Allocate more memory to disk write cache?

[Timme]

5 minutes ago, Lurking said:

You mean keep OS on HDD. but use optane for that hybrid caching approach? 

 

If you use the optane for OS. the MB still needs to support booting from that. I have MB where that is the case, but I also had mB where it wasn't. 

 

I'm not fan of SATA, but a $10 used SATA SSD may work wonders here and for sure will work.

That's the whole point; it can be used as a regular SSD and can be a bootable drive.

[porina]

Is anyone actually bothering to read OP's post? It's a storage server. It runs Win7. It is NOT a desktop gaming system so all that other stuff is basically noise. The ask was simple: can OS write cache be increased? The short answer for Windows is still no.

 

Having a bigger write cache is a potential risk in case of power loss, but this is also the default behaviour of Linux based NAS including TrueNAS and Unraid based on my experience of both of them. ZFS likes to reorganise stuff before writing to help with perf. Unraid not using ZFS also uses common Linux behaviour which is a large proportion of system ram usable as write cache. Both of these can be adjusted in OS/FS settings.

[Timme]

48 minutes ago, porina said:

Is anyone actually bothering to read OP's post? It's a storage server. It runs Win7. It is NOT a desktop gaming system so all that other stuff is basically noise. The ask was simple: can OS write cache be increased? The short answer for Windows is still no.

 

Having a bigger write cache is a potential risk in case of power loss, but this is also the default behaviour of Linux based NAS including TrueNAS and Unraid based on my experience of both of them. ZFS likes to reorganise stuff before writing to help with perf. Unraid not using ZFS also uses common Linux behaviour which is a large proportion of system ram usable as write cache. Both of these can be adjusted in OS/FS settings.

RAM is managed on the CPU level. But. Intel Optane can be a virtual RAM with 256GB! Huh, a full circle to "get an SSD".

[Pusbucket]

While you can't do it natively in Windows 7, I found something, messaged it to Danalog, said it may be just what they are looking for;

 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/cacheset

[danalog]

22 minutes ago, Timme said:

RAM is managed on the CPU level. But. Intel Optane can be a virtual RAM with 256GB! Huh, a full circle to "get an SSD".

any drive can be a "virtual RAM" but that does not get remotely close to solving my issue 

[Timme]

1 minute ago, danalog said:

any drive can be a "virtual RAM"

While an HDD as a "virtual RAM" is fashionably analog, it is still a pile of spinning plates, a.k.a, audibly slow.  

[danalog]

1 minute ago, Timme said:

While an HDD as a "virtual RAM" is fashionably analog, it is still a pile of spinning plates, a.k.a, audibly slow.  

it was never my intention to put a pagefile on a drive at all, whether HDD or SSD 

[Timme]

Just now, danalog said:

a pagefile on a drive at all

Tell me if all that sounds like a pagefile:

PrimoCache's OS writing cache, using its "Defer-Write" feature, significantly boosts disk performance by intercepting write requests, telling the OS they're complete instantly (using fast RAM/SSD), and writing data to the slower physical drive later in optimized, merged, sequential blocks, reducing drive wear and improving overall speed, especially for random writes. It works at the sector level, bypassing Windows' own caching for better control and efficiency, allowing dedicated RAM or SSD space (Level 2) for writing, often with a UPS for safety. 

 

How PrimoCache Writing Cache Works

• Interception: When Windows sends data to write, PrimoCache grabs it first.
• Instant Acknowledgment: It immediately confirms the write to Windows, making applications feel very fast.
• Deferred Writing: Data sits in the fast cache (RAM or SSD) and is written to the main drive in the background.
• Optimization: It combines small writes, consolidates adjacent data, and avoids writing deleted temporary files, reducing disk I/O. 

 

Key Features & Benefits

• High Performance: Accelerates slow HDDs by using fast SSDs or RAM as a write buffer.
• Reduces Wear: Fewer direct writes to SSDs, potentially extending their life.
• Control: Can use dedicated RAM (L1) or SSD (L2) for caching, with options to share space or set aside specific areas for reads/writes.
• System Stability: Using a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is recommended to prevent data loss during power failures when using write-back caching. 

 

Configuration Options

• Level 2 (SSD/HDD Cache): Use a fast SSD as a cache for slower drives (like HDDs).
• L1 Cache (RAM): Can use unused RAM for super-fast buffering.
• Defer-Write: The core technology for accelerating writes.
• Block Size: Adjust cache block size for better random access (smaller) or throughput (larger). 

