RAM Disk on Windows 11

Anonymous

Hi, I wanted to create a RAM disk on Windows 11. I found an article for Windows 7 and 10 which has been updated recently:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/create-a-ram-disk-drive-in-windows-7-and-windows/cd42aac4-8b0e-4b61-a2ea-9560a3e17d5b

However, when I tried it on Windows 11, it didn't seem to work properly.

After making changes to the TEMP and TMP environment variables as well as some application specific temp / cache paths to point them towards the RAM disk, everything appeared fine initially. But when running more intensive workloads, I experienced intermittent crashes and eventually a blue screen: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (probably related to the storage driver implementation used by ImDisk).

After reverting the changes I made to the temp / cache directories, removing the RAM disk, and uninstalling ImDisk, everything has been stable again.

My question is: Is there any way to set up a RAM Disk on Windows 11 without compromising system stability?

For my use case, I don't require persistent storage, but it should be auto-mounted on boot.

Thank you, Paul.

PS: Please ignore discussions regarding why someone might need such a setup; each person has their own unique use case which doesn't necessarily apply universally.

PPS: Revisiting this thread after nearly a year reveals that there is no official solution from Microsoft. While there may be paid options available, given the history of free solutions causing issues under load, I am hesitant to invest time and money checking each one individually.

In summary, there seems to be no official or unofficial (but endorsed) solution at present.

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Igor Leyko 112.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2023-03-25T13:05:05+00:00

Insteasd you can increase virtual memory size or page file size.

Sorry, but virtual disk (RAM disk) and virtual memory are totally different conceptions.

P.S. Windows 11 is Windows 10 successor and have a LOT of code that is common with Windows 10.
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VARADHARAJAN K 9,726 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2023-03-25T12:31:11+00:00

Windows 11 is entirely different from existing windows os, in windows 11, most advanced security features and vulnerable driver blocklist and many more.

ImDisk application uses Virtual Disk Driver to work properly in windows os except windows 11.

Virtual Disk Driver works on only Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10 and Windows Server 2003/2003 R2/2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2, 32 and 64-bit editions.

ImDisk application was developed using old windows SDK and WDK.

Insteasd you can increase virtual memory size or page file size.
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Igor Leyko 112.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2023-03-25T12:13:43+00:00

Microsoft have no recommendations to use virtual drives in Windows. 10-15 years ago, the developers studied the effect of RAM drives using in Windows, but it was found this may be useful only in some special cases not in general use.
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Anonymous

2023-03-25T01:55:15+00:00

Please run the V2 log collector and post a share link into this thread using one drive, drop box, or google drive.

https://www.tenforums.com/bsod-crashes-debugging/2198-bsod-posting-instructions.html

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/bsod-posting-instructions.103/
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Anonymous

2023-03-25T01:50:03+00:00

Hi, unfortunately I could not find the dmp file in the provided locations. (Are they getting automatically deleted after a successful reboot? I did that 1/2 times to check if everything was okay after I reverted the settings)

Anyway, I've found the official repo of ImDisk: https://github.com/LTRData/ImDisk

The developer clearly states that it is not recommended to be used on Windows Vista or later.

Which begs the question why it was even promoted for windows 7 to 10 in my previously linked article...

Again, doesn't matter, the developer points to a new project which should work: https://github.com/ArsenalRecon/Arsenal-Image-Mounter

I haven't tested it yet, but I will do so in the near future.

Still, I leave the question open though: Is there actually a Microsoft approved way to get a ram disk working on Windows 11?

Something along the lines of tmpfs which you'd find on bsd or linux would be prefect.
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