Administrator Guide HP Write Manager
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Table of contents 1 HP Write Manager .......................................................................................................................................... 1 HP Write Manager minimum requirements for installation .................................................................................. 1 HP Write Manager management overview ............................................................................................................ 2 Notification icon ............................
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1 HP Write Manager HP Write Manager protects the contents of and decreases wear on the flash drive of a thin client by redirecting and caching writes in an overlay. An overlay is a virtual storage space in RAM that tracks changes to a protected volume (that is, the flash drive). The user experience in Windows is unaffected because the operating system maintains the appearance of writing to the flash drive.
HP Write Manager management overview You can use two tools to manage HP Write Manager: a notification icon and a Control Panel app. Some commands can be performed using either of the tools, but other commands might be exclusive to one or the other. Notification icon The HP Write Manager notification icon is located in the Windows notification area.
HP Write Manager Configuration HP Write Manager Configuration is a Control Panel app for managing HP Write Manager. When used with a thin client operating system, HP Write Manager Configuration can also configure Enhanced Write Filter, File-Based Write Filter, and Unified Write Filter. To open this app: ▲ Double-click the notification icon. – or – In Control Panel, select HP Write Manager Configuration.
Making permanent system configurations The following table describes the possible methods for making permanent system configurations. IMPORTANT: HP strongly recommends using method 1 in most situations. Table 1-2 Methods for making permanent systems configurations Method 1 Method 2 1. Disable HP Write Manager (requires a system restart). ▲ 2. Make the necessary configurations. 3. Enable HP Write Manager (requires a system restart).
3. Select OK. 4. Restart the thin client. Adding a profile A profile is a set of file exclusions, registry exclusions, and options to purge files to ensure that there is available space in the overlay. Profile setting options include the following: ● File Exclusion: Files specified in this category will be excluded from the overlay. ● Registry Exclusion: Registries specified in this category will be excluded from the overlay.
11. In the window that opens, enter the File path, and then select OK. 12. Select OK. 13. Restart the thin client. To enable or disable an existing profile, select the desired state next to the Profile name. To edit an existing profile, select the Edit icon. NOTE: HP Write Manager comes with various default profiles named after their suggested usage scenario. These profiles can be further customized by following the procedures outlined above.
Table 1-4 Identifying exclusion list highlight colors for the HP Write Manager Configuration app Color Description None The item is excluded. Green The item will be added to the exclusion list (requires a system restart). Red The item will be removed from the exclusion list (requires a system restart).
Adding a registry key to the registry exclusion list IMPORTANT: Changes to items in the exclusion list are always written directly to the flash drive; so keep the exclusion list to a minimum. 1. Open the HP Write Manager Configuration app, and select More Settings. 2. In the Registry Exclusion tab, select the Add button to add an item to the exclusion list. Repeat as necessary. NOTE: Items can be removed from the exclusion list using the Delete button. 3. Select OK. 4. Restart the thin client.
TIP: If the Start menu is not responding properly, use ctrl+alt+delete to restart the computer. ● You must disable the write filter (which requires a system restart) before switching to a different write filter. ● If you enable the write filter and then enable Global Bypass Mode, only those registry keys created after Global Bypass Mode is enabled will persist. If you rename a registry key created when only the write filter was enabled, it will not persist. You must create it again.
2 HP Disk Cache HP Disk Cache consolidates the write requests from the operating system to reduce the number of writes made to the flash drive. This extends the usable life of the flash drive. To enable HP Disk Cache: 1. In the HP Write Manager Configuration app, select Advanced Cache Settings. 2. Set HP Disk Cache to On. 3. Enter values for the Cache size, Flush count, and Flush interval. – or – Select Reset to Defaults.
