Command: tdsk
TDSK creates a RAM disk. Part of memory is set aside to act like a disk
drive. Because memory is much faster than a real disk drive, RAM disks
are very fast, but anything stored on them will be lost when the machine
is restarted or switched off. TDSK supports XMS, EMS and conventional
memory.
Syntax:
device=tdsk.exe size [[s_sector [files [s_cluster]]]] [/E] [/A|X] [/C]
[/M]
Options:
size the size of the RAM disk, from 8 to 65534 (in Kilobytes).
[[s_sector [files [s_cluster]]]]
Advanced. The size of the sectors, root and clusters
on the disk.
Valid values for sector are 32,64,128,256,512,1024,2048.
Files (in the root direcotry) can be from 1 to 65534.
Clusters can vary from 1 to 255 (some systems are restricted
to 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128)
/E Forces the use of XMS memory
/A Specifies the use of EMS memory
/X Specifies the use of EMS memory
/C Forces use of conventional memory (not ideal, so it is generally
only recommended for systems without XMS/EMS or if you are having
problems with XMS/EMS memory.)
/I:nnn nnn=country code. This will show the help in another language.
/M Switches the screen output from color to monochrome(redirect-
able) while in CONFIG.SYS monochrome will be used by default.
/B avoids to load TURBODSK if there is at least one hard disk
available on the system.
/F selects the number of FAT copies (1 by default) up to a maxi-
mum of 2.
/H Shows the help
/? Shows the help
Comments:
Size must be in the range 8 - 65534 KB; valid sectors are from 32 to 2048
Bytes (in powers f 2), though some DOS versions support 128, 256 and 512
Bytes only. Files of root may be 1 to 65534 and sectors by cluster can
vary from 1 to 255 (some systems need a power of 2). Only the size is
necessary.
Turbodsk defaults to XMS or EMS.
After installing TURBODSK in CONFIG.SYS it can be run from AUTOEXEC.BAT
or the prompt in order to vary the drive size (amount of memory used);
this also erases the drive's contents. A size 0 can be used to completely
free the memory occupied by the drive: When using conventional memory it
is useful to cancel a drive BEFORE resizing. When more than one TURBODSK
is installed, they can be identified by additionally giving the drive
letter.
By default, tdsk tries to use XMS or EMS, before trying to use
conventional memory. Most modern computers have XMS.
Why use a RAM disk?
Many programs create temporary files, which will be stored in a temporary
directory specified by an environment variable:
set temp=c:\temp
Temporary files are deleted when a program exits anyway. So one of the
main uses of RAM disks is to hold this temporary directory. This
increases such programs' performance.
TDSK has the following EXITCODES (ERRORLEVEL):
0: Disk not defined
255: Driver not installed from CONFIG.SYS
254: Incorrect drive letter specified
253: Attempt to define a drive from within a multitasking environment
such Windows, DOSSHELL, TASKMAX/TASKMGR, etc.
252: Syntax error
Other values below 128 are related to the handle used in both
the Extended or the Expanded memory.
Examples:
IN CONFIG.SYS/FDCONFIG.SYS:
device(high)=c:\fdos\bin\tdsk.exe 8096
(creates 8096 KB RAM disk)
tdsk.exe 0 resizes the ramdisk to 0 Byte size (deletes all files)
tdsk.exe 2048 resizes the ramdisk to 2048 KB size (deletes all files)
See also:
autoexec.bat
config.sys
(emm386 (EMS))
fdconfig.sys
(fdxms (XMS))
(fdxms286 (XMS))
(himem (XMS))
himemx (XMS)
jemm386 (EMS)
jemmex (EMS)
rdisk
File:
Please read this command's lsm file also.
You will find the updated version (internet) here and
the version described in this manual page here.
The lsm file contains information about the name of the programmer,
the download site, and some other command related information.
Copyright © 2003 Robert Platt, updated 2011 by W. Spiegl.
This file is derived from the FreeDOS Spec Command HOWTO.
See the file H2Cpying for copying conditions.