First ... I had never heard of RAMDisk9x/ME or Gavotte Ramdisk until these programs were mentioned a month or so ago in some postings. I found and downloaded both programs but since I use Win 98SE, only RAMDisk9x/ME works on my machine. It installs and seems to work just fine. I just have some questions on what settings others might be using. In RAMDisk9x I chose to set the Drive letter to "R" and chose 50 MB as the size setting. If you pick a size over 32 MBs you can activate the FAT32 format which is supposed to be more efficient over the FAT16 default setting. I set the KM cache path to Drive R. I now see a KM "Cache" folder in Drive R when I have the KM browser open. I was just wondering what others chose for a drive letter and what size (M they decided to use in setting the RAMDisk up? ... any other suggestions or ideas appreciated. What settings do you now have in the KM Preferences Cache settings tab? ... thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2011 03:20PM by duffy98.

duffy98,

I don't use W98se any more, having moved on to XP PRO SP3.

I use Gavotte Ramdisk at its default settings of 16 megs. I use 8 megs of that for KM on the default Drive R: and 8 megs for IE8.

In KM 1.6, beta 1, I have 8 megs each for memory and ramdrive.

N

ndebord ... thanks for replying. The default setting on RAMDisk9x was 10 MB ... I thought I should increase that amount and decided on 50 MB. I can always change it to a lower amount, I was going to go with 40 MB, decided on 50 MB. I'm going to see if I get any other replies from some RAMDisk9x users to see what settings they are using.

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duffy98
ndebord ... thanks for replying. The default setting on RAMDisk9x was 10 MB ... I thought I should increase that amount and decided on 50 MB. I can always change it to a lower amount, I was going to go with 40 MB, decided on 50 MB. I'm going to see if I get any other replies from some RAMDisk9x users to see what settings they are using.

duff698,

That sounds like it should work... Guenter did some research some time ago and the result was to say that when you run KM, you should allocate equal amounts of ram to memory and to disk (be it hard drive or ram drive), hence my 8 and 8. If I recall properly, the default memory in KM is only 4 megs, which I thought a bit low, so went to 8...

N

I've been using the RAMDisk9x with K-Meleon for several hours and I seem to notice that web pages appear to be opening not as fast as when I was using the Cache folder in KM/Profiles. I changed the cache path back to the KM folder, instead of the RAMDisk9x folder and the web pages seem to be loading a little faster. Can anyone else verify this ... that the RAMDisk drive is slower than actually using the Cache folder in the KM/Profiles folder?


Update ... Ok I am on a faster internet connection today and the RAMDisk9x Cache seems to be very fast so far. I have a very slow connection (from the stone age) at home and everything goes very slowwwww. I will keep using the RAMDisk9x Cache folder for now ... if anyone has thoughts on this, please post.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2011 03:48PM by duffy98.

A ram disk is a waste of time on a modern machine. These things are from like 20 years ago. As you noticed, it is faster to not use it! If you are going to use it, it doesn't make any difference wat FAT you use or what size you set it to, just make it bigger than the maximum disk cache size in KM. so it won't overflow.

why you don't need it? because modern browsers from since about 10 years ago already cache everything in RAM anyway. When you exit or when you idle, it copies it to disk cache. That means next time you don't have to download the picture. With your ramdisk you lose all that cache when you exit. so it is in fact useless. don't believe me? type about:cache?device=memory and you can see all the files in there. what's in there? nothing too important anyway...all the pdf's, video's, sounds, anything that is truly big, is handled by plugins that cache in the windows temp directory. KM only caches images, web page files, maybe javascript. These files are relatively small.

Since disk space is abundant, you should set your disk cache to 75MB. That's the maximum allowed. There is also a setting for memory cache size, but I found that setting that to max caused KM to avoid caching to memory, so just set it to automatic.

