Rion_Starkiller Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) There is no direct boot batch command file, you'll need to use Task Scheduler. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/make-vista-launch-uac-restricted-programs-at-startup-with-task-scheduler/616 Looking at it now. Thanks. Its in the OP, right under it too. Okay, I see it. Apologies Nice post & thank you. Edited January 19, 2012 by Rion_Starkiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBite Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) Lets talk about increasing SWTOR Performance by working around Engine Bottlenecks! Right now this focuses on placing DiskCacheArena and 2 buffer files DiskCacheStatic / DiskCacheStream on a RamDrive. The increase in performance I've seen during my test for the past few days was quite nice, resolved 2 issues with the engine. The First being a performance drop once DiskCacheArena starts becoming full where data needs to be flushed during gameplay, causing severe hitching even on an SSD. Second is for Static and Stream, simple buffers that work wonders in a RamDrive but will slow performance anytime they are on disk; the performance drop remains even if Arena is in a RamDrive. Now why is this a bottleneck? First when the game is started, it mounts the MYP/TOR files in ..\Assets\ loads the data from there by streaming with the Static and Stream files into DiskCacheArena. Once there it can be loaded by the engine for use in General Gameplay. Its a pretty slow method but it does work for now. A better solution would be to mount the data and have the game pull from that as one large LRC, with all data created by the engine and downloaded from the server to go into DiskCacheArena; giving it proper priority over the mounted data. Another solution would be to make use of MemoryMan.dll and spawna third process to act as a light RamDrive for DiskCacheArena with the write buffers for machines with enough ram - a simple toggle could be added in the launcher. Setting up a RamDrive You will need 6 Gigs or more of Ram and some software, your other solution is to hunt one of these down if you lack the ram via OS limits. Software After doing some research for some lightweight software you have 2 solutions, the choice is yours. StarWind Software Virtual RAM Drive EmulatorFast, GUI Only, limits RamDrives to 1024 MB eachImDisk Virtual Disk DriverFast, Primitive GUI, CLI Solution for Setup on System Boot, no RamDrive size limits Setup with Starwind Virtual RAM Drive Emulator Click Add Device and set the Size to 1024 MB, unchecking both optionsClick Next and setup a second DiskOpen your Computer Management Panel, and click on Disk ManagementYou should see your drives in the lowest Panel, scroll down that list until you see the two drives you created with the SoftwareRight Click one and choose Spanning DiskIn the Window add in the other Disk you created and choose nextFormat as NTFS and give it a fancy name http://i.imgur.com/YdSQ0.png http://i.imgur.com/zAnwW.png http://i.imgur.com/ArJb7.png Setup with ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver imdisk -a -s 2G -m T: -p "/fs:ntfs /q /y" Setting up Folder Junctions Find our where your SWTOR is located, As an example my install is located on S:\Applications\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Open your Start Panel click Run and type in %appdata%You should be in a folder called C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local, go up one level to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\ and click on LocalScrolling down you should see a folder called SWTOR, go in it and Copy the settings folder to INSTALLLOCATION\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\retailclient\Delete the SWTOR folder in LocalRun cmd with Admin Rights adjust this line to your Windows Username.mkdir T:\SWTOR\swtor mklink /J "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\SWTOR" "T:\SWTOR\" [color="Red"]mklink /J "T:\SWTOR\swtor\retailclient\settings" "INSTALLLOCATION\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\retailclient\settings"[/color] mklink "INSTALLLOCATION\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\DiskCacheArena" "T:\DiskCacheArena" If DiskCacheArena exists already in the SWTOR folder, delete it. What to do on a Reboot? Easy, if you're using Starwind's software repeat the 7 setup steps everytime your system comes online. And you'll be dropping this into a console after you setup your drives. mkdir T:\SWTOR\swtor mklink /J "T:\SWTOR\swtor\settings" "INSTALLLOCATION\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\retailclient\settings" With ImDrive this is a bit easier, just stick it in the boot batch file. imdisk -a -s 2G -m T: -p "/fs:ntfs /q /y" mkdir T:\SWTOR\swtor mklink /J "T:\SWTOR\swtor\settings" "INSTALLLOCATION\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\retailclient\settings" I haven't tried this still but isn't the third row in the code window (colored in red if you open the quote inside the "spioler" tag) wrong. And shouldn't it be changed to: mklink /J "T:\SWTOR\swtor\settings" "INSTALLLOCATION\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\retailclient\settings" At least my directory is C:\Users\UMB\AppData\Local\SWTOR\swtor\settings P.S sorry if it was mentioned before but its too late here and i will read the whole thread tomorrow. Edited January 20, 2012 by SBite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rion_Starkiller Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) yeah, here's what mine ended up like: mkdir T:\SWTOR\swtor mklink /J "C:\Users\FANBOY\AppData\Local\SWTOR" "T:\SWTOR" mklink /J "T:\SWTOR\swtor\retailclient\settings" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic\swtor\retailclient\settings" mklink "C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic\swtor\DiskCacheArena" "T:\DiskCacheArena" PS - I created my boot task per the OP's instruction, but I'm half-scared to reboot Edited January 19, 2012 by Rion_Starkiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macheteman Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I'm not doing all this to fix something that is wrong with the game, not my computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rion_Starkiller Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I'm not doing all this to fix something that is wrong with the game, not my computer. I do this for fun. What I learned in this thread, I can apply to other games and programs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkitethreeeight Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I'm not doing all this to fix something that is wrong with the game, not my computer. Thanks for letting us know...? I'll be trying this tonight, and I'll try to put up a complete batch file that simplifies the whole deal (think one click to do the work and call the launcher.) It'll be for ImDisk unless it gives me issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon_King Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) I haven't tried this still but isn't the third row in the code window (colored in red) wrong. and shouldn't it be changed to: mklink /J "T:\SWTOR\swtor\settings" "INSTALLLOCATION\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\retailclient\settings" At least my directory is C:\Users\UMB\AppData\Local\SWTOR\swtor\settings P.S sorry if it was mentioned before but its too late here and i will read the whole thread tomorrow. Fixed it, updated the post and accidentally altered every single /settings. No need to quote the entire post for one thing. Thanks for letting us know...? I'll be trying this tonight, and I'll try to put up a complete batch file that simplifies the whole deal (think one click to do the work and call the launcher.) It'll be for ImDisk unless it gives me issues. End user install location are hard to predict, which is why I made a tutorial. Edited January 19, 2012 by Lemon_King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon_King Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Updated the Tutorial a bit, removed %appdata% and replaced it with %userprofile%\appdata\local to make things a bit easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rion_Starkiller Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) A little nitpicking: I think you should move the "If DiskCacheArena exists already in the SWTOR folder, delete it" line to #4 under "Setting Up Folder Junctions" Some of us easily overlook the fine print Edited January 19, 2012 by Rion_Starkiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon_King Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) Added and placed on Step 4. Edited January 19, 2012 by Lemon_King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon_King Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Late night bump among the chaos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiEDeN Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Excellent guide, bumping so this stays on the front page! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkitethreeeight Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) End user install location are hard to predict, which is why I made a tutorial. Agreed. I've written something that I think will work but I'd like to test it tomorrow night before posting. And, since I didn't mention it before, props to you for coming up with this. Edited January 19, 2012 by mrkitethreeeight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tindin Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 great post. but we as players should not have to fix there problems with this stuff. it should have been fixed by them. and not everyone that is have problems is going to beable to do this. for those that can do this it does work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundledeep Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Is this fixing the big FPS spikes people on decent rigs are encountering in WZ's and such. I have tried every other workaround to no avail and this looks like my lost shot before I unsub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interceept Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Loading new game textures & opening bag/map/inventory i get like a 1sec freeze . think this will help ( sorry if it stands somewhere , im just a bit off ) Because this is kinda out of my knowledge range x) But if it's a chance it'll work i'll give it a try Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rion_Starkiller Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I had to delete my folder junctions in order to reapply everything after reboot. Is there a better way of doing this other than Task Scheduler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakarai Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I read though all the pages and noone answered the question as to what exactly this does. So can someone tell me what does this do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBite Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Fixed it, updated the post and accidentally altered every single /settings. No need to quote the entire post for one thing. It's in spoiler tag now. I was not in post formating mood and halfway into bed sleeping at 9.30h in the morning after playing whole night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkitethreeeight Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 So my batch file is mostly working. ATM I'm having trouble getting the launcher to launch in the right place on Windows 7. On XP what I have should work fine as is. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll get it dialed in and post it for some testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon_King Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 So my batch file is mostly working. ATM I'm having trouble getting the launcher to launch in the right place on Windows 7. On XP what I have should work fine as is. