Guide On ExpressCache: "I Want My ExpressCache Back!" Edition

You only want to use ExpressCache if you have (A) a relatively slow hard drive AND (B) a small, but faster SSD (or iSSD integrated on the motherboard). ONLY if you have both of those.

If you don't have an iSSD, it makes no sense to use ExpressCache, it would only slow your HDD down further.

And if you have a "real" SSD large enough to install Windows and apps, it ALSO doesn't make sense to use ExpressCache, it would only slow your fast SSD down.

 

Thanks Dannemand, now how would I know if I have an iSSD? I have this model Samsung 15.6" TouchScreen Laptop 8GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive NP780Z5E-S01UB - Best Buy I cant find anything on the site about it having one, so I assume it doesn't?

 

Open Windows Device Manager and look under Disk drives to see if there is a disk other than your main one (and not an external one you might have connected). Alternatively, open Windows Disk Management and see if there is a small disk (8-24GB) with all grayed out options when you right click its partition.

Update: It'll look like the below screendump when you right-click the partition of an ExpressCache drive (assuming it has an ExpressCache partition).



I don't think your model has ExpressCache. I believe Samsung stopped with it in the new Series 7 models.

 

Looks like I don't have it


But anyway, thanks for all the help guys! You all are awesome

 

This guide helped me: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/705681-howto-configure-large-32gb-ssd-work-expresscache.html

 

Hi guys. I have allready installed macdisk but right now I can't find out how to create the HFS partition. Can anyone help me looking into this?
thanks in advance

 

Hi duartem,

You really shouldn't need that manual bypass operation. Any recent version of ExpressCache will find the iSSD and create a partition automatically when it is installed - unless something is truly broken. If you already have ExpressCache installed, and know that it isn't working, just try and uninstall/re-install it, reboot in between.

If it still won't work, try and uninstall/re-install BOTH ExpressCache and Easy Settings (simply called Settings if you're using Win8). Still, reboots in between. Sometimes you need to reboot twice for ExpressCache to kick in.

After you got it installed, run bootopt.bat in the ExpressCache program folder to repopulate the cache.

AS mentioned in the Opening Post, use ECCmd -INFO to from an elevated command prompt to check status of ExpressCache.

Let us know how it goes

 

Keep in mind that HFS has nothing to do with Apple OS. This is the File System specific to Condusiv's ExpressCache product. To format the partition you will either need to install ExpressCache or perform an ECCmd -format command from within ExpressCache.

 

ExpressCache has been tested on many differnet combinations of SSD/HDD systems. In all cases it has shown dramatic improvements in Boot times and access to frequently accessed data. It is true that the access time and data transfer rate of the devices within the system will vary your results but I have never seen a configuration where the installation of ExpressCache has not been beneficial.

 

That is true, assuming the drive you use for the cache (iSSD) is sufficiently faster than the drive you're caching (HDD) to make up for the overhead of the ExpressCache software.

Many people ask if they should use ExpressCache after replacing their HDD with an SSD, and the answer is almost always NO, because most "real" SSDs are faster than the iSSD built into these Sammies.

Similarly with member elghouchd's recent question about installing ExpressCache on his new NP780Z5E: It doesn't have an an iSSD (to my knowledge) hence even if you managed to force ExpressCache to run using an HDD partition, it would only slow things down.

I know, that may be self evident when you know how ExpressCache works. So the best we can do is try to spread that message whenever people ask

 

Hello all!

First post, but difficult question (I think).

I have the Series 7 700z7c-so1us and have upgraded the 5400rpm 1tb drive with a 512gb Samsung 840 pro, and moved the hdd to the Optical drive bay via caddy. I am dual booting Win 8 on the ssd, and win 7 on the hdd. I would like to somehow enable expresscache on the win 7 hdd in the optical bay. Is this possible?

