Virtual Hard DriveTM For Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Server 2003 User's Guide Copyright Notice No part of this publication may be copied, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system or translated into any language in any form or by any means without the expressed written permission of FarStone Technology, Inc. FarStone grants you the right to use one copy of the enclosed software program ("SOFTWARE") on a single computer. If the SOFTWARE is installed on a network, or more than one user can run the SOFTWARE at the same time, you must purchase an additional license for each additional user or computer. Trademarks FarStoneTM and Virtual Hard DriveTM are trademarks of FarStone Technology, Inc. Microsoft®, Windows® and MS-DOS® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other product names mentioned in this User's Guide may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. FarStone Technology, Inc. U.S. Headquarters: 6 Morgan, Suite 160 Irvine, CA 92618 PHONE: (949) 458-3666 FAX: (949) 458-3633 Technical support: Please contact your retailer or use our online support system at www.farstone.com. For your convenience, you will find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) on our website at www.farstone.com. Follow the links to the support section. Copyright© 1998-2006 FarStone Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Rapid Cache ® Copyright © 1993-2006 FarStone Technology, Inc. 2 Software License Agreement FARSTONE TECHNOLOGY, INC. (FARSTONE) END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR VIRTUAL HARD DRIVE, HEREAFTER REFERRED TO AS THE "SOFTWARE" PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: THE USE OF THIS "SOFTWARE" IS SUBJECT TO THE "SOFTWARE" LICENSE TERMS OF FARSTONE AND OTHER LICENSORS WHOSE SOFTWARE MAY BE BUNDLED WITH THIS PRODUCT. BY YOUR USE OF THE "SOFTWARE" INCLUDED WITH THIS PRODUCT, YOU AGREE TO THE LICENSE TERMS REQUIRED BY THE LICENSOR OF THE "SOFTWARE", AS SET FORTH BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE LICENSE TERMS APPLICABLE TO THE "SOFTWARE", YOU MAY RETURN THE ENTIRE UNUSED PRODUCT FOR A FULL REFUND. LICENSE AND WARRANTY: The software which accompanies this license (the "Software") is the property of FARSTONE or its licensors and is protected by copyright law. While FARSTONE continues to own the Software, you will have certain rights to use the Software after your acceptance of this license. Except as may be modified by a license addendum which accompanies this license, your rights and obligations with respect to the use of this Software are as follows: A. Single User License: (a) Use the "Software" on a single computer system or network, and only by a single user at a time. If you wish to use the "Software" for more users, you will need an additional License for each user. (b) Make one copy of the "Software" in machine-readable form solely for back-up purposes, provided you reproduce FarStone's copyright proprietary legends. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the "Software" may be used on the home, laptop or other secondary computer of the principal user of the "Software", and an additional copy of the "Software" may be made to support such use. As used in this License, the "Software" is "in use" when it is either loaded into RAM or installed on a hard disk or other permanent memory device. The "Software" may be "in use" on only one computer at any given time. (Different License terms and fees are applicable for networked or multiple user applications.) As a specific condition of this License, you agree to use the "Software" in compliance with all applicable laws, including copyright laws, and that you will not copy, transmit, perform or distribute any audio or other content using the "Software" without obtaining all necessary Licenses or permissions from the owner of the content. B. Multiple User License: Make one copy of the "Software" in machine-readable form solely for back-up purposes, provided you reproduce FarStone's copyright proprietary legends. You must acquire and dedicate a License for each separate computer on which any part or portion of the "Software" is installed or run As used in this License, the "Software" or any part or portion of the "Software" is "in use" when it is either loaded into RAM or installed on a hard disk or other permanent memory device including any networked or shared environment where either direct or indirect connections are made through software or hardware which pools or aggregates connections. As a specific condition of this License, you agree to use the "Software" in compliance with all applicable laws, including copyright laws, and that you will not copy, transmit, perform or distribute any audio or other content using the "Software" without obtaining all necessary Licenses or permissions from the owner of the content. C. Restrictions: You may not distribute copies of the "Software" to others or electronically transfer the "Software" from one computer to another over a network. You may not post or otherwise make available the "Software", or any portion thereof, in any form, on the Internet. You may not use the "Software" in a computer service business, including in time-sharing applications. The "Software" contains trade secrets and, in order to protect them, you may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise reduce the "Software" to a human-perceivable form. YOU MAY NOT MODIFY, ADAPT, TRANSLATE, RENT, LEASE, LOAN, RESELL FOR PROFIT, DISTRIBUTE, NETWORK OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS BASED UPON THE "SOFTWARE" OR ANY PART THEREOF. D. Limited Warranty: Farstone warrants that the media on which the Software is distributed will be free from defects for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of delivery of the Software to you. Your sole remedy in the event of a breach of this warranty will be that Farstone will, at its option, replace any defective media returned to Farstone within the warranty period or refund the money you paid for the Software. Farstone does not warrant that the Software will meet your requirements or that operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or that the Software will be error-free. THE ABOVE WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS, WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. E. Limitation of Liability: