Cache

[Chabib]

I have a lot to learn about computers. I recently had a 40g hard drive, 7200 speed, installed replacing a 20g. and I was told that my cache increased fron 200 to 800. What does that do to my computer and what the heck is cache? Thanks in advance.

[Mark]

See this URL about 'cache':

http://www.pcwebopedia.com/TERM/c/cache.html

and this URL

HOW TO: Set Performance Options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308417&Product=winxp

about the virtual memory size that may relate to the cache message you are
seeing.

"Chabib" > wrote in message
...
> I have a lot to learn about computers. I recently had a 40g hard drive,
7200 speed, installed replacing a 20g. and I was told that my cache
increased fron 200 to 800. What does that do to my computer and what the
heck is cache? Thanks in advance.

[David Robbins]

"Chabib" > wrote in message
...
> I have a lot to learn about computers. I recently had a 40g hard drive,
7200 speed, installed replacing a 20g. and I was told that my cache
increased fron 200 to 800. What does that do to my computer and what the
heck is cache? Thanks in advance.

'cache' is a term used to refer to temporary storage either in memory or on
a hard drive. it is used to make access to things that you use often
faster. bigger is usually better. letting windows control the size is
usually better than trying to do it yourself unless you really know what you
are doing. if you want more specific answers you will have to describe
exactly which cache you are worried about.

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Chabib,

Caching is a means of storing recently accessed data for quicker retrieval.
In essense, the system does not have to "go looking" for it, it's already
there. This is useful when a program or routine reuses the same data over
and over, as it can speed the routine up by eliminating (or cutting down on
really) the seek and retrieve step. A similar function exists for the cpu,
and within programs on your machine. One example is the temporary internet
files, which stores information from recently accessed web pages. When you
revisit those sites, the system simply loads the data you already have,
rather than redownloading it from the site. It's a bit more complicated than
that (has to check for updated information and such as well), but this is
essentially how it works.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Win98 Help - www.rickrogers.org

"Chabib" > wrote in message
...
> I have a lot to learn about computers. I recently had a 40g hard drive,
7200 speed, installed replacing a 20g. and I was told that my cache
increased fron 200 to 800. What does that do to my computer and what the
heck is cache? Thanks in advance.

[Alex Nichol]

Chabib wrote:

>I have a lot to learn about computers. I recently had a 40g hard drive, 7200 speed, installed replacing a 20g. and I was told that my cache increased fron 200 to 800. What does that do to my computer and what the heck is cache?

There are quite a lot of caches around: they are used for temporary
'parking' of files, so as to speed up access. That particular one is on
the hard disk itself, for it to copy data into as it reads it from the
drive, so that there can then be a smooth uninterrupted transfer if the
data is called for by the computer itself in chunks.


--
Alex Nichol MS MVP (Windows Technologies)
Bournemouth, U.K. (remove the D8 bit)