I have read through this entire thread and though I have seen the question posed, I have not seen an answer.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

@neubauej: Welcome to the forum. That's a nice machine and a VERY nice SSD

I would think you should be able to install ExpressCache in your Win7 (on the HDD) and have it use either the iSSD or a partition on the SSD as cache -- though I have not tried myself to install ExpressCache on a machine that contains two SSDs. Using a small partition on your (nice big) 840 Pro as ExpressCache will almost certainly be faster than using the slower iSSD. On the other hand, you may not have a better use for that iSSD.

You may have to use the following command (in an Admin Command Prompt) to create an ExpressCache partition on the drive you want to use for the cache:

ECCmd -PARTITION [DriveID] [PartSize]

Just type ECCmd with no parameters for syntax. Also, once you have it running, I would use the following command to prevent ExpressCache from caching your 840 pro -- which is much faster than the iSSD anyway:

ECCmd -EXCLUDE [DriveLetter]

You will run into one snafu that bothers me as well: Every time you have booted your other OS (in your case Win8) ExpressCache will be flushed next time you come back (in your case to Win7). This causes both unnecessary wear on the iSSD and time wasted rebuilding the cache.

I believe this is by design on the part of Diskeeper (the company behind ExpressCache) to prevent mixing caches for two different OS's. But it is very annoying when you have deliberately installed ExpressCache on only one OS.

I have spent much time trying to find out how ExpressCache determines that another OS has been booted since last time and decides to flush its cache; but no luck so far. If anybody has insides or knowledge that can shed light on this I would very grateful. It currently causes me to be overly reluctant about booting my Win7 partition, so as to avoid losing the cache in my Win8 (which is where I have ExpressCache installed) .

Let us know how this goes for you. I am sure your experience will be relevant for others as well.

 

For the record, Diskeeper Corporation has evolved into Condusive Technologies.

John

 

Dannemand,

Thanks you very much for your fast response and advice. It is now fully working!

In fact I reinstalled both Easy Settings and Express Cache and it solved the problem. Thanks again for your help!

Btw, this forum really rocks!

Cheers

 

@ Dannemand

I will certainly give that a shot in the morning. I would like to use the slow 8gb issd simply because it is useless to me otherwise although I'm sure a small cache partition on the main ssd would be faster.

Flushing the cache on each os switch is kind of a pain as i switch often.

I shall report back one i have attempted this.

Thanks!

 

Hi guys i'm still kinda in a fix after i did a clean format on pc and found out that i lost my recovery disk.
I've tried everything to get my express cache back but still it isnt working my pc is really slow
I discovered my pc has an 8gb nano on the board for the express cache but when i downloaded the express cache software from the samsung website and tried installimng it keeps saying that it cant find where to install it.
i installed the easy software manager as described previously on this thread but yet the easy software manager isnt working, i 've installed several versions yet i get errors and i'm still stuck.
i've attached a pic of the errors i get when i try to install the express cache, also when i use the easy software manager and also a screen shot of my pc
PLEASE GUYS I REALLY NEED TO FIX THIS ANY INPUT IS MUCH APPRECIATED.
THANKS

My pc is a samsung series 7 chronos NP700Z5C S01US it has a 750gb hdd not an ssd.

 

Ah yes first issue I spot is the iSSD (the 8GB drive) is formatted as a standard system drive. You'll need to reformat it (see instructions in the first post of this thread) and then it should be recognized by the ExpressCache installation program!

-Matt

 

@cnwamo: I have re-installed both Win7 and Win8 numerous times. I always just delete the partition on the iSSD. ExpressCache creates a new partition there when it installs.

One thing I would add: Make sure you install ExpressCache from an Admin Account. Just running the installer "As Administrator" may not be sufficient.

Also, Easy Software Manager has been superseded by SW Update which normally can be downloaded here. But just now it seems that server is down -- which also would explain why Easy Software Manager doesn't work for you: Normally it simply updates itself to SW Update.

Update: SW Update download link is working again (for me anyway).

 

@gadgetrants thanks a lot I will try that and get back to You
@Dannemand thanks a lot I will try the link I hope it works, my server was actually ok when I tried the software because I was also using to post some stuff online simultaneously.

