Smartdrive

storage, product A Microsoft MS DOS disk cache program

to speed up disk access.

For most users, a 1MB cache is sufficient. Devoting more

memory to the cache offers diminishing returns, since the

additional cache hits become fewer (and the extra memory could

be better used to reduce swapping).

Typing SMARTDRV /S at a DOS prompt shows the cache size, a

hit-and-miss report, and information about which drives are

being cached. The hit-and-miss statistics are crucial for

gauging the effectiveness of SmartDrive settings. A score in

the high 80s shows that SmartDrive is well configured. Run

SMARTDRV /S several times during a Windows session and note

the-hit-and-miss figures each time. If your percentage

usually falls below 80 percent, you should consider increasing

the cache size. You can edit the SMARTDRV line in your

AUTOEXEC.BAT file to increase both the InitCacheSize and the

WinCacheSize parameters.

SmartDrive Monitor is an undocumented Windows program that

comes with DOS 6.0 for logging and controling the cache.

(1995-11-22)