# Faster Web Browsing



## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

I've been doing this for a while and it really speeds up internet browsing. You will be surprised how fast pages will load. What I do is transfer my temporary internet files to a ram disk.First download the .AR Ram Disk and unzip, extract and install it. It will then be in your Control Panel, so open your Control Panel and click on the new RAM Disk icon and check the box Enable RAM Disk.

General tab 
drive letter: whatever you like (it defaults to Z) 
Start up type: Automatic
Operating mode: RAM Disk mode

Geometry tab
Disk size: whatever you want to use, depending on the amount of physical RAM you have you can go up to 511MB,
personally I use 64MB (which should be more than adequate for your temporary internet files.
Bytes per Sector: 512*
Sectors per Track: 32*
Tracks per Cylinder: 2*

File System
Volume Name: RAMDISK*
Volume ID: 7FFFFFFF*

Manual override - use at your own risk, I saw no need to use it.

* these are all defaults, I saw no need to change them

Now select OK and reboot to take effect. Once you reboot right click on your IE desktop icon and select
properties - General tab - Settings...
- Check for newer versions of stored pages: Automatically,
Temporary Internet files folder - Move Folder...
- direct it to your new RAM Disk and make the Amount of disk space to use:
1MB smaller than you set it to (it should do this automatically) then select OK and it will prompt you to log-off,
do so and log back on and your are all done.
Now enjoy your web pages loading much faster and less hard drive activity. If you like you can also hid the Z drive with tweakui


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## SSG RONFIN (Jul 12, 2003)

ok, I downloaded the app., re-booted, but when I go to move the folder to Z:, and then type in the amount of megabytes to use, I keep gettig an error message saying "please enter a value 1-0 to use..." What's going on? Did I miss something??


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

Sounds like you didn't set the size of your ram disk in control panel. Go into control panel and click on the ram drive icon. Go to the geometry tab and move the slider to say 65 meg. Now go to internet explorer and select properties, general tab, setting, Temporary Internet files folder, move Folder...The disk size should automatically set to 1 meg less than the size of the ram disk. 64 meg if the ram drive is set to 65. I did the same thing the first time I tried it.


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## SSG RONFIN (Jul 12, 2003)

what if I have 256 RAM? Set it to 257?


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## SSG RONFIN (Jul 12, 2003)

I did that, but it didn't automatically set. Do I have to re-boot before trying?


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

> _Originally posted by SSG RONFIN:_
> *what if I have 256 RAM? Set it to 257? *


No I wouldn't use it at all in your case. What ever you set the ram drive up to takes away from your free ram.


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

> _Originally posted by SSG RONFIN:_
> *I did that, but it didn't automatically set. Do I have to re-boot before trying? *


Yes you have to reboot after you set the size. It's listed in the instructions above. Once you have it setup it's good to go, as long as you don't go in and change any settings.


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

Maybe it's not obvious, but a *RAM drive uses your system RAM. What ever size you setup subtracts from your available ram. If you have 512 or less I wouldn't recommend doing it. I have 1280 megs of ram, my ram drive is only 64 megs.
RAM disk
<operating system, storage> A memory-resident program which mimics a hard disk drive. It uses part of computer's RAM to store data which can be accessed as files. Unlike a real disk drive, this drive forgets all stored data when the computer is turned off.

The advantage is that a ram disk has very fast access times, very very fast compared to a normal hard drive.*


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## tronic592001 (May 11, 2003)

Will this work on windows me??


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

> _Originally posted by tronic592001:_
> *Will this work on windows me??
> 
> *


Yes if you can find a ram drive that works in ME, the one above only works for NT4, 2K and XP. Sorry guys for not giving enough info in my original post. The web site for the AR Ram Disk does list the supported OS, but I should have included that in my first post anyway. I have looked for a 9X ramdisk but came up empty.


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## SplashChris (May 14, 2003)

All,
I recently downloaded and installed the AR RamDisk, then moved my Temporary Internet Files over to it, as Alphanumeric suggested. 

I will agree that it speeds up Web browsing to a degree, but with an undesirable side effect - System Restore points are missing!!

This happens as a result of an unexpected error that System Restore encounters as it monitors your system for changes. Looking at the system event logs clearly implicates Temporary Internet Files and location: Drive Z (RamDisk).

I advise caution for anyone who relies on XP's built in System Restore functionality, and would not use RamDisk for Temporary Internet Files. In my opinion, the slight speed improvement does not outweigh the risk of having missing System Restore points. 

Chris


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

Man this is turning out to be a real screwup on my part. Sorry if I messed up your system. I know lots of people running it on XP and no one reported any problems. I'm running 2k which doesn't have any restore feature. I'll have to go and check my daughters PC, she is running XP. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I guess it would have been better left unsaid.


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## SSG RONFIN (Jul 12, 2003)

how do I delete this thing? I've tried and can't remove it from my control panel.


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

Uninstall
The setup program can uninstall the RAM Disk from your computer. Restart the setup program and select "Uninstall". The setup program will remove all files and settings from your computer. 

Note:
AR RAM Disk is not listed in the software list of windows in the control panel.

Taken from the web page you downloaded the ram disk from.


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## SplashChris (May 14, 2003)

Alphanumeric,
No worries...

I think your post, along with the intent, was a great idea. It does speed up the browsing experience. 

With that said, there is still a viable use for your idea. Many people don't use XP's System Restore, because it utilizes resources, etc. (the reasons are many). Also, people may be using other restore-type programs, such as Go Back. It is possible that these other programs will not have the same side effects. 

It took a while to actually figure out what was going on. Before I install anything, I always create a restore point with a description. With the RamDisk installed, XP would still allow me to create the restore point. I was working away, and decided to restore (can't even recall why at the moment). Imagine my surprise when there were none. 

The confusing part was that I had recently installed a physical RAM upgrade, hence the reason for trying your speed tip. I thought perhaps that the RAM was bad so I started poking around.

The tip-off was when I deleted all the Temp Internet files, then created a restore point. Upon reboot, the restore point was there - and would remain (as long as I didn't go on the Internet). As soon as I started browsing the net, and then went back to check system restore, the newly created restore point was gone. Digging into the system logs cinched it. 

I'm still very glad that you took the time to post this tip, as it will no doubt be extremely useful to many people. I am always willing to learn new things and share in the exchange of knowledge. 

Chris


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

Well thank you SplashChris, I do hope it is useful too some. I was just worried it may have messed up your system. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause somebody more grief for using it. God knows enough comes bundled with windows in the first place. 
You really don't notice how fast it is until you stop using it. Last time I had to do a clean install after months of using the ramdisk, it was very obvious that browsing without it was much slower. I think I better give credit where credit is due. I got that tweak from Speedguide.net 
If you want to take it one step further have a look at this
DSLnuts, ramdisk 
Looking at some of the problems that have already cropped up in this thread I 'll just say this in closing:
*USE @ Your OWN RISK.*


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## SplashChris (May 14, 2003)

There is one big difference between people like yourself, and what comes bundled with Windows. You actually care. That's why I frequent message boards like this one, and VirtualDr, because the users are people just like you and I who are trying to share their experiences (good and bad).

Chris


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## alphanumeric (Jul 12, 2003)

Thank you, I most certainly agree.


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