Cache out of room

[bgoodman4]

Last night I was testing some new software and I got a message that there was 0 space left in the cache (or something like that). I rebooted the PC and continued testing, got the message again and this time it was somewhat difficult to get the PC to reboot normally (everything took a fair bit of time to occur,,,,clicked on close app & had to wait, clicked on start, had to wait for the start menu to open up,,,etc, etc). How would I increase the amount of space allocated to the cache? I cannot find any setting to do this. I have something like 5150 mg allocated at this time (or something like that).

EDIT: I have the paid version.

[Coldmoon]

Hi,
Are you gaming and saving the sessions?

[TechOutsider]

General question: Can you expand the cache space?

[bgoodman4]

No, all I was doing was testing a number of audio editing programs. Not the big ones like SoundForge or Audacity, but small ones. A number were free and a few were shareware (under $30). I installed a couple and was testing them as to suitability for a novice to audio editing when the problems began. If they had been heavy duty sophisticated programs I would not have been surprised but thats not the case.

[Coldmoon]

I think TechOutsider has the right idea and it was what I was thinking too. Audio editing can take up room even if the program is a "lighter" type. Remember that you will need at least 2x's the space for every file. This means that if you have a 50 meg file, you will need 100 MG to clone it...

Increase the size of your cache to twice the space it has now and see if this resolves the space issue and then refine it (up or down) to better fit your environment and how you use your system on a regular basis.

Edit: spelling

[bgoodman4]

{QUOTE-> I think TechOutsider has the right idea and it was what I was thinking too. Audio editing can take up room even if the program is a "lighter" type. Remember that you will need at least 2x's the space for every file. This means that if you have a 50 meg file, you will need 100 MG to clone it...

Increase the size of your cache to twice the space it has now and see if this resolves the space issue and then refine it (up or down) to better fit your environment and how you use your system on a regular basis.

Edit: spelling <-QUOTE}

Thank you Coldmoon (its a pleasure having you monitor the forum and provide quick and knowledgeable ans to questions, as far as I am concerned this is a big selling point for the program).

How do I increase the cache size? I looked for a setting somewhere in the program but cannot find it. Do I have to uninstall and reinstall?

[Coldmoon]

{QUOTE-> ...How do I increase the cache size? I looked for a setting somewhere in the program but cannot find it. Do I have to uninstall and reinstall? <-QUOTE}

Win XP:
Click start > Programs > Returnil > Uninstall. When the uninstaller opens, select the "Repair" option to access the same screens you used during the original installation to set your configurations.

Win Vista
Click start > Programs > Returnil and then right dlick the Uninstall option. From the right click menu, select "Run as Administrator" and then proceed as described under the XP instructions above.

[bgoodman4]

Thank you very much.

[bgoodman4]

Well that was not much fun.... Tried to do as you suggested and when I selected the amount (10000 meg) and hit next the PC froze. Had to do a manual shut down and then spent the next X min trying to get the system back up. Finally did an image restore with Acronis True Image. IF I try that again I will fully uninstall Returnil and then reinstall. For now its fine as it is.

PHEW

[tekie]

Seems to me, you have a hardware issue.
You could run several different test to rule these out:

1. Bad Sector(s) on Hard Drive
2. MFT Corrupt on Hard Drive
3. Memory hole in Ram

1 gb of disc space is alot of audio in wave format.

ONE FULL HOUR of wave audio in 44.1khz stereo = 600 mb's

I typed all that, to say that I work with VIDEO which uses 3 times
what you do with audio and am only using a 3 gb cache.

cheers!

[bgoodman4]

Thanks for the reply, so how do I test for the 2nd and 3rd in your list. Mind you I don't think its the 3rd because just over a month ago I was having BSOD problems and it turned out to be a bad memory stick which of course was replaced so its probably not that.

[tekie]

I don't use Vista - but, if you're using XP ...

Right-click on your Hard Drive "C:" in My Computer - choose Properties.
Go to the Tools Tab.
Under Error Checking -- press the "Check Now" button.
Put a check mark in both boxes and click "Start".

Windows will ask you to restart your computer .. click "Yes".

Close all your programs and restart your PC.

Windows will now do a complete check of your Hard Drive.
Which, takes care of 1 and 2.
(most likely will take 30 minutes to an hour to do)

You'll need a Ram checking program to check your Ram.
Theres tons of those out there on the net, for free.

A good one will have a "butterfly" test.

Edit:

I would uninstall RVS before I tried these test.

[bgoodman4]

Thanks and sorry, what is RVS?