What cache settings might really make a difference? well, it's not the size it 's the method of checking whether the file is cached or needs to be updated. Even if the file is in cache, the browser needs to check if it changed on the server. This process can be time and bandwidth consuming, especially if you have lots of small images. How this works is controlled by the Cache comparison panel at the bottom of the cache tab in preferences. Once per Session means that if the image was checked since KM started, it just refetches from cache without a server call. This is a good general setting. You can experiment with this to see what you like best. I found that the "out of date " setting seemed slower than once per session.
These things are definitely more important on a slow connection.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2011 06:53AM by snuz2.

snuz2 ... thanks for taking the time to explain about RAMDisk and the KM settings. Yes, I am finding no real difference in speed using RAMDisk over the Cache folder in K-Meleon. I am using the KM Cache folder and your settings, I will try the "Once per Session" setting and everything else you suggested. I set my disk cache to 60 MB, so I will run all this for a week or so and see how it all goes. I have old computers ... Pentium 3's and Mobile Pentium M's notebooks but all have 40 GB Hard Drives with 512 MB Ram ... all are Windows 98SE. I did seem to notice that using RAMDisk Cache was slower than when I was using the KM Cache folder. I wasn't expecting that but I have a much slower internet connection at home and when I go to a local college to use their fast WiFi, it's hard to tell the difference between the two ... so yesterday I decided to just use the KM Cache folder. I put all your settings in this morning ... I read your post for the other ram cache question. This was all new to me a month or two back, just didn't completely understand about using RAMDisk in today's world. ... thanks again

Ha! you have double my memory ! I run 98 only as well. Mother board will not recognize a second bank of memory! If you suspect your browser is slow, I would look at what else is running on your system in the background that is stealing time and memory from it...and....make sure your network connection is setup and tuned. especially if the computer used to be used on dialup and now is on broadband.

You can get a decent free network tuning tool from speedguide.net that helped me on several websites that were superslow. I still had some dialup settings in my network config. I can help you if you run into trouble, it's a little complicated, jusst be patient and try to understand what is telling you.

Well, I have the ability to connect to the internet (at home or anyplace) through my cell phone with my notebooks ... been doing that since 2004 ... used to have a faster connection and the slow one available from Verizon, there were no separate voice/data plans back then in 2004 ... but the carriers soon (2005) separated the two to get more money from everybody. In 2004 Verizon sold certain cell phones that were data capable as well as voice ... you also had to buy a Verizon "mobile office home kit" for $40 that would allow a person to connect their notebook via USB to the internet and just use "anytime" minutes ... daily plan minutes or free minutes after 9 pm and weekends ... it was great for awhile until the carriers split voice and data to get more money but as long as I did not change my phone or my plan, Verizon will let everything stay as is ... there is a phone group I belong to on Yahoo and there are many people still out there that have held onto these older phones and plans ... some have other phones but still keep their older phone as a backup to connect to the internet. They are mostly RV (recreation vehicles/campers) people traveling all over the place ... back then (2004) that gave these people the ability to check e-mail and stuff when they were in range of a cell tower. I stumbled into the group in late summer 2004 and was fascinated by all the chatter about "using" a cell phone to connect a computer (desk or notebook) to the internet ... I moved fast ... there were only certain phones that had the "data" capability back then ... that was real "state of the art" back in 2004 ... most people probably only used those phones for voice calls only and never really knew they could also connect to the internet ... you had to buy that $40 "mobile office home kit" with a software CD and a USB "computer to phone" cord but "data" was free with the voice plan until the carriers started making changes in 2005 ... more money for them to start selling two plans. So I had two "data" speeds for many years for my computers ... just last year I finally lost the "faster" data speed but I still have the "slower" speed to get on the internet with no "extra" charges on my monthly voice plan ... Verizon has so far left everything alone ... as long as my phone keeps working ... I take very good care of it, like it was a "gold bar" or a "50 carat diamond" ... and as long as I don't change my Verizon plan ... I am still "good to go". I always knew one day I would lose the "faster" connect speed ... it finally happened last year, others have lost the faster speed years ago but everyone still has the slower speed connection, so I understand from the chatter at the cell phone group.

It's just not in my budget right now for faster broadband and such ... so I "put up" with my slow service at home since it is still there and doesn't cost me any extra on my bill. I just have be sure I never get mad and throw my cell phone at the wall or drop it in the toilet! ... believe it, someone in that cell phone group posted that they had accidentally dropped their cell phone in a toilet and was trying to get it dried out since they didn't want to have to buy a "newer" phone and have to start to pay for data service.

