ramBunctious is a RAM disk program. It can mount multiple RAM disks, each with its own settings.
ramBunctious is a shareware product. Use the Register application to register your copy.
RAM disks are a convenient way to achieve high performance in many applications. Hard drive accesses are hundreds of times slower than memory accesses. RAM disks set aside an amount of memory that the system can then use as a "normal" hard drive, floppy drive, or any other storage device -- except that they're much faster.
Unfortunately, RAM disks use your computer's memory -- memory that is typically used for applications. RAM disks work best for people who find themselves not using all their memory for applications.
The advantages of typical RAM disks include:
• High-speed accesses are the main reason RAM disks are used.
• Smaller overhead for each file. On a one-gigabyte hard drive,
each file takes 16K minimum. On a two-megabyte volume such
as a typical RAM disk, each file takes only 32 bytes overhead.
• Security. If your files aren't on the hard drive, they can't be
examined or undeleted after the RAM disk is unmounted.
The disadvantages of typical RAM disks include:
• If the computer crashes, all changes are lost.
• On many RAM disks, nothing on the volume is saved anyway.
• Once a RAM disk has been set up, if it is no longer needed, it
is impossible to reclaim the memory until you reboot the
computer.
• Only one RAM disk is available at a time.
ramBunctious maintains the advantages and eliminates the disadvantages of most RAM disk programs. Several options let you customize for your desired balance of speed, security, safety, and versatility. For example, you can set it to write through to a file on a (real) disk for safety in the event of a crash. You can mount as many RAM disks as you wish (or as many as you have memory for) simultaneously. ramBunctious uses the same memory that applications use, so the memory used for each RAM disk is instantly available for other applications when the RAM disk is put away.
Many shareware programs are crippled in order to force users to register before they have a full-featured application. Other shareware programs force users to wait a few extra seconds before they can begin using the program. Still others present a dialog every time so users will feel guilty enough to pay. ramBunctious, on the other hand, is not crippled, is usable immediately after it's launched, and does not forcibly present "guilt-inducing" dialogs. Every feature is available to every user, registered or not. We felt that if we were going to spend a single minute working on this product, we ought to work on real features, not artificial limits.