[tekie]

Returnil Virtual System

[Coldmoon]

{QUOTE-> Well that was not much fun.... Tried to do as you suggested and when I selected the amount (10000 meg) and hit next the PC froze. Had to do a manual shut down and then spent the next X min trying to get the system back up. Finally did an image restore with Acronis True Image. IF I try that again I will fully uninstall Returnil and then reinstall. For now its fine as it is.

PHEW <-QUOTE}

Did the computer actually freeze or was the cache creation process still working? Depending on the size you select, the actual creation of the cache (and VP) can take time. Do check the hardware issues as tekie describes and let us know if this resolves the issue. If not, please provide as detailed a report as you can about when this happens in the process and any/all error messages. Also check your System event logs for any RVS entries or related entries from the same time period.

Thanks
Mike

[bgoodman4]

Hi Coldmoon, I changed from about 4500 meg to 10,000, I hit OK to do the conversion and that was it. Sat there for about 7 or 8 min and decided it was not happening. When I installed the program the first time it took much less time (very fast as I recall, maybe a min). When I get a chance I will do the test suggested and report back but I don't really feel like playing with the system just now. For the most part Returnil has worked beautifully, I just will be cautious with using it with audio or video editing programs. Besides, i have settled on a nice audio program (a free version of WavePad) so hopefully this is a non-issue at this point.

[tekie]

Just a heads up ...

Anytime you have Ram troubles ... the likelihood that you have a bad sector(s)
on your hard drive is pretty good. Bad memory and bad sectors go hand in hand.

If you had BSOD's because of bad memory ... that raises the likelihood of bad sectors tremendously. That might explain why you can't seem to lay down a 10gb cache.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

-
edit: spelling

[tekie]

I just ran a test on a so so computer:

1.6 Ghz Pentium - 256 mb Ram - 80 gb Hard Drive - WinXP

Installed RVS with 10 gb cache and a 10 gb virtual partition.

Total Installation time: less than 4 minutes.

-

Took about 3 minutes of that 4 to lay down the virtual partition.

-

[bgoodman4]

Thanks, I will try to get to the tests this weekend and let you know the results.

While we are talking,,,,lately when I reboot, if one of my external drives is one (a particular one) Windows says that a disk check has been scheduled for it (but none has) and then just sits there doing nothing. I have to manually shut the PC off, turn the drive off, and then reboot. Then it boots fine. This began since my cache issue and the restore. Any ideas?

[tekie]

Hmm .. that might be another whole can of worms.

Whats the size, make, USB or Firewire? Details might help.

Most externals will indicate whether it's being accessed or not.

How long did you wait for it to scan?

[bgoodman4]

Its a WD 320 gig USB drive. I waited about 10 min and the process was still at 0%.

[tekie]

Well ... hmm

Do you know how to edit the registry?

Because there is a very simple fix for this.

[bgoodman4]

{QUOTE-> Well ... hmm

Do you know how to edit the registry?

Because there is a very simple fix for this. <-QUOTE}

I have done it with step by step (written) guidance but would not dream of attempting it on my own. I do regularly backup and clean my registry (Registry Fix 7) so I could recover from a screwup (I think).

[tekie]

ok - READ CAREFULLY

run, regedit

look for a key called:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager

Look for the String Name in the right pane: BootExecute

Double-click on it

This is what it looks like to run a scan on C:

autocheck autochk /r \??\C:
autocheck autochk *

-

Backspace everything except for:

autocheck autochk *

(make sure there are no spaces to the left or right of it)

Click Ok

Exit out and reboot.


----------------------------------------------

Standard Disclaimer when editing the Registry:

You can do serious harm to your system if you edit the Registry
wrong, which may require you to reinstall your operating system.

Use this information at your own risk.

[bgoodman4]

Just to be clear,,,I leave the entry

autocheck autochk /r \??\C:
autocheck autochk *

as shown at the end of the process?

Or do I leave it as

autocheck autochk *

Or are you refering to an entry that looks like

autocheck autochk /r \??\C:
autocheck autochk *

but has a K at the end instead of a C

(its the external K drive that has the problem)

[tekie]

leave it as:

autocheck autochk *


This will put it in it's normal mode.

[bgoodman4]

OK, so I remove the following

autocheck autochk /r \??\C:


and leave only


autocheck autochk *


Thanks, I will get to this sometime this week and report back.

[bgoodman4]

check disk indicated all was fine. When I get a chance I will run the memory test.

[bgoodman4]

Hi tekie, I have not had a need to try editing the registry as the problem seems to have disappeared. Odd stuff as I had a few other transient problems (mouse freezing etc) during the same time frame and all these sorts of problems seem to have sorted themselves out.

Thanks for your help though, much appreciated.

[tekie]

No problem 8)