I found that I can speed up my home connection up by blocking javaScript, Popups and Images on the KM browser ... pages will open in a few seconds ... if I don't block JavaScript and Images, pages can take up to six minutes to load, all that stuff on those web pages, Facebook and everything loading up. Oh well, I wasn't planning to write all this ... but I just wanted to explain why (in this day and age) I still have a "slow" internet connection ... it doesn't cost me any extra for now and I can hook up my computer anywhere to get on the internet, even with it being slow ... as long as my phone battery has power. If I hit the lottery one of these days, I will have a faster internet connection somewhere in a beach house or a yacht. I will toss the old phone into the ocean ... no I couldn't do that, it has served me well all these years ... it was once a "state of the art" phone, now it's just a 'relic" from the past. Like Windows 98SE, a "relic" from the past also but it has served me well and still does.

... Yes, my computers all came with either 12 or 20 GBs hard drives and several years ago I thought I should get some 40 GB hard drives as the newer hard drives were getting larger and larger ... I decided on 40 GBs since I don't like storing too much on my hard drives, in case one would go bad ... this way I am forced every so often to burn stuff to a CD/DVD and delete stuff off the drive. I have never had a hard drive go bad yet but one never knows.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2011 10:07AM by duffy98.

Duffy98,

Know exactly what you are talking about. I was one of the very first to sign up for T-Mobile's 20 buck EDGE service, so get 24/7 unlimited data. I used an EDGE pcmcia card from Sony Ericsson that was painfully slow, but eventualy got 3G and a new TM506 (Sony Ericsson also) phone that also tethers directly to USB or through a Cradlepoint Router to run 3 computers that is like slow DSL.

Won't ever change, unless they give me the same plan, so no Android for me. Will see what they offer for Microsoft mobile 7 down the road. No tethering on the HD7, so...

N

ndebord, I hear you ... no Androids, Droids for me either. Sounds like you really had (have) a nice T-Mobile plan and setup. That Cell Phone group was mostly Verizon people at first then Sprint, ATT and others came along. I still really like my phone, it's just a phone with a little extra feature, being able to get online. I can do small downloads but I go to McDonalds or the library for anything really large. Have a nice college library near me and they have fast WiFi for guests. It all works for now until I get into a faster online service down the road. I've looked at the new phones ... they do a lot more than I really need and I hate the cost of a new voice/data plan, 2 yr contracts and all that junk. If I can still use and like Windows 98SE then I can still use a 7 yr old phone, which I happen to still like. Long live old software, OSs and cell phones !!!

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duffy98
ndebord, I hear you ... no Androids, Droids for me either. Sounds like you really had (have) a nice T-Mobile plan and setup. That Cell Phone group was mostly Verizon people at first then Sprint, ATT and others came along. I still really like my phone, it's just a phone with a little extra feature, being able to get online. I can do small downloads but I go to McDonalds or the library for anything really large. Have a nice college library near me and they have fast WiFi for guests. It all works for now until I get into a faster online service down the road. I've looked at the new phones ... they do a lot more than I really need and I hate the cost of a new voice/data plan, 2 yr contracts and all that junk. If I can still use and like Windows 98SE then I can still use a 7 yr old phone, which I happen to still like. Long live old software, OSs and cell phones !!!

duffy98,

I like the capability of your little phone! When first I got the EDGE service, you could either use the phone or the pcmcia card, but not both at the same time. That changed with the TM506 and 3G, but the hardware for that phone is limited. The new hardware is much faster and so too the service, the so-called 4G which at best is 3 1/2 G, maybe even 3 3/4 G, but definitely not 4G and good luck finding it anywhere but a major city. I like in Brooklyn, so I figure, at best, you'd get it in Midtown Manhattan and probably the financial district and not very many other places!

Yup, when T-Mobile first came out with the EDGE pcmcia card, I picked up the card the very first day. At the time they said the minimum OS was Windows ME, but as I had W98se, I worked my way through their tech support (where all but one said I was wrong) to tell them different. Finally I reached some guy who said: "Of course it works with W98se! Can you hold for a moment?" I was online at the time and almost instantaneously the site changed OS requirements from ME to 98se! So I knew I had reached a real boss!

I'm off contract, but am grandfathered with my old plan. Still waiting to see what they will offer on Feb. 11th, when T-Mobile has their annual push. Not a clue if anything will come up that will run on my old plan. I guess that a Windows Mobile phone "might" be available soon that will tether and give me a better speed and on my plan, but it is anybody's guess.

There are hacks on the HD2 to allow it to run Windows Mobile 7 and Android, so perhaps I can pick it up cheap, as officially it will only run Windows Mobile 6.5.

N



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2011 11:30PM by ndebord.