# Command: tdsk

      TDSK creates a RAM disk. Part of memory is set aside to act like a disk
      drive. Because memory is much faster than a real disk drive, RAM disks
      are very fast, but anything stored on them will be lost when the machine
      is restarted or switched off. TDSK supports XMS, EMS and conventional
      memory.

## Syntax:

      device=tdsk.exe size [[s_sector [files [s_cluster]]]] [/E] [/A|X] [/C]
                           [/M]

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## Options:

      size    the size of the RAM disk, from 8 to 65534 (in Kilobytes).
      [[s_sector [files [s_cluster]]]]
              Advanced. The size of the sectors, root and clusters
              on the disk.
              Valid values for sector are 32,64,128,256,512,1024,2048.
              Files (in the root direcotry) can be from 1 to 65534.
              Clusters can vary from 1 to 255 (some systems are restricted
              to 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128)
      /E      Forces the use of XMS memory
      /A      Specifies the use of EMS memory
      /X      Specifies the use of EMS memory
      /C      Forces use of conventional memory (not ideal, so it is generally
              only recommended for systems without XMS/EMS or if you are having
              problems with XMS/EMS memory.)
      /I:nnn  nnn=country code. This will show the help in another language.
      /M      Switches the screen output from color to monochrome(redirect-
              able) while in CONFIG.SYS monochrome will be used by default.
      /B      avoids to load TURBODSK if there is at least one hard disk
              available on the system.
      /F      selects the number of FAT copies (1 by default) up to a maxi-
              mum of 2.
      /H      Shows the help
      /?      Shows the help

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## Comments:

      Size must be in the range 8 - 65534 KB; valid sectors are from 32 to 2048
      Bytes (in powers f 2), though some DOS versions support 128, 256 and 512
      Bytes only. Files of root may be 1 to 65534 and sectors by cluster can
      vary from 1 to 255 (some systems need a power of 2). Only the size is
      necessary.
      Turbodsk defaults to XMS or EMS.
      After installing TURBODSK in CONFIG.SYS it can be run from AUTOEXEC.BAT
      or the prompt in order to vary the drive size (amount of memory used);
      this also erases the drive's contents. A size 0 can be used to completely
      free the memory occupied by the drive: When using conventional memory it
      is useful to cancel a drive BEFORE resizing. When more than one TURBODSK
      is installed, they can be identified by additionally giving the drive
      letter.
      By default, tdsk tries to use XMS or EMS, before trying to use
      conventional memory. Most modern computers have XMS.
      Why use a RAM disk?
      Many programs create temporary files, which will be stored in a temporary
      directory specified by an environment variable:
       set temp=c:\temp
      Temporary files are deleted when a program exits anyway. So one of the
      main uses of RAM disks is to hold this temporary directory. This
      increases such programs' performance.
      TDSK has the following EXITCODES (ERRORLEVEL):
          0: Disk not defined
        255: Driver not installed from CONFIG.SYS
        254: Incorrect drive letter specified
        253: Attempt to define a drive from within a multitasking environment
             such Windows, DOSSHELL, TASKMAX/TASKMGR, etc.
        252: Syntax error
      Other values below  128 are related to  the  handle  used  in  both
      the Extended or the Expanded memory.

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## Examples:

      IN CONFIG.SYS/FDCONFIG.SYS:
        device(high)=c:\fdos\bin\tdsk.exe 8096
                       (creates 8096 KB RAM disk)
        tdsk.exe 0     resizes the ramdisk to 0 Byte size (deletes all files)
        tdsk.exe 2048  resizes the ramdisk to 2048 KB size (deletes all files)

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## See also:

      autoexec.bat
      config.sys
     (emm386 (EMS))
      fdconfig.sys
     (fdxms (XMS))
     (fdxms286 (XMS))
     (himem (XMS))
      himemx (XMS)
      jemm386 (EMS)
      jemmex (EMS)
      rdisk

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## File:

      Please read this command's lsm file also.
      You will find the updated version (internet) here and
      the version described in this manual page here.
      The lsm file contains information about the name of the programmer,
      the download site, and some other command related information.

#### [Main menu] [top] [Syntax] [Options] [Comments] [Examples] [See also] (File)

      Copyright © 2003 Robert Platt, updated 2011 by W. Spiegl.

      This file is derived from the FreeDOS Spec Command HOWTO.
      See the file H2Cpying for copying conditions.