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SmartDrive (or SMARTDRV) is a disk caching program shipped with
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
versions 4.01 through 6.22 and
Windows 3.0 Windows 3.0 is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, launched in 1990. It features a new graphical user interface (GUI) where applications are represented as clickable icons, as opposed to the list of file names seen in its predecesso ...
through
Windows 3.11 Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0. Like its predecessors, the Windows 3.1 series ran as a shell on top of MS-DOS. Codenamed Janus, Windows 3 ...
. It improves
data transfer rates In telecommunications and computing, bit rate (bitrate or as a variable ''R'') is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. The bit rate is expressed in the unit bit per second (symbol: bit/s), often in conjunction w ...
by storing frequently accessed data in
random-access memory Random-access memory (RAM; ) is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working Data (computing), data and machine code. A Random access, random-access memory device allows data items to b ...
(RAM). Early versions of SmartDrive were loaded through a
device driver In computing, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and ot ...
named . Versions 4.0 and later were loaded through an
executable In computing, executable code, an executable file, or an executable program, sometimes simply referred to as an executable or binary, causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction (computer science), instructi ...
file named , which could be run at user's discretion or at boot time via . However, also includes a
double-buffering In computer science, multiple buffering is the use of more than one buffer to hold a block of data, so that a "reader" will see a complete (though perhaps old) version of the data, rather than a partially updated version of the data being creat ...
driver that should be loaded through . Version 4.0 also introduced 32-bit disk access and could reduce its footprint in
conventional memory In DOS memory management, conventional memory, also called base memory, is the first 640 kilobytes of the memory on IBM PC or compatible systems. It is the read-write memory directly addressable by the processor for use by the operating system ...
(the first 640 kilobytes of memory which was critical to
DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...
) by running in
upper memory area In DOS memory management, the upper memory area (UMA) refers to memory between the addresses of 640  KB and 1024 KB ( 0xA0000–0xFFFFF) in an IBM PC or compatible. IBM reserved the uppermost 384 KB of the 8088 CPU's 1024 KB ...
(the 384 kilobytes of memory located beyond the conventional memory). A cloaked variant of SmartDrive utilizing the
Helix Cloaking DOS Protected Mode Services (DPMS) is a set of extended DOS memory management services to allow DPMS-enabled DOS drivers to load and execute in extended memory and protected mode. Not being a DOS extender by itself, DPMS is a minimal set of ext ...
API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
was available from Helix Software. On
Intel 80386 The Intel 386, originally released as 80386 and later renamed i386, is a 32-bit microprocessor introduced in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistorsprotected mode In computing, protected mode, also called protected virtual address mode, is an operational mode of x86-compatible central processing units (CPUs). It allows system software to use features such as virtual memory, paging and safe multi-tasking d ...
to reduce its footprint in conventional memory. Microsoft suggests SmartDrive to be used when installing
Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), releas ...
or
Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
from MS-DOS to reduce installation time. SmartDrive has been superseded by VCache, which was introduced in
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was Released-to-manufacturing, released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0. Like its predecessors, the Windows 3.1 series ran as a Shell (computing), shell ...
and carried over to
Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...
,
Windows 98 Windows 98 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. The second operating system in the 9x line, it is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to ...
/
Windows 98 SE Windows 98 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. The second operating system in the 9x line, it is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to ...
and
Windows Me Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me (marketed with the pronunciation of the pronoun "me"), is an operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Windo ...
. The main advantage of VCache over SmartDrive is its ability to adjust cache size dynamically. However, it tended to take too much RAM in Windows 95; this aspect was improved in Windows 98.


See also

*
FASTOPEN In computing, FASTOPEN is a DOS terminate-and-stay-resident command, introduced in MS-DOS version 3.3, that provides accelerated access to frequently-used files and directories. The command is also available in SISNE plus. Overview The command w ...
*
List of DOS commands This article presents a list of commands used by DOS operating systems, especially as used on x86-based IBM PC compatibles (PCs). Other DOS operating systems are not part of the scope of this list. In DOS, many standard system commands were pro ...
*
32-bit file access 32-bit file access refers to the higher performance, protected mode disk caching method introduced in Windows for Workgroups 3.11, which replaced SmartDrive (Smartdrv). It bypassed MS-DOS and directly accessed the disk, either via the BIOS or (pref ...


References

{{Reflist Hard disk software DOS software