Profiles
For Profiles explanation please click here.
Disk Cache
Disk Cache is a part of RAM that acts as an intermediate buffer when data is read from and written to storage devices.
The Disk Cache driver stores the most recently accessed data in RAM. When a program needs to access new data, the operating system first checks to see if the data is in the cache before reading it from the disk. Because computers can access data from RAM much faster than from a storage device, disk caching can significantly increase performance.
What's the problem with the Windows 9x-ME Disk Cache?
There is no problem with the Disk Cache itself, but Windows 9x-ME can often gobble up 80% of your installed memory for the Cache. It does not hurt if you still have enough free RAM, but should this be not the case - the increased usage of Virtual Memory will decrease system performance by a significant amount. Cacheman will help you set the Disk Cache limits for your system and if necessary gain more free memory.
If you are not an expert user, launch the wizard for automatic settings, otherwise set the Cache limits using the Minimal and Maximal sliders.
How can I test if my system has optimal Disk Cache settings?
A benchmarking program is not suitable for this purpose. A large Disk Cache speeds up most IO operations and the re-loading of applications by a significant amount, but on the other side if no free RAM is left a too large Disk Cache can decrease the general application performance by a huge amount due to increased page file swapping.
The best method to test your settings is to create a worst-case scenario by loading several applications at the same time and work with them. If you encounter major slow downs (e.g. by processing large images in graphic software) try to reduce the Disk Cache to gain more free RAM. Registered Cacheman users can contact support to get performance related help.
Chunk Size
The Disk Cache is a single block of memory which is divided into chunks. The performance changes slightly with the Chunk Size. If it is too small, the data must occupy too many chunks and vice versa. An optimum size must be arrived at so that the Chunk Size is not too large and not too small. The default size of 512 Bytes is best. Most Windows versions ignore this setting anyway, so leave it at default.
What about Windows NT4/2000/XP?
Windows NT4/2000/XP has a much better Disk Cache handling, so the Windows 9x-ME problems should not occur if you have at least 128MB of RAM. You can select one of four predefined Disk Cache presets:
Minimize Memory Used
This setting minimizes the amount of memory used for the Disk Cache in order to maximize the amount of memory available for applications. This is the default setting for Windows NT Workstations and Windows 2000 Professional.
Balance
This setting instructs Windows to give the Disk Cache and applications the same priority.
Maximize Throughput for File Sharing
The Disk Cache gets a higher priority with this preset. It should be the best for file servers and workstations with very high I/O activity.
Maximize Throughput for Network Applications
This setting instructs Windows to give applications higher priority. It should be the best preset for application servers.
Additional Caches
Name & Path Cache
Path Cache specifies the size of the cache that the virtual file allocation table (VFAT) can use to save the locations of the most recently accessed directory paths. Name Cache stores the locations of the most recently accessed file names. This cache improves performance by reducing the number of times the file system must seek paths by searching the file allocation table. The memory is allocated out of general system heap.
Name & Path Cache settings are available only on Windows 9x-ME.
A Wizard is available for novice users.
CDFS Cache
The CDFS Cache is separated from the Disk Cache because the performance characteristics of compact discs are different. This cache can be moved to swap file. When Windows retrieves data from a compact disc, it is still faster to read a record from the CDFS Cache even if it has been swapped out, because the hard drive access time is much faster compared to access time of the CDRom drive. DVDs primarily use the Universal Disk Format (UDF) for their file systems, this means the Disk Cache is responsible for most DVD-Discs, not the CDFS Cache!
CDFS settings are available only on Windows 9x-ME.
A Wizard is available for novice users.
Icon Cache
Every executable file has an icon associated with it. Every time the shell displays a folder full of files it needs to obtain icons for each of those items. By saving icons that it has already retrieved into a cache, the shell is relieved of the need to constantly retrieve icons from executable files and icon libraries. This can make a vast difference to system performance, especially when accessing network drives.
After changing this setting you need to reboot at least 2 times until it becomes effective, but since it's not a critical setting Cacheman will not ask you on exit to reboot.
Memory Recovery
This feature can recover RAM by swapping out unused parts (e.g. from inactive or crashed software) to hard disk. Instead of periodic recovery tries you can also use this feature on demand by right clicking the Tray Icon and launching the Recover Memory now menu item.
Enabled
When turned on Cacheman will periodically try to recover memory.
Try to recover every xx minutes
This is the time amount between the recovery tries. This value depends greatly on your computer usage but should not be lower than 30 minutes.
If free memory is below
Cacheman will only perform the recovery process if the available memory is below this value. It makes no much sense to recover memory if a significant amount is still available. (The minimal limit value can be overridden in Cacheman.ini - add MaxBelow=xxx to [Recovery] section).
Memory amount
It's important to not choose a too large value here as this would free up data that could be needed within the next minutes. Only a good chosen amount ensures performance enhancements. Novice users should use the automatic setting for best results. Both the automatic setting and maximal user defined values are calculated according to your installed RAM amount. (The maximal manual value can be overridden in Cacheman.ini - add MaxAmount=xxx to [Recovery] section).
Example:
Try to recover every 40 minutes
Memory below value: 20 MBytes
Memory amount value: 10 MBytes
Cacheman will check every 40 minutes if memory is below 20 MBytes. If so (e.g. 15 MBytes were available) it will try to recover 10 MBytes. On success you should get 25 MBytes free RAM.
Do not recover on high CPU Usage
This setting is highly recommended. Cacheman will not try to recover memory when your CPU is doing some heavy work (e.g. when your are playing a game). If Cacheman detects high CPU Usage it will postpone the recovery by 5 minutes.
Do not recover on high HD Activity (Win9x-ME only)
This setting is similar to the CPU Usage setting, but it measures high hard disk activity instead. Highly recommended if available. If Cacheman detects high HD Activity it will postpone the recovery by 5 minutes.
Recover on Startup
Cacheman will try to recover memory immediately after it has been loaded.
Flash Tray Icon on Recovery
If checked, the Tray Icon will flash when Cacheman is performing a Memory Recovery operation.
Status
Cacheman will output some status information into this box like the amount of successfully recovered memory after a recovery try.
Windows 98-ME Tip
If you have a lot of RAM (at least 384 MBytes) it is recommended to use the Conservative Swap File Usage setting (available in the Miscellaneous section) together with Memory Recovery to reduce constant hard disk activity.
Miscellaneous
Settings available on all Operating Systems
Unload DLLs from memory