Classic Computer Magazine Archive COMPUTE! ISSUE 40 / SEPTEMBER 1983 / PAGE 10

READERS' FEEDBACK


RAMDISK
Could you tell me what a RAMDISK is?
Joe DeNicola

It is possible to use large amounts o f extra RAM memory as a simulated "disk drive." In fact, the decreasing cost of RAM chips has made "memory drives" quite popular. The advantage of a memory drive is that it is extremely fast -faster than any non-solid-state peripheral. Unfortunately, most of these memory drives lose what they've stored when you turn off your computer. Battery protected memory drives are available, but they are relatively expensive, since they require low-power special CMOS memory chips.

    Specifically, the RAMDISK is 128K of "bankselected" (you can call upon "banks" of 16K) memory. It includes software to use the extra memory as a simulated disk drive.