 

I'd suggest going Dannemand's route first. I succeeded in getting EC working both ways, but it's been several months, and IIRC the easier way of the two is to (as he said) delete the partition and let the EC installation do the rest! (Though I did enjoy the process of installing and using MacDisk, but I'm pretty nerdy that way.)

-Matt

 

LOL -- And here I thought I was the geek

To be fair, there has been a few reports (in the time I've been here) of users who couldn't get ExpressCache working, for whatever reason, even after deleting the partition and re-installing the software. It's possible that by preparing the partition for it, EC can be tricked into running in those situations. But again, first try and let it create the partition on its own.

If that should fail, try and uninstall BOTH ExpressCache AND Easy Settings, reboot, then re-install them both. It's only just a few days ago that member duartem reported he fixed his ExpressCache that way.

Maybe I am misunderstanding you here, but I was referring to the Samsung server used by Easy Software Manager and SW Update being down -- as also reported when you tried to use Easy Software Manager. It's a bit flaky at times, try again later if it doesn't connect.

 

Hy all,
I've got a NP700 Z5C-S02UB 1TB Hdd with 8Gb ExpressCache.My express cache seems to be working..I can see it in easy settings,it's used at about 90%..it's on )
but I don't see the faster boot time..my laptop takes about 1 min to start(I'm using windows 7 64 bit).Any ideas?

 

I've got the same machine (also Win 7) and notice the same thing. I think the fastest boot time I've seen is around 20 seconds, but I've also seen it take as long as 45. Remember that ExpressCache is doing a variety of things, including caching programs and data you frequently access. Since we don't know the algorithm in its particulars, we can only guess how it weighs start up priority over run-time priority. My hunch is that if you reboot daily (I tend to sleep/hibernate most of the time), that might "suggest" to EC that it shift the priority to caching boot files.

-Matt

 

I think there are circumstances where ExpressCache can end up spending more time repopulating the cache than it saves using it.

Here is what I suggest: Defrag C:, then run bootopt.bat (in the ExpressCache folder). The two are related, so run them in that order.

Check the log file C:\Dkbozlog.txt to make sure boot optimization worked correctly. If it completes too quickly, you may need to defrag again, then run bootopt.bat again.

I'll verify the file names when I get to my PC later

Update: Corrected log file name

 

Dannemand..thank you for your answer Dannemand..this is what I needed

 

It was a dream that ended in a day )..I don't know what happened..but now my EC sets itself off I tryed to do what Dannemand suggested and worked for me yesterday..but no luck.I'm back at the usual..a non working EC. After my manual bootopt I couldn't find C:\Dkbozlog.txt..

 

You're saying the problem of slow boot times for Win7 are back? Sorry to hear that

It may not be an ExpressCache issue. If a lot of drivers and services and background programs are being loaded, that can cause the same. Malware can cause a lot of disk churning too, as it's busy doing all the stuff you don't want it to. Finally, disk errors can also cause slowness and excessive disk read/write attempts.

That said, even on a clean, smoothly running system, without excessive background programs, it can take a few days for ExpressCache to settle: It needs time and PC use to determine which files should be cached. You shouldn't run bootopt.bat on a daily basis, it's meant to run after first installation -- and without user intervention.

So what should you do:

1) Check for Malware: Microsoft Security Essentials, Malwarebytes, GMER, PrevX.

2) Run a full disk test to check for errors (Windows or other tool). This can take a long time.

3) Uninstall any unnecessary software. This post lists most of the software that came with my Sammy and what you can remove. This thread covers extreme trimming to minimize latencies.

4) Consider re-installing Easy Settings (uninstall, reboot, re-install, reboot). Or at least disable its Boot Optimization setting (covered towards the end of that latencies thread linked above).

After all that, come back to ExpressCache: Defrag and bootopt.bat.

I hope some of this will catch the gremlin. Let us know how it goes.

