Advice Request A question about Shadow Defender RAM cache

[Frib004]

Hey, there! I have a question about Shadow Defender cache: my computer has 8GB RAM and I put 2 GB for Shadow Defender RAM cache, but it fills up really fast even when browsing the web, which does not make modifications enough to fill up the cache like other tasks like updates, etc.
So, any idea what is happening? I'm using Shadow Defender v.726 and Windows 10 Home Single Language 22H2.
Thanks in advance.

 

[pvsurfer]

Hey, there! I have a question about Shadow Defender cache: my computer has 8GB RAM and I put 2 GB for Shadow Defender RAM cache, but it fills up really fast even when browsing the web, which does not make modifications enough to fill up the cache like other tasks like updates, etc.
So, any idea what is happening? I'm using Shadow Defender v.726 and Windows 10 Home Single Language 22H2.
Thanks in advance.

If/when SD's Write Cache has filled-up the RAM you have allocated to it, SD automatically reverts its Write Cache to disk. From a performance standpoint, I've concluded there is very little to be gained by allocating any amount of RAM for SD's Write Cache, so I suggest simply letting it reside entirely on disk.

 

[Frib004]

Update: i discovered the source of this "problem": the modern applications. Unninstalled some with Revo Unninstaller and the RAM cache works normmally without getting filled up so fast.

If/when SD's Write Cache has filled-up the RAM you have allocated to it, SD automatically reverts its Write Cache to disk. From a performance standpoint, I've concluded there is very little to be gained by allocating any amount of RAM for SD's Write Cache, so I suggest simply letting it reside entirely on disk.

One of the advantages using RAM cache is to prolong the lifespan of the shadowed disks, using free RAM. I assigned 1.5GB and it is working.
One curious thing is the "space used by SD" which there's some MB's even when there's RAM cache:

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

Plus, you can encrypt the write cache.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

If you get the balloon popup. Set the value in more detail to one.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

Some Hints:

Download URL: Shadow Defender - the easiest PC/laptop security and privacy protection tool

Install Marcrium Reflect free and make a complete disk image onto a USB stick.

Dissable fast startup: Doesn't come out of shadow Mode on restart.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power]
"HiberbootEnabled"=dword:00000000

GUI wont start:

start a command prompt as an administrator then type the following command and press Enter:
reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\diskpt /v Control /t REG_DWORD /d 268435456 /f
Reboot and try again.

BSOD:

Some research (googling, actually) let me to suspect that the retained shadows of the drive were somehow corrupt, so I simply deleted them (vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all). Since then, there have been no errors reported, new shadow snapshots were created and everything else is working OK.

Drive Z: Error:

In SD's admin section, (administration) Click More Details. Where it says Others, change that from 200 to 1

Check for drive errors on reboot coming out of Shadow mode:

Here on my system,Win 11 Enterprise,I tried all the check disk options along with all the great check disk third party Apps along with the HD manufacture software. None of that worked and so I can only run using RAM.
RAM used as write cache on my system is set to 1000

 

[Frib004]

@ticklemefeet thanks for the information, I'm not a new user of Shadow Defender, I used it in 2018 and I went back using it now.
Some hint I'd add is to use "exit Shadow Mode on shutdown", because if I choose the option "enter Shadow Mode on boot" and keep it for a few days, the boot becomes really slow. So I activate Shadow Mode every time I turn on the computer, using the "exit Shadow Mode on shutdown" option. That's a workaround I found to sidestep this problem. I sent a email to the support, but I didn't receive an answer yet.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

@ticklemefeet thanks for the information, I'm not a new user of Shadow Defender, I used it in 2018 and I went back using it now.
Some hint I'd add is to use "exit Shadow Mode on shutdown", because if I choose the option "enter Shadow Mode on boot" and keep it for a few days, the boot becomes really slow. So I activate Shadow Mode every time I turn on the computer, using the "exit Shadow Mode on shutdown" option. That's a workaround I found to sidestep this problem. I sent a email to the support, but I didn't receive an answer yet.

Please let us know if ever do get an answer

 

[Frib004]

So, I didn't receive an answer but in the The unofficial Shadow Defender Support Thread. I downloaded old versions that seems that fixed my problem. Currently, I'm using the v.591 and it's running fine.

 

[Bot]

Hello! It's possible that your browser is using more memory than you think, causing the Shadow Defender RAM cache to fill up quickly. Additionally, other programs and background processes may also be using some of your computer's memory, contributing to the filling of your cache.

You can try reducing the amount of RAM allocated to the Shadow Defender cache to see if it helps. Alternatively, you can consider using a different security software or incorporating additional RAM into your computer.

Also, it's worth noting that the Shadow Defender cache is not intended to be a long-term solution for storing system modifications. It's designed to be cleared upon reboot, which helps to prevent malware from persisting after a restart. If you're experiencing issues with your computer's performance, it may be worthwhile to investigate other possible causes.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Frib004]

I installed v.591 and the problem with slow boot and fast RAM cache filling up was solved. Maybe it's a bug in the newer versions.

 

[pvsurfer]

I installed v.591 and the problem with slow boot and fast RAM cache filling up was solved. Maybe it's a bug in the newer versions.

Glad to hear that SD v1.4.0.591 does not exhibit the same issue (so far, that is). Later releases of SD consisted mostly of patches (by 'Tony') to make SD more compatible with Windows 10 as it was evolving. So as you are a Win10 user, you may very well experience other issues running SD v1.4.0.591 - good luck with that !

 

[Frib004]

Probably these are some bugs that affected only a few users.