Turn Disk Write Caching On or Off in Windows 10/8/7 with a reg key / command line

Question

According to Microsoft, in Windows 10/8/7, to Turn Disk Write Caching On or Off:

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.
3. Expand Disk Drives.
4. Right-click the drive on which you want to turn disk write caching on or off, and then click Properties.
5. Click the Policies tab.
6. Click to select or clear the Enable write caching on the disk check box as appropriate.
7. Click OK.

How can I Turn Disk Write Caching On or Off with a registry key (regedit) / command line? (to automate the process on several PCs)

PD: There is an option in C/C++, but it is outdated or not applicable. The same applies to the method used by dskcache.

Answer 1

It seems that an old diskcache.exe, which had been distributed by Microsoft, has been lost. Try a compatible tool, made by me long ago.

https://www.vector.co.jp/soft/winnt/hardware/se487753.html

To enable write cache on disk 0,

.\diskcach 0 -w 1

To disable

.\diskcach 0 -w 0

It may require MSVC++ 2008 SP1 redistributable package.

Answer 2

I have created a function to enable/disable write disk caching for the system drive only. Restart needed.

Permanent link: https://github.com/farag2/Utilities/blob/master/Enable_disk_write_caching.ps1

<#
    .SYNOPSIS
    Configure the disk write caching

    .PARAMETER Disable
    Disable the disk write caching

    .PARAMETER Enable
    Enable the disk write caching

    .EXAMPLE
    DiskWriteCaching -Disable

    .EXAMPLE
    DiskWriteCaching -Enable

    .NOTES
    Current user
#>
function DiskWriteCaching
{
    param
    (
        [Parameter(
            Mandatory = $true,
            ParameterSetName = "Disable"
        )]
        [switch]
        $Disable,

        [Parameter(
            Mandatory = $true,
            ParameterSetName = "Enable"
        )]
        [switch]
        $Enable
    )

    # Get system drive ID regardless of the port number
    $Index = (Get-Partition | Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.DriveLetter -eq $env:SystemDrive[0]}).DiskNumber
    $SystemDriveID = (Get-CimInstance -ClassName CIM_DiskDrive | Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.Index -eq $Index}).PNPDeviceID
    # Get system drive instance
    $PSPath = (Get-ChildItem -Path HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\SCSI | Where-Object -FilterScript {$SystemDriveID -match $_.PSChildName}).PSPath
    # We need to go deeper... LeonardoDiCaprio.jpg
    $PSPath = (Get-ChildItem -Path $PSPath | Where-Object -FilterScript {$SystemDriveID -match $_.PSChildName}).PSPath

    # Check whether disk write caching is enabled
    $IsDeviceCacheEnabled = (Get-StorageAdvancedProperty -PhysicalDisk (Get-PhysicalDisk | Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.DeviceID -eq $Index})).IsDeviceCacheEnabled

    switch ($PSCmdlet.ParameterSetName)
    {
        "Disable"
        {
            if ($IsDeviceCacheEnabled)
            {
                if (-not (Test-Path -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk"))
                {
                    # Create "Disk" folder
                    New-Item -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk" -Force
                }

                # Disable disk write caching
                New-ItemProperty -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk" -Name UserWriteCacheSetting -PropertyType DWord -Value 0 -Force
                New-ItemProperty -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk" -Name CacheIsPowerProtected -PropertyType DWord -Value 0 -Force
            }
        }
        "Enable"
        {
            if (-not $IsDeviceCacheEnabled)
            {
                if (-not (Test-Path -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk"))
                {
                    # Create "Disk" folder
                    New-Item -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk" -Force
                }

                # Enable disk write caching
                New-ItemProperty -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk" -Name UserWriteCacheSetting -PropertyType DWord -Value 1 -Force
                New-ItemProperty -Path "$PSPath\Device Parameters\Disk" -Name CacheIsPowerProtected -PropertyType DWord -Value 0 -Force
            }
        }
    }

    Write-Warning "Make sure to restart your PC!"
}

# DiskWriteCaching -Disable
# DiskWriteCaching -Enable