 

Hy all ,
Sadly after a whole day o living hell ),installing, re-installing,countless reboots,giving f***s for not succeding,checking,minimizing latencies,etc..no luck.I have a horrible boot time almost 2 min and the only prog that load at startup,other than the windows necessary is the AV from microsoft.This is my third lappy and I never encountered problems with booting like this.With the ideas from Dannemand post..after un-istalling Easy settings and only using a copy of it after it was uninstalled the boot time was better..but the EC was not working..boot time aprox 1 min...when the EC was working boot time took 22 sec max.When I used to have win8 boot time took maximum 10 sec and but I've stopped using it because I didn't like it to much..mainly because I was missing the start button )..and some programs that I was using on 7 for school didn't work..
I would like to try with the Settings and EC driver for win 8 and see if I could make it work on 7..but I couldn't find them on samsung support page for my lappy..if someone has the install kits for them, I would really appreciate a link to them..

 

@danimischiu: I understand your frustration. Something simply isn't right there.

The 10 sec boot time you saw in Win8 isn't "real"; it's because Win8 doesn't really shut down, it merely hibernates its core, then resumes when you power up (though it DOES fully turn off the PC). If you were to turn off this Fast startup feature in Win8, you would have considerably higher boot times. But it's one of my favorite Win8 features.

Still, booting shouldn't take 1-2 minutes under Win7 -- even with no ExpressCache at all. I am wondering if either your HDD has a defect, causing excessive disk read/write attempts; OR maybe your iSSD has a defect, causing slow reading/writing by ExpressCache.

If you haven't yet tested for Malware/virus and performed a sector level disk test of the HDD, I definitely suggest those first (as mentioned in an earlier post).

Next I suggest you try and uninstall ExpressCache completely, run without it for a day or so and see how it goes. If EC isn't working right (say, because of a bad iSSD) or is constantly re-populating the cache, it is going to slow things down, not speed them up.

If your PC behaves more normally without ExpressCache, I suppose a test of the iSSD itself is in order. You could delete the EC partition on it, create an NTFS partition, then use a regular disk test. But I hesitate to recommend this, as I don't know how much it might wear the iSSD.

HwInfo can display SMART info for the iSSD (see mine below) but I am not sure how to interpret it.

Anyone knows how to test the iSSD without wearing it excessively?

 

Thanks Guy i was able to install the express cache via SW update, it downloaded then installed.
But i cant see any significant change in the start up speed.
here's a screenshot of my easy settings


i have just uninstalled the easy settings and expresscache and reinstalled via swupdate but still i cant see express cache in my easy setting.
tried the comand prompt stuff and this was what i got

 

If you open an elevated command prompt and type:

>diskpart
>list disk

What disk is listed as disk 2? Is Disk 2 an SSD? Does it have free (unallocated space)? The "eccmd -partition" command needs to access unallocated space on an SSD drive in order to succeed.

 

IT FINALLY WOKRS!!! .This is what I've done:
1)Un-insatalled,deleted EC driver and Easy settings.Reboot;
2)Ran a Registry optimisation from Easy Support Center.Reboot;
3)Un-installed wify,bluetooth driver that came in SW update.Reboot.
4)Installed the wify driver Wireless_15.3.1_Ds64.Reboot;
5)Installed Easy_Settings_1.1.1.4.Reboot;
6)Run Task scheduler and set:
- EasyDisplayMgr (dmhkcore) - change the delay from 30 seconds to 3 seconds: Double-click the task name, select the Triggers tab, click Edit and change the Delay task for setting to 3 seconds.

- EasySpeedupManager - change the delay from 30 seconds to 3 seconds. This will allow Silent Mode (Fn-F11) to work soon after login.

- SmartSetting - change the delay from 30 seconds to 3 seconds. This will activate some settings saved in Control Center soon after login (such as Bluetooth power off).

- WLANStartup - right-click the task name and select Disable.

- I didn't use Samsung Fast Boot Mode;
7)Installed ExpressCache_64bit_1.0.86.0;Reboot;
8)Run disk defrag on drive C;
9)Run bootopt from EC root folder.Reboot;

@kaytphoonstar after checking your indication my free space for issd was 0 Mb but I belive this happens because now EC works.

