AmigaOS 3.1 Command Reference

ADDBUFFERS


Format:
ADDBUFFERS <drive> [<n>]

Template:
DRIVE/A, BUFFERS/A

Purpose:
To instruct the file system to add cache buffers.

Path:
C:ADDBUFFERS

Specification:


ADDBUFFERS adds <n> buffers to the list of buffers available for <drive>.
Allocating additional buffers makes disk access significantly faster.
However, each additional buffer reduces free memory by approximately 500
bytes. The default buffer allocation is 5 for floppy drives and 30 for hard
disks.

The number of buffers you should add depends on the amount of extra memory
available. There is no fixed upper limit, but adding too many buffers can
actually reduce overall system performance by taking RAM away from other
system functions. If a negative number is specified, that many buffers is
subtracted from the current allocation. The minimum number of buffers is
one; however, using only one is not recommended.

Thirty buffers are generally recommended for a floppy drive in a 512kB
system. The optimal number for a hard disk depends on the type and size of
your drive. Usually you should use the default value recommended by the
HDToolbox program. (This value can be displayed by selecting the Advanced
Options gadget on the Partitioning screen.) As a general rule, you can use
30 to 50 buffers for every megabyte of disk storage in your system.

If only the <drive> argument is specified, ADDBUFFERS displays the number of
buffers currently allocated for that drive.

Example 1:

1> ADDBUFFERS DF0:
DF0: has 5 buffers

Displays the number of buffers currently allocated to drive DF0:.

NB!


If you use an unmodified version of the original Startup-Sequence, supplied
with your Amiga Workbench 3.0 diskette, you will receive the message "DF0:
has 20 buffers", because that Startup-Sequence automatically adds 15 buffers.

Example 2:

1> ADDBUFFERS DF1: 25
DF1: HAS 30 BUFFERS

Adds 25 buffers to drive DF1: and displays the total.


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