 

When to Use It

• When you need to dramatically improve write speeds for large files, databases, or heavy I/O applications.
• To make an older, slow HDD feel much faster with a small SSD.
• When Windows' default caching isn't sufficient or predictable enough. 

[Mark Kaine]

On 1/10/2026 at 8:22 PM, Lurking said:

Windows already uses RAM as it thinks will be more efficient. 

Thats part of the problem, for example read cache for thumbnails used to be 5GB or even unlimited, and now it's 2GB(???) that's just not enough if you have tons of pictures etc... you'll be looking at "loading screen" A LOT...

I think OPs problem might be similar, but then again 2GB ram really isn't a lot which maybe makes it even worse than it already is  

 

On 1/10/2026 at 11:38 PM, Timme said:

Tell me if all that sounds like a pagefile:

PrimoCache's OS writing cache, using its "Defer-Write" feature, significantly boosts disk performance by intercepting write requests, telling the OS they're complete instantly (using fast RAM/SSD), and writing data to the slower physical drive later in optimized, merged, sequential blocks, reducing drive wear and improving overall speed, especially for random writes. It works at the sector level, bypassing Windows' own caching for better control and efficiency, allowing dedicated RAM or SSD space (Level 2) for writing, often with a UPS for safety. 

 

How PrimoCache Writing Cache Works

• Interception: When Windows sends data to write, PrimoCache grabs it first.
• Instant Acknowledgment: It immediately confirms the write to Windows, making applications feel very fast.
• Deferred Writing: Data sits in the fast cache (RAM or SSD) and is written to the main drive in the background.
• Optimization: It combines small writes, consolidates adjacent data, and avoids writing deleted temporary files, reducing disk I/O. 

 

Key Features & Benefits

• High Performance: Accelerates slow HDDs by using fast SSDs or RAM as a write buffer.
• Reduces Wear: Fewer direct writes to SSDs, potentially extending their life.
• Control: Can use dedicated RAM (L1) or SSD (L2) for caching, with options to share space or set aside specific areas for reads/writes.
• System Stability: Using a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is recommended to prevent data loss during power failures when using write-back caching. 

 

Configuration Options

• Level 2 (SSD/HDD Cache): Use a fast SSD as a cache for slower drives (like HDDs).
• L1 Cache (RAM): Can use unused RAM for super-fast buffering.
• Defer-Write: The core technology for accelerating writes.
• Block Size: Adjust cache block size for better random access (smaller) or throughput (larger). 

 

When to Use It

• When you need to dramatically improve write speeds for large files, databases, or heavy I/O applications.
• To make an older, slow HDD feel much faster with a small SSD.
• When Windows' default caching isn't sufficient or predictable enough. 

Windows barely ever uses my page file (it's set to automatic)... I think 3.9% is max I've ever seen, usually it sits at 1.9-2.3% no matter what.... (I get it it doesn't need it or doesn't use it for cases it would actually be useful, see above, memory management, caching, etc on windows plain sucks and hasn't really been improved since windows 3.1 it feels like!)

 

On 1/10/2026 at 10:15 PM, porina said:

The ask was simple: can OS write cache be increased? The short answer for Windows is still no.

Whatever happened to Dave Plummers HyperCache?!

 

Edit: welp! (I wonder if it would actually help? )

 

https://github.com/PlummersSoftwareLLC/HyperCacheAmiga

[Kilrah]

58 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

Windows barely ever uses my page file (it's set to automatic)...

Well that's normal, you never want it to be used unless absolutely necessary, it's only there in case you run out of actual RAM to avoid stuff crashing outright, at the cost of being orders of magnitude slower.

[Mark Kaine]

3 hours ago, Kilrah said:

Well that's normal, you never want it to be used unless absolutely necessary, it's only there in case you run out of actual RAM to avoid stuff crashing outright, at the cost of being orders of magnitude slower.

Yeah but that's what I don't understand... it should know I use the "Nvidia" folder a lot, so why not set like actually 2GB on the disc aside for stuff like this, no way in hell those thumbnails are actually that big, i suppose one is typically in the kb range, right?

<-- and that's where the theoretical "hypercache" comes in

[Kilrah]

45 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

it should know I use the "Nvidia" folder a lot, so why not set like actually 2GB on the disc aside for stuff like this,

There's no point caching on disk what comes from disk...

If you're talking of the thumbnails thing then that's completely different and has nothing to do with filesystem cache or RAM or page file that are discussed here...