@Dannemand THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT .

 

Nobody has got any opinion about my problem. right?

 

Well done, danimischiu. Kudos for being so persistent!

 

The KyBD died on my Lenovo E530 3259CTO which came qith a 16GB SSD and sent it to Lenovo Repair Depot. It came back with 2 partions on the 16GB Sandisk SSD. One 7.91GB the other 7.0 GB after they RE-IMAGED the Windows 8 Pro System. It had one partition of 14.91GB when new and when sent in for repair. Looking at eccmd -info ExpressCache is only using 7.91GB

How can I get back to one 14.91 Partion for ExpessCache to use??

 

Welcome to NBR and the Samsung forum, Cowboy

First make sure you do NOT also have Intel Rapid Start (iRST) installed, as it may be using the other half of that SSD. If iRST IS installed and you don't want it, you should uninstall it first. See John's Guide to iRST here.

Once you know that there is nothing else using the SSD, do the following:

1) Uninstall ExpressCache using Windows Programs and Features. Reboot.

2) Delete both partitions on the SSD using Windows Disk Management. If you can see them but not delete them, you may have to use DISKPART, which is a bit more involved. Ask if you need help with that. Reboot when the partitions are gone.

3) Re-install ExpressCache. It should detect the SSD and create a partition there, using the entire space. If it does NOT, it will give you an error. Reboot.

4) Now check again with ECCmd -INFO and see that all is working well.

5) To optimize the cache after re-install, defrag your Windows drive (usually C: ), then run BOOTOPT.BAT in the ExpressCache programs folder. It should take a while.

Those are steps for a Samsung notebook. I assume they should work with your Lenovo as well, but of course I cannot say for sure.

Let us know how it goes. And while you're here, check over in NBR's Lenovo Forum for other relevant discussions to your computer.

 

@Dannemand:

The post was excellent, finally I solved my problem, after reading many many tutorials around the web, your post definitely solved my problem!

Thanks very much!

=>Post Link

 

Thanks a lot, Matheus. I much appreciate your feedback -- and you even taking the time to register so you could post it. And good job getting your ExpressCache working again!

Also welcome to the forum. You will find many knowledgeable and helpful members here. For an overview of the numerous threads here, check out John Ratsey's Sticky List (that was a link).

Some of the threads are huge, but if you're looking for specific subjects in the Samsung forum, Google works very well if you use the following syntax (for example): site:notebookreview.com/samsung ExpressCache partition

 

Hi everybody,

I've been reading in this thread for quite a while and am very impressed by the huge amount of advice provided here. However, on my NP700Z5C I experience a problem with express cache that doesn't seem to be treated by this thread.

Running "ECCmd.exe -info" sometimes gives me the following error: "Product is not licensed to run on this system."
When I terminate and restart the service "ExpressCache.exe", everything seems to be fine again. But after restarting windows, the problem often occurs again.

Reinstalling express cache drivers (I use version 1.0.94.0 x64) didn't help.

Does anybody experience the same problem and have some good advice for me? I would be grateful for any useful hint.

Cheers
Fraggy

 

Hi Fraggy. Welcome to the forum.

I have not experienced that license issue, and also didn't remember other reports of it. But Googling site:notebookreview.com/samsung expresscache license revealed a few hits, including this one earlier in this thread. If you keep reading from that post, there is more discussion of it.

Did you try following the exact steps in the post linked by MatheusAlbarello just above?

Also, something else: Was your machine delivered with Win7 or Win8, and did you change its BIOS settings or partition layout? I ask because of reports that ExpressCache requires the iSSD to be GPT if is runs from a UEFI/GPT installation. You can read about it in this thread.

Let us know your progress. Hopefully we can get your ExpressCache working

 

Can anyone post a link to express cache drivers (I use version 1.0.94.0 x64) ..and easy setting 2.0?I have win7 and I would really like to try them on my pc

 

ExpressCache 1.0.94.0 is indeed the latest. And it works great with Easy Settings 2.x in Win7 -- in fact some members found ExpressCache 1.0.94 REQUIRES Easy Settings 2.x.

