Kilobyte

Abbreviated as K, kB, and KB, a kilobyte is equal to 1,024 bytes, however is also defined by the IEC as equal to 1,000 bytes. Therefore, a KB could really equal either of these values, however is widely accepted as being 1,024 bytes.

Tip: With a lowercase b (Kb), this refers to a kilobit. see the kilobit page for definition of a kilobit.

Microsoft DOS smartdrv command

Quick links

About smartdrv
Availability
Syntax
Examples

About smartdrv

The smartdrv, or smartdrive, is an utility that can be loaded in the autoexec.bat to create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.

Many times users will use this utility on their boot disks as it can sometimes greatly increase the speed of how MS-DOS accesses disk drives.

Note: Users who are using Microsoft Windows instead of MS-DOS should not load this line in the autoexec.bat and should not run this command while Windows is running. Users running Microsoft Windows 95 or 98 will not be able to load this command unless they are in an MS-DOS shell.

Availability

The smartdrv.exe command is an external command that is available in the below Microsoft operating systems.

MS-DOS 6.0 and above
Windows 3.x
Windows 95
Windows 98

Syntax

Installs and configures the SMARTDrive disk-caching utility.

SMARTDRV [/X] [[drive[+|-]]...] [/U] [/C | /R] [/F | /N] [/L] [/V | /Q | /S] [InitCacheSize [WinCacheSize]] [/E:ElementSize] [/B:BufferSize]

/X	Disables write-behind caching for all drives.
drive	Sets caching options on specific drive(s). The specified drive(s) have write-caching disabled unless you add +.
+	Enables write-behind caching for the specified drive.
-	Disables all caching for the specified drive.
/U	Do not load CD-ROM caching module.
/C	Writes all information currently in write-cache to hard disk.
/R	Clears the cache and restarts SMARTDrive.
/F	Writes cached data before command prompt returns (default).
/N	Doesn't write cached data before command prompt returns.
/L	Prevents SMARTDrive from loading itself into upper memory.
/V	Displays SMARTDrive status messages when loading.
/Q	Does not display status information.
/S	Displays additional information about SMARTDrive's status.
InitCacheSize	Specifies XMS memory (KB) for the cache. Extended memory InitCacheSize value 1MB or less All 1MB to 2MB 1MB 2MB to 4MB 1MB 4MB to 6MB 2MB 6MB or more 2MB
WinCacheSize	Specifies XMS memory (KB) for the cache with Windows. If this option is not specified smartdrv will default the wincachesize to the amount of extended memory available. Below is a basic chart of what will be set. Extended memory WinCacheSize value 1MB or less 0 1MB to 2MB 256KB 2MB to 4MB 512KB 4MB to 6MB 1MB 6MB or more 2MB
/E:ElementSize	Specifies how many bytes of information to move at one time.
/B:BufferSize	Specifies the size of the read-ahead buffer.

Examples

c:\dos\smartdrv.exe /x

Placed in the autoexec.bat. This command loads the smartdrv utility into memory and allows it to be used as well as disables the write-behind caching for all drives.

c:\dos\smartdrv.exe C 1024 512

Specifies a size to be used with smartdrv. When a cache size is not specified, smartdrv will use all extended or expanded memory.

Microsoft Windows 95, 98, and ME setup switches

Below is a listing of the different switches and options that can be run in conjunction with Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows 98 setup.exe

Windows 98 and Windows ME users only

Switch	Description
/m	Causes windows to not play the introduction .wav sound file.
/na	Bypasses the Microsoft Windows program check and can be used in conjunction with the below options. 0 = Default setting. 1 = No Windows-based program check, MS-DOS-based programs are blocked. 2 = No MS-DOS-based program check, Windows-based programs are blocked. 3 = No Windows-based or MS-DOS-based program check.
/nd	Force Microsoft Windows to overwrite most newer files. Note: This can potential compatibility issues with windows and in some cases Windows to no longer function if restored using this option.
/nf	Stop the prompt to remove the floppy disk from occurring.
/nh	Bypass running the hwinfo.exe program.
/nm	Bypass running the minimum system hardware requirement test.
/nx	Skip the check for versions of setupx that are running.
/ia	Turn off the after providers listed in setupc.inf under [AfterProvider]
/ib	Turn off the before providers listed in setupc.inf under [BeforeProvider]
/ic	Clean boot.
/ie	Skip the Windows 98 startup disk wizard screens.
/in	Do not call the setup code.
/ir	Do not update the MBR.
/iv	Do not display the setup screens during an upgrade within Windows.
/ix	Do not perform a character set test.
/f	Fast. Notifies setupx dosFindFirst looks in filename cache.
/u:<UPI>	Enables users to specify an UPI.

Windows 95 and 98 users

Switch	Description
/?	Displays a brief listing of the available options for the setup.exe command and how to use them. Note: Not all the commands listed on this page are listed in this command.
/c	Does not run smartdrive.
/d	Does not use or ignores the existing win.ini and the system.ini.
/id	Does not check for free space.
/ig	Run setup for older computers.
/ih	Runs scandisk in foreground.
/im	Ignore the conventional memory check.
/iq	Does not run scandisk. However, does check for cross linked files.
/is	Does not run scandisk.
/it	Does not check for TSRs.
/IW	Ensure that the IW is in CAPS, skips the license agreement.
/l	Uses Logitech mouse.
/n	Run setup without the use of a mouse.
/t:<dir>	Where to copy setup's temporary file. When finished all files in this directory will be deleted.
-s	Utilize a different setup.inf file for installing Windows.