Microsoft KB Archive/94604

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Incorrect SMARTDrive BufferSize Setting Hangs System

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Q94604

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows versions 3.1, 3.11
 * Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11

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SUMMARY
SMARTDrive version 4.0, the disk-caching utility supplied with Windows, has a switch, /b:BufferSize, that enables you to change the default size of SMARTDrive's buffer. If this switch contains an invalid entry, the result could hang the system during startup, requiring a boot (system) disk to start the computer.

MORE INFORMATION
SMARTDrive's buffer is separate from the cache. Data is initially transferred to the buffer's memory, then written to the cache in portions, as determined by the /e:ElementSize switch. The default element size is 8192 bytes.

The BufferSize setting is measured in bytes and has a default value of 16K. Page 540 of the &quot;Microsoft Windows User's Guide&quot; states that the valid values for BufferSize can be any multiple of the ElementSize setting. The guide provides no upper limit. However, there is an upper limit on the BufferSize setting based on how much memory is available in the upper memory area (UMA) or in conventional memory.

The valid entries for ElementSize and BufferSize are as follows:

  If This Value Is Used for /e       Use This Value for /b --

/e:1024              Multiples of /e up to and including /b:16384 /e:2048              Multiples of /e up to and including /b:32768 /e:4096              Multiples of /e up to and including /b:57344 /e:8192              Multiples of /e up to and including /b:57344 If you attempt to use any other values, you may experience one of the following problems:


 * The system stops responding (hangs).
 * The error message &quot;Sector not found reading drive x&quot; (where &quot;x&quot; is the drive being accessed after SMARTDrive is loaded) appears.
 * The size of SMARTDrive's buffer will not match the BufferSize setting.

For additional information about SMARTDrive, refer to pages 539-541 in the &quot;Microsoft Windows User's Guide.&quot;

Additional query words: 3.10 3.1 smartdrv smartdrv.exe buffer size crash lock lockup DocErr smart drive

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Technology : kbAudDeveloper kbWin3xSearch kbWFWSearch kbWin310 kbWin311 kbWFW310 kbWFW311