The only way to get updated Samsung drivers and utilities nowadays is with SW Update. They stopped updating the download pages on their web site.

If you use the Find Model function in SW Update and look under Windows 8, that's where you will find ExpressCache 1.0.94.0 and Settings 2.x. Once you save those (using the Export function) you will find Easy Settings 2.x in a Win7 folder inside the Settings package.

If they do not show up for your model, then try mine: NP700Z3A-S03US. I just checked, they're still there.

 

Dannemand, thank you for your time and enthusiasm.

I would like to ask whether a new ExpressCache 1.0.94 driver and Settings 2.0 program will be compatible with my notebook model: 700Z3C-S01PT running Windows7 and will not ruin EC functions? At present I have 1.0.64 and easy setting 1.1.1.4.

The other thing which is not clear for me, why new drivers appear looking up at your notebook model (for example) (NP700Z3A-S03US) and win 8, and when I last time checked my model (Win 7) all drivers and software is old and I don't even have the option Win 8 to chose?

I could also make some comments in regards to the problem of EC flushing after restart and shot-down. If people would like to know my experience, I could write it (I don't want to flood the forum right now as this appears not to be a problem in this thread).

thanks,
ky

 

You may also want to check with your manufacturer to obtain the latest version of ExpressCache. That would be version 100 from Condusiv.

 

Hello Ky, welcome to the forum. That's a nice machine you got (having the same, just older, that's what you would expect from me, right )

I just looked up your model in SW Update, and it DID offer me both Win7 and Win8 drivers. Under Win8 was ExpressCache 1.0.94 and and Settings 2.0.0.30. Remember you have to use the Find Model function, otherwise it will only show drivers for the currently running OS. Follow the red boxes I marked in the screenshots in my previous post.

Although I mostly use Win8 now, those two versions were what I last used in my Win7 installation. I have since uninstalled ExpressCache from my Win7 installation as I only ever boot it to test things and answer questions here.

It still flushes the cache whenever I DO boot Win7 (even though EC is not installed there). If you meant to say you have some information or experience that can shed more light on that behavior, it would be great!

As for whether you benefit from upgrading: Easy Settings 2.x for sure; it is much better behaved than Easy Settings 1.x; loads faster too.

I would personally leave ExpressCache alone as long as it is running without problems. For a few members here, 1.0.94 finally got their ExpressCache working, where the old version wouldn't. It's your call.

Or you could call Samsung and inquire about that version 100 that RWillis mentioned.

Let us know how it goes for you!

 

Dannemand, thanks for the tips,
RWillis, thanks as well, so far I have not found version 100, but it's good to know they actually are making upgrades... (I thought there will be no upgrades for my machine)

Today at night I felt that I can make some experiments, so I did installed both EC (1.0.96) and Easy-settings.I followed previous suggestions (uninstalled Easy settings and EC, then reboot. After that, I installed new programs and then reboot. made three reboots, EC keeps accumulating, on the third reboot I managed to load in about 20 sec (did not have a chronometer..)

I came up with the idea of using bootopt.bat after i saw it in the EC folder, but I did not find any information on how to use it or does it provide any help. May be a few suggestions could be given about that?

I do confirm that the new easy settings load very fast! (regards to Dannemand for mentioning that). Though, I have not figured out if I should use Samsung fast boot mode in Easy settings. Have people experienced any improvement when this option is ON in addition to EC working?

 

@kylord: Good job getting that working!

Yes, you can run bootopt.bat, I always do that after re-installing or messing with ExpressCache. It seems to pre-populate the cache and speed up boot times. BUT, make sure you defrag your C: drive before running bootopt. Check this post for more details.

Oh yes, the infamous Fast Boot / Boot Optimization in Easy Settings. It's a nasty feature (in my opinion) which delays loading of other startup tasks (other programs and services) in order to make it appear that the PC boots faster. Those delayed tasks are then loaded by Easy Settings after user login. Some apps get messed up by it, particulaly if you have multiple Windows user accounts.

