Hmm, interesting. I would be keen to see how it only loads the used bits into memory. How much memory would a 'normal' W7 boot require? What happens when it runs out of memory? Does it work on an individual file level? i.e. when the os reads a file, does the driver put it into memory first and redirect the 'read' to memory??

Depending on how it works I think I would still be interested in loading a whole VHD into memory at the GRUB menu point.

Will tight integration with vboot be possible? Is this a free or paid product?

I have never tried booting a windows VHD on a Mac. I just assume it would work as you can boot linux which uses GRUB and because Vboot uses GRUB it works right? To clarify: I don't have OS X installed on my Mac, I purely run W7. The Mac mini is the best hardware and W7 MC is the best software for the HTPC job.....

I write the occasional article for www.smallnetbuilder.com and would be keen on writing about Vboot/RAM booting if you are interested.

Keep up the innovative work.
Kevin

yes, this driver operates on file level, it loads individual files to memory, not even the entire file, only the bytes that requesting by the caller are put to memory. After the first call, these bytes will be feteched from memory. How much memory depends on the options, for example, you can configure to release memory when file handles are closed, or still leave memory after files are closed.

1G memory is enough to boot windows 7 (when compressed option is used).

Yes, the tradional memory loading is also useful, we will add that to VBoot loader and vboot drivers.

This new tool will be free. We want people to use it for virus protection purpose, so changes to windows can be easily discarded, and windows restores to original state after reboot. RAM booting is more or less a side effect of this main use.

when memory is used up, you will receive disk full error.

for example, if you assign 1G memory to drive C:, drive C: will have free space about 1G.

This has really got a cool feature that when it is enabled all changes to a hard drive contained withing a VHD gets stored in separate file along with options to undo the changes if you want..

Just in case you don't know, if you use VBoot, you can easily take a snapshot at boot time, all changes will save to a differential file. Next reboot, you can delete the snapshot. This is the best way to discard any changes.

VBoot is sector level tool, and this new tool is file based. The main target is for users who boot windows from real hard disks.

broadbandservices wrote:
This has really got a cool feature that when it is enabled all changes to a hard drive contained withing a VHD gets stored in separate file along with options to undo the changes if you want..

We hear your concerns about pricing. We have reduced it to $79 for single computer license.

kevinherring wrote:


What I did want to do is beg you to review your pricing. $99 is too much! I paid less for an entire operating system (W7)! I understand that you are relatively small organisation, but when I say to the wife "I want to spend $100 on a thingy that lets me boot stuff a bit better" I get laughed at!

I shall keep logging in with anticipation.

Kevin