Romex Software Forum

Has testing on 4.1.0 turned up anything else with ReFS? I'm getting ready to build a new system and planning on using ReFS.

Support wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 3:21 am

dtsiapas wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 1:21 pm Do we have any more insight concerning refs and storage spaces?

After long-term testing, we finally reproduced the problem on ReFS in previous versions of PrimoCache. Now we are testing/checking if the problem still exists in v4.1.0. Thanks.

HyperionEx wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 11:56 am

ccarderr wrote: ↑Sun May 30, 2021 6:05 pm

New: Verify level-2 cache data on the next boot after an ungraceful shutdown, instead of simply cleaning all level-2 cache data.

Verification does not seem to work, today my PC shut down due to power outage, after reboot L2 cache was wiped.
I have two NTFS partitions on local HDDs in Windows RAID0 configuration.

Same for me, L2 reset hapened multiple times (LSI RAID + intel 750 L2) ... A primocache operations log with infos like L2-cache reconstruction ok or failure too would be nice !

Happened again today (cache flushed at restart) after an primocache unrelated blue screen (seems so at least), all L2 cache lost (>200go). I looked after the sleep issue but mine is unrelated (dont even use sleep function). I use windows fastboot but don't wanna disable it because it is really usefull to reduce windows 10 starting times.

As i said before a log with debug or unusual operations result would be very helpfull (could be written in windows events would work too). Is the L2 cache repair not launching / not working ? Could ther be a function to repair it manually from primocache ui when needed ...

HyperionEx wrote: ↑Thu Aug 05, 2021 3:17 pmI use windows fastboot but don't wanna disable it because it is really usefull to reduce windows 10 starting times.

That right there is going to cause ongoing issues for you for as long as you leave it enabled, no matter where your bluescreens are coming from. So in fact, you have two issues: a misconfiguration, and an instability in the system. First thing to do is disable Fast Boot. THEN find the cause of the bluescreens. Typically W10 only bluescreens because of hardware or driver related problems (or occasionally heat). It is almost impossible for application-level programs to cause BSODs, so start with your hardware.

The real goal is to have a system which is stable/reliable enough to not need a cache verification routine. I haven't had a BSOD on my primary work/gaming rig since switching from W1 to W10 on it many years ago, primarily due to how I handle it and chase down any potential issue even before it has a chance to appear.

As a sidenote: the failure of the L2 to verify on startup may be related to fast boot - I don't know since I use recommended Primocache guidelines. If you can, turn it off while you test and chase down the BSODs. Diagnosing two issues simultaneously is a full factor harder than doing just one.

Bluescreens seems to be an issue with nvidia driver and the hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling on the rtx 3090 (seems so at least, because doesnt happen anymore when disabled).

How can i check if Primocache cache verification is working ? What scenarios are triggering the verification ? Does Primocache cache verification only work when there is a shutdown because of a power outage ?

I dont mind trying it

@HyperionEx, after an unexpected shutdown, "Free Cache (L2)" in PrimoCache will be L2 cache size which means that no L2 data, if no verification is introduced.

Support wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 12:06 pm @HyperionEx, after an unexpected shutdown, "Free Cache (L2)" in PrimoCache will be L2 cache size which means that no L2 data, if no verification is introduced.

You mean that we can see when it doesn't work without log ?

My questions are about the l-2 cache verify as introduced in 4.0.1

Version 4.0.1 (2020-12-31)

New: Verify level-2 cache data on the next boot after an ungraceful shutdown, instead of simply cleaning all level-2 cache data.

So my previous questions were what exactly is triggering this check, and in which cases it wouldnt or wouldn't work. I wanted to try because i never seen it working (lost all cache many times)...

Other questions coming to my mind about it :

When exactly is the check done (i suppose at start, when windows is loading?) , how much time is needed to do the whole check (typically). Could we expect some cache repair functionnality that would only delete corrupt cache filesystem parts and not the whole cache (would be great, because building a 200gb+ cache takes time) ?

Thanks

HyperionEx wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:24 pm You mean that we can see when it doesn't work without log ?

Yes. For eg. if you set up 10GB L2 cache, and in the last normal Windows session, L2 has cached 4GB data and "Free L2" is 6GB. Now if you encounter an unexpected shutdown, before v4.1, L2 will be reset and after boot you will see "Free L2" becomes back to 10GB. In v4.1 PrimoCache will try to verify L2 data and you will see that "Free L2" is not back to 10GB.

HyperionEx wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:24 pm I wanted to try because i never seen it working (lost all cache many times)...

Maybe you should try turning off the Windows Fast Startup and then check. With fast startup, multiple bsod might happen and this will cause L2 verification not working.

HyperionEx wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:24 pm Could we expect some cache repair functionnality that would only delete corrupt cache filesystem parts and not the whole cache (would be great, because building a 200gb+ cache takes time) ?

Sorry, but no, because the corruption might be unexpected.

Hi.

Can we update w10 to win11 with this version already installed ?

Thx : )

Rootax wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 6:16 pm Hi.

Can we update w10 to win11 with this version already installed ?

Thx : )

I did update few days ago and PrimoCache works without problems.
Looks like Win11 is just Win10 21H3/4 named as Win11 (like Win 10 21H1/20H2/20H1 etc. before).

Support wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:01 am @Stateless, yes, this is planned in the next release. Thanks.

Still waiting, have been unable to use my StorageSpaces SSD RAID volumes for a long time now, which is awful considering that I was able to with 4.0.1.