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll get it dialed in and post it for some testing. Use this guide and point it to your batch file: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/make-vista-launch-uac-restricted-programs-at-startup-with-task-scheduler/616 I read though all the pages and noone answered the question as to what exactly this does. So can someone tell me what does this do?You're basically taking 3 files that are used more than they should be from your HDD to a faster medium such as your system ram. Boosting performance and on some systems, client stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkitethreeeight Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) Use this guide and point it to your batch file: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/make-vista-launch-uac-restricted-programs-at-startup-with-task-scheduler/616 Slightly different problem, but I got it worked out. It won't start unless the working folder is its own directory. OK, the following SHOULD work for people using IMDISK. It: 1. Figures out where swtor is installed by checking the registry 2. Copies the settings folder from your profile to the installation location 3. Creates the ramdisk 4. Creates the t:\swtor\swtor\retailclient folder structure 5. Creates the symlinks 6. Starts the launcher There are basic checks at each stage so we don't do extra work or destroy something useful. There's also one handled error regarding the isntall folder location. It's hardcoded to use T: as the ramdisk drive. If you want to change that, change all references from t: to the desired letter. --++==INSTRUCTIONS==++-- Windows XP: copy and paste the text into a batch file. Run the batch file. Windows Vista / 7: Copy and paste the text into a batch file. Either RMB - run as administrator, or create a shortcut tot he batch file, go to Properties - Advanced, and check the "Run as administrator" box. USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY PROBLEMS YOU MAY HAVE AFTER RUNNING THIS CODE. I will, however, try to help in any way possible. So, with no further ado... @ECHO OFF :SETVARS for /F "skip=2 tokens=3,*" %%i in ('reg query "hklm\software\bioware\star wars-the old republic" /v "Install Dir"') do set installloc32=%%j for /F "skip=2 tokens=3,*" %%i in ('reg query "hklm\software\wow6432node\bioware\star wars-the old republic" /v "Install Dir"') do set installloc64=%%j IF NOT DEFINED installloc32 IF NOT DEFINED installloc64 GOTO ERRnoinstloc IF DEFINED installloc32 IF DEFINED installoc64 GOTO ERRinstloc IF NOT DEFINED installloc32 set installloc=%installloc64% IF DEFINED installloc32 set installloc=%installloc32% :COPY IF NOT EXIST "%installloc%\swtor\retailclient" (xcopy "%localappdata%\swtor\swtor\settings" "%installloc%\swtor\retailclient" /E /I && ren "%localappdata%\swtor" swtor-orig) :MKDRIVE IF EXIST t:\ GOTO MKFOLDER imdisk -a -s 2G -m T: -p "/fs:ntfs /q /y" :MKFOLDER IF EXIST "t:\swtor\swtor\retailclient" GOTO MKLINK1 mkdir t:\swtor mkdir t:\swtor\swtor :MKLINK1 IF EXIST "%localappdata%\SWTOR" GOTO MKLINK2 mklink /J "%localappdata%\SWTOR" "T:\SWTOR" :MKLINK2 IF EXIST "T:\swtor\swtor\settings" GOTO MKLINK3 mklink /J "T:\swtor\swtor\settings" "%installloc%\swtor\retailclient\settings" :MKLINK3 IF EXIST "T:\DiskCacheArena" GOTO LAUNCH ren "%installloc%\swtor\DiskCacheArena" DiskCacheArena-orig mklink "%installloc%\swtor\DiskCacheArena" "T:\DiskCacheArena" :LAUNCH set installdrive=%installloc:~0,2% %installdrive% cd %installloc:~2% start "" "%installloc%\launcher.exe" /MIN GOTO EOF :ERRinstloc @ECHO ON @ECHO "Hmm, you seem to have two installation folders. Better post in the SWTOR forum!" @ECHO OFF PAUSE GOTO EOF :ERRnoinstloc @ECHO ON @ECHO "I can't find your installation folder! Sorry! Post in the SWTOR forum if you have questions." @ECHO OFF PAUSE GOTO EOF :EOF All credit goes to lemon_king for the method. I'm sure someone out there can improve on this, it's certainly not perfect but it IS fairly simple. HTH! EDIT 1/22/12 - I just ran this after a reboot and the game fired right up. I did notice a couple of lines that needed fixing (sloppy / system specific) and fixed them. EDIT 1/23/12 - fixed the run as administrator instructions (thanks flem). EDIT 1/26/12 - fixed for install locations with spaces (thanks several folks.) EDIT 1/29/12 - added an error for no install location Edited January 30, 2012 by mrkitethreeeight fix hard coded e: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoUZeroEnna Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 These are really informative and great options. Alot of people out there do not know to much about computers thou and asking them to do this is quite a feat for them so for those computer users out there who are not to tech savvy I would suggest them downloading Game Booster. It is an amazing piece of free software and you can a low performance comp or even mid performance computer into a computer that is doing good performance and that can run the game on pretty high settings. Shoot I still use game booster and my computer is a beast with the 1100t Black Edition CPU and 2 6970 HiS Turbo GFX cards and 16gigs of ram, overkill I know. So go to http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html and download Game Booster 3. It is a free piece of software and it will work wonders for everyone's computer. Even top of the line rigs will have an increase in performance. Have fun and enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rackward Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Ok, so i had a peek at this and it seems like really smart thinking Anyway, my question is this. I only have 6GB in my laptop. Now im not entirely sure how this works but it seems like you're dedicating a section of the ram to be used by tor. If i do this with 6gb of ram will it choke up the rest of my processes? Is it just going to force some of the cache in virtual ram anyway, which would nullify the point of this? I know you said you should do it with 6GB or more but i just wanna check this 6 is actually enough >< anyway, thanks for taking the time to share this its a really good guide and a really good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rion_Starkiller Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) Don't you have to delete the junction(s) and move the DiskCacheArena file back to it's original location every time you shut down? That's what I'm having to do in order to reapply everything at next boot up because the RAMdisk is not permanent. Edited January 21, 2012 by Rion_Starkiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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