What is sneaky is that EVEN when Fast Boot is disabled, Easy Settings still snatches those tasks behind you back. Check this thread for how to disable it for good. More details in this post.

Finally, I recently measured my Win8 boot times, you can see results in this post. Remember that your model is a bit newer and faster than mine -- but Win8 boots a bit faster.

Once again, good job there!

 

I must say some words about EC flushing/clearing issue. I have experienced this at some point when noticing strange disk activity after windows start.
Background: 700Z3C-S01PT; 1 TB HDD; Win7 home premium SP1. HDD had 5 partitions: 1 - 100 MB System (Primary partition), 2- Disk C 120GB (windows) (Primary partition) 330GB, 3- Disk D (Primary partition) 450 GB, 4-Disk E (Logical drive) and 5- Recovery partition. Disk partitions have been created in Acronis. EC version 1.0.64. Easy settings 1.x.
EC flushing after reboot or shut-down of my computer. However, after recovering from sleep or hibernate everything was OK.

After calling to support (no answer was given) I ended up restoring factory preset using Samsung recovery solution (F4 at startup) and Recovery partition. I seem to elucidate the problem of EC and replicate it on my system and in my case.
Initially, when HDD had only disk C (120 GB) (apart from 100MB System and Recovery partition) the EC was working properly! When I added one more volume - D and made it primary partition and then split it to get one more Volume (E) logical partition, then the EC problem started again.

At this point I restored recovery partition one more time and created 2 Logical drives (D and E) using disk management without making one more Primary partition, and EC started to work again properly!

After this Success, I restored one of the images of disk C and System disk (100mb) made before with full set of programs and win. updates installed on disk C (this Windows7 image had before EC issue flushing after restart). Nevertheless I got EC working normally (without flushing) on this old windows image in the case when disks D and E are Logical drives.
In my case I was able to tackle the problem, however, I am not certain that this will be the case of other users.

Hope this helps

 

I followed the guide to get rid of Fast boot snatching programs, it worked! Now i can see the programs in msconfig menu, wonderful! Once again the forum helped!

I tried using bootopt.bat, however for some reason I ended up with EC (1.0.94) problems such as long response and weird activity (basically no re-population on startup). I believe that the reason was because I run bootopt , while in cmd line the optimization was working I stupidly run expresscache.exe again. I reinstalled both EC (1.0.94) and Easy settings (2.x) to get to normal functioning. A small remark, Before uninstalling both I uninstalled only EC (restarted) and then installed EC version 1.0.86. after restarting Easy settings did not have EC control panel inside, although EC seemed to be working.

With respect to the new EC (1.0.94) working I experienced two times EC flushing during windows 7 operation, not after restart (known problem). I could say that accidentally flushing came in a ratio about 2 to 10-12 of flushing versus restart trials up to now. Exact reason for that I could not find.

About Windows start up time, I read the posts provided in the link, I find 750GB 7200rpm HDD to be very good (not as good as SSD but you cant have both (can, if you remove ODD and replace with HDD, this sounds cool...). In my opinion a boot time should not be evaluated by loading windows login screen. A simple example can be given, after loading Win login, other programs are still starting up and if you try to load any program (at your choice) at this time you'll experience a certain delay. For me the real loading speed would be the time when I am able to load for example cmd.exe window (using a shortcut on the desktop) and can type in command line.

 

Thanks for your prompt reply, Dannemand.

At the moment, my express cache is (surprisingly ) working fine. But as soon as the licence problem occurs again (and I'm quite sure it will occur again), I will do it exactly as described in this post. In my previous tries, I did it in a slightly different way.

My machine was delivered with Win7. I didn't change the BIOS settings or the partition layout. I only once deleted the whole partition with Windows disk manager, and express cache automatically recreated it when I was re-installing drivers.

I'll keep you updated, if I experience the licence problem again and also, of course, if I manage to find a permanent solution to the problem.