Question
How do I change the location where the Processing Engine writes temp files (a.k.a, ADTemp)?
Answer
There are 2 places this setting should be changed. The registry is where a Distributed Processing Engine (DPE) stores this value and the config file (application) is where a local Processing Engine (EP) stores it. The attached script will help automate making changes to both registry keys.
Registry (FTK Central & DPEs)
- Open the registry by clicking Start >> Run >> regedit.
- Open the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AccessData\PStore\EvidenceProcessor.
- Select the PROCESSINGTEMPFOLDER key and in the window pane on the right, right-click TempDir and select Modify...
4. Enter the exact path of the desired ADTemp folder and click OK.
Application (FTK, AD Lab, AD Enterprise)
1. Open the application (i.e., FTK, Lab, Enterprise) and sign in.
2. On the menu bar click Tools and select Preferences...
3. Click the ellipsis (... ) and choose the desired folder.
4. Click OK.
Note: This saves the preferences to the file "C:\ProgramData\AccessData\Shared\sds\Preferences.xml".
Additional Note: As of version 7.1.0, the preferences.xml is found at the following location.
"%programdata%\AccessData\Products\Evidence Processing Engine\{ep_version}\Preferences.xml". This will be the effective location for future versions as well.
E.g. for 7.1.0, the location would be:
%programdata%\AccessData\Products\Evidence Processing Engine\10.21\Preferences.xml
Registry (AD eDiscovery & Summation)
1. Open the registry by clicking Start >> Run >> regedit.
2. Open the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AccessData\Products\Common.
3. Select the Common key and in the window pane on the right, right-click TempDir and select Modify...
4. Enter the exact path of the desired ADTemp folder and click OK.
Overview
A dedicated ADTemp folder on a fast disk with low fragmentation (i.e., SSD) will improve performance dramatically. For more information on ADTemp, please see the article below.