	O
in	O
size	O
as	O
Gizmo	O
is	O
a	O
32	O
bit	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Passmark	O
's	O
OSFMount	O
supports	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
RAM	B-Application
disks	I-Application
,	O
and	O
also	O
allows	O
you	O
to	O
mount	O
local	O
disk	O
image	O
files	O
(	O
bit-for-bit	O
copies	O
of	O
a	O
disk	O
partition	O
)	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
with	O
a	O
drive	O
letter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OSFMount	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-Application
utility	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
PassMark	O
OSForensics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
7	O
to	O
11	O
,	O
or	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	O
from	O
2008	O
R2	O
to	O
2022	O
;	O
32/64	O
-bit	O
x86	O
or	O
64-bit	O
ARM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SoftPerfect	O
RAM	B-Application
Disk	I-Application
can	O
access	O
memory	O
available	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
on	O
32-bit	O
systems	O
it	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
4GB	O
as	O
the	O
32-bit	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
itself	O
,	O
otherwise	O
for	O
physical	O
memory	O
beyond	O
4GB	O
it	O
must	O
be	O
installed	O
on	O
64-bit	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiple	O
RAM	B-Application
disks	I-Application
can	O
be	O
created	O
,	O
and	O
these	O
can	O
optionally	O
be	O
made	O
persistent	O
by	O
automatically	O
saving	O
contents	O
to	O
and	O
restoring	O
from	O
a	O
disk	O
image	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
StarWind	O
Software	O
makes	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
software	O
for	O
mounting	O
memory	O
as	O
actual	O
drives	O
within	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
RAMDisk	B-Application
software	O
which	O
can	O
also	O
mount	O
various	O
CD	O
images	O
formats	O
,	O
like	O
iso	O
,	O
ooo	O
,	O
cue	O
,	O
ccd	O
,	O
nrg	O
,	O
mds	O
,	O
img	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	O
has	O
two	O
versions	O
,	O
paid	O
and	O
free	B-Application
where	O
the	O
latter	O
allows	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
single	O
ram	B-Application
disk	I-Application
up	O
to	O
2GB	O
in	O
size	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Free	B-Application
Edition	O
(	O
limited	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
32-bit	O
Win2000	B-Application
/	O
XP	O
/	O
2003	O
)	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
use	O
'	O
invisible	O
 '	O
RAM	O
in	O
the	O
3.25	O
to	O
4GB	O
'	O
gap	O
 '	O
(	O
if	O
your	O
motherboard	O
has	O
i946	O
or	O
above	O
chipset	O
)	O
&	O
is	O
also	O
capable	O
of	O
'	O
saving	O
to	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
on	O
power	O
down	O
 '	O
(	O
so	O
,	O
in	O
theory	O
,	O
allows	O
you	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	O
swap	O
file	O
and	O
survive	O
over	O
a	O
'	O
Hibernate	O
 '	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whilst	O
the	O
free	B-Application
edition	O
allows	O
multiple	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
drives	O
to	O
be	O
set	O
up	O
,	O
the	O
total	O
of	O
all	O
drives	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
4096MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
version	O
,	O
VSuite	O
Ramdisk	B-Application
II	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
rebranded	O
as	O
'	O
Primo	O
Ramdisk	B-Application
 '	O
,	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
chargeable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
affordable	O
RAM	B-Application
Disk	I-Application
compatible	O
with	O
all	O
Windows	B-Application
Workstation	O
and	O
Server	B-General_Concept
OS	I-General_Concept
versions	O
(	O
32	O
-	O
and	O
64-bit	O
)	O
starting	O
from	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
content	O
of	O
the	O
RAM	B-Application
Disk	I-Application
can	O
be	O
made	O
'	O
persisted	O
 '	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
saved	O
to	O
an	O
image	O
file	O
on	O
the	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
at	O
regular	O
times	O
and/or	O
at	O
shutdown	O
,	O
and	O
restored	O
from	O
the	O
same	O
image	O
file	O
at	O
boot	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
built-in	O
disk	O
format	O
routines	O
and	O
the	O
built-in	O
load	O
of	O
the	O
image	O
file	O
,	O
the	O
ram	B-Application
disk	I-Application
drive	O
is	O
already	O
fully	O
accessible	O
at	O
the	O
boot	O
stage	O
where	O
Services	O
and	O
automatically	O
started	O
programs	O
are	O
launched	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Concurrent	O
running	O
benchmarks	O
of	O
two	O
ram	B-Application
disks	I-Application
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
reveal	O
that	O
this	O
ram	B-Application
disk	I-Application
is	O
almost	O
the	O
fastest	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
this	O
ram	B-Application
disk	I-Application
has	O
ended	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
version	O
5.3.2.15	O
runs	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
10/11	O
and	O
by	O
this	O
,	O
may	O
still	O
be	O
purchased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
free	B-Application
64bit	O
256	O
MB	O
restricted	O
evaluation	O
version	O
never	O
expires	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
offers	O
a	O
'	O
demonstration	O
 '	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
Kit	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Limited	O
to	O
using	O
the	O
same	O
physical	O
RAM	O
as	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
available	O
as	O
free	B-Application
download	O
with	O
source	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
also	O
has	O
a	O
rough	O
analog	O
to	O
tmpfs	B-Application
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
"	O
temporary	O
files	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
they	O
behave	O
like	O
tmpfs	B-Application
,	O
except	O
the	O
files	O
are	O
written	O
to	O
the	O
specified	O
path	O
during	O
low	O
memory	O
situations	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
to	O
swap	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ramdiskadm	O
is	O
a	O
utility	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
Solaris	B-Application
(	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
)	O
to	O
dynamically	O
add	O
and	O
destroy	O
ramdisk	B-Application
volumes	O
of	O
any	O
user	O
defined	O
sizes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
ramdiskadm	O
to	O
add	O
a	O
new	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
in	O
a	O
Solaris	B-Application
environment	O
is	O
as	O
follows	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
destroy	O
the	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
created	O
RAM	B-Application
disks	I-Application
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
from	O
the	O
/dev/ramdisk	O
directory	O
path	O
and	O
treated	O
like	O
any	O
other	O
block	O
device	O
;	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
accessed	O
like	O
a	O
physical	O
block	O
device	O
,	O
labeled	O
with	O
a	O
file	O
system	O
and	O
mounted	O
,	O
to	O
even	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
ZFS	B-Application
pool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiuser	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
included	O
an	O
automatic	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
as	O
drive	O
M	O
:	O
</s>