IN NO EVENT WILL FARSTONE OR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR LOSS 3 OF DATA, EVEN IF FARSTONE OR A LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of special, incidental, or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. F. General: You acknowledge that you have read this Agreement, understand it, and that by using the "Software" you agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. You further agree that it is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between FarStone and you, and supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other communication between FarStone and you relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. No additional or any different terms will be enforceable against FarStone unless FarStone gives its express consent, including an express waiver of the terms of this Agreement, in writing signed by an officer of FarStone. You assume full responsibility for the use of the "Software" and agree to use the "Software" legally and responsibly. Should any provision of this Agreement be declared unenforceable in any jurisdiction, and then such provision shall be deemed severable from this Agreement and shall not affect the remainder hereof. FarStone reserves all rights in the "Software" not specifically granted in this Agreement. Should you have any questions concerning this Agreement, you may contact FarStone by writing to: FarStone Technology, Inc. Legal Department 15 Hammond Dr., Suite 304 Irvine, CA 92618 Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 What is Virtual Hard DriveTM? Chapter 2 Installation 2.1 System Requirements 2.2 Installing Virtual Hard Drive 2.3 Uninstalling Virtual Hard Drive Chapter 3 Using Virtual Hard Drive 3.1 Launching Virtual Hard Drive 3.2 Creating a RAM Disk 3.3 Moving files and folders to RAM Disk 3.4 Saving the RAM Disk image 3.5 Mounting an image to the RAM Disk 3.6 Removing RAM Disk from the system 3.7 Virtual Hard Drive settings Chapter 4 Appendix 4.1 FAQ 4.2 Technical Support & Product Upgrade 5 5 6 6 6 6 8 8 10 10 10 11 12 12 14 14 14 4 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 What is Virtual Hard DriveTM? Virtual Hard Drive (hereinafter referred to as VHD) is a program that takes a portion of your system memory (RAM) and uses it to simulate a hard disk drive, dramatically increasing file read speed. Virtual Hard Drive boosts the performance of your programs by reading information in just nano-seconds! Virtual Hard Drive allows disk data to be accessed at physical memory speed. VHD is not a physical hard disk on a physical drive, but rather a 'virtual' disk in the RAM memory. It is faster than any hard disk available and it can enhance performance if used correctly. This feature makes it especially useful for some frequently accessed programs, files and folders. For example, you can move your browser's cache folder to a RAM disk, which may significantly increase speed while browsing the Internet. You can also choose not to save the Virtual Hard Drive image after shutting down the computer, which can remove the massive cache files and save your disk space. The data stored on the RAM Disk is lost when you shut down your PC. But Virtual Hard Drive provides a special function that allows users to save the data in the RAM Disk as an image file when the computer is turning off. In addition, the image can be loaded into the Virtual Hard Drive automatically (or manually) when the computer is started. You can treat it as if it is another hard disk drive so you do not need to worry about data loss. The only difference between a RAM Disk Drive and a Hard Disk Drive is Virtual Hard Drive's amazing speed. The figure below (Fig. 1) shows the user-friendly interface of Virtual Hard Drive. Fig. 1 5 Chapter 2 Installation 2.1 System Requirements Windows 98 Windows ME Windows 2K Pro Windows XP Home Windows XP Pro Windows Server 2003 Standard 25 MB free hard disk space 128 MB RAM or better Windows 98 Windows ME Windows 2K Pro Windows XP Home Windows XP Pro Windows Server 2003 Standard Windows 2000 Server Windows 2000 Advanced Server Windows 2000 Data Center Windows Server 2003 Data Center Windows Server 2003 Web edition Windows Server 2003 Enterprise 25 MB free hard disk space 128 MB RAM or better VHD VHD Pro 2.2 Installing Virtual Hard Drive Step 1 Run the SETUP.EXE file, which is located on your Virtual Hard Drive application CD. Step 2 Carefully read the Software License Agreement. If you accept the terms of the agreement, click on the `I Accept the License Agreement' box and then click Next to continue. Step 3 Enter the required information and the serial number. Step 4 The Install Wizard will suggest a folder in which to install the Virtual Hard Drive program files. If you would like to store the program files in another location, click on the Change button to open the file browser and select a new folder. Step 5 Clicking Next will install the Virtual Hard Drive program on your computer. Step 6 Click Finish to end the installation of the Virtual Hard Drive program files. You can launch Virtual Hard Drive and create the shortcut after the installation is completed by selecting the checkbox. 2.3 Uninstalling Virtual Hard Drive 6 To uninstall the Virtual Hard Drive program, click on Start in the Windows taskbar and select (a) Programs/Virtual Hard Drive/Uninstall Virtual Hard Drive; or (b) Start/Settings/Control Panel and double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon to open the Add/Remove Programs screen. Then select Virtual Hard Drive and click on the Add/Remove button. Either method will launch the Virtual Hard Drive Uninstall Wizard. The uninstall program will now remove all files created by Virtual Hard Drive, except the image files (files with the "img" extension). These image files can be deleted by using Windows Explorer. 7 Chapter 3 Using Virtual Hard Drive 3.1 Launching Virtual Hard Drive Select Start on the Windows taskbar, then Programs\Virtual Hard Drive\Virtual Hard Drive Manager or double-click the Virtual Hard Drive icon program on the desktop to launch the VHD When launching VHD, the following screen (Fig. 2) will appear to prompt users to create a RAM Disk. Fig. 2 Note: If the Auto-load the image mounted last time option is enabled in Virtual Hard Drive settings (Fig. 3), you will not be asked to create a new RAM Disk and it will launch Virtual Hard D ...