The Windows IDE Hard Drive Cache Package provides a workaround for computers running Windows 98 Second Edition with Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) hard drives, large caches, and modern processors. IDE hard drives store data in a hardware cache (temporary memory) and write the data to the hard disk later. For these computers, data can be lost during the shutdown process because the amount of time that it takes for fast processors to shut down is so short that the hard disk may shut down before the data in the cache is written to the hard drive. This update introduces a two second delay in the shutdown process, which allows the hard drive's cache to write any data to the hard drive. Download now to delay your shutdown process slightly to prevent data loss.

Modern IDE hard drives typically store disk writes in a hardware cache (temporary memory) and write the data to the hard disk later. “Write caching” is a performance enhancement that is designed to increase overall write speeds.

During shutdown, data from the cache is written to the hard disk for storage until the computer is turned on again. During a typical shutdown process, any data written just before shutdown may still reside on the hard disk's hardware cache. Older processors typically execute the shutdown code slowly enough so that the hard disk's cache flushes the written data to the physical media before the machine loses power. As processors have increased in speed, the shutdown time has decreased to the point that data may still be in the hardware cache when a computer is turned off, and that data may be lost. This increased processor time, coupled with the increased size of hard drive caches, further increases the chance of data loss.

This is not a problem that is specific to Windows, or any given operating system, nor is it specific to any one brand of processor or hardware. It is an industry-wide issue that affects a variety of vendors. Microsoft offers this update until the industry can address the issue.

For more information about this update, please read the Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article Q273017. (This site is in English.)