“I have tested VHD Pro extensively in both Windows Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64.  It provides flawless and stable storage."

Farstone is a company that specializes in high-end storage solutions for the large-enterprise market.  But, they make this one little piece of software, for which they charge under $30, of which any consumer with a high-end computer can greatly benefit.

A ramdisk (Farstone: Virtual Hard Drive Pro) is a very useful if one's software generates a lot of temporary files and requires fast access to those files.  The ramdisk has been a staple of both business and "geek" computing for twenty years.  It's an excellent way of serving up files real fast for both networks and single-computing configurations.

A ramdisk provides "volatile" storage.  When the machine is shut down, your files disappear.  If security is an issue, these "disappeared" files have no trace, unlike when deleted from a hard drive.  This certainly has its advantages.

The Farstone Virtual Hard Drive Pro product is the first I have come across that provides a viable ramdisk from system memory for 64-bit computers.  I have tested VHD Pro extensively in both Windows Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64.  It provides flawless and stable storage.  There are many such products for the 32-bit market, and none will work in a 64-bit environment.

There is another software-based ramdisk on the market made by a company whose name begins with "Ce...." for 64-bit computers.  This product provided a read speed far less than a standard hard drive.  This was shocking.  How could a ram-based program be so inefficient?

The Farstone VHD Pro competes well with other ramdisk solutions.  There are now several companies that produce external ramdisks in a hard drive form factor.  Here, the drive box contains DDR-type memory, often with a battery backup, making the RAM non-volatile.  I have tried a few.  All are at least a few hundred dollars.  They work well, but for speed and security, the Farstone either is equal to, or outperforms the external ramdisk in every read/write/copy test.  Also, by adding a drive box with ram chips, one increases the power needs and heat factor of the computer.

I am surprised at how "unknown" VHD Pro product is.  The word is not out there.  Apparently, I am one of the first geeks (i.e., ordinary consumers with enthusiasm) to use the thing.  The company was very open to my suggestions as to improving the product.  They actually listened to me and tweaked the program.

So, all in all, I give VHD Pro and Farstone customer service high marks.  But, that's easy.  VHD Pro is the only kid in the class!