About the only real thing I have a problem with in Carrara is the time it takes to load and save a file.  It takes several minutes even for a relatively standard file (100 MB is about the normal size files I generate.  If that's larger than most folks, let me know).
Does it make a difference where I keep my Poser runtime folders?  I have Carrara on my C drive but all my Poser runtimes are on a separate (internal) hard drive.  Would loading and saving be significantly faster if they were all on the same drive?
I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit, quad processor, 6gb ram.
Thanks!

!00MB?----ten times at least bigger than the biggest I ever work with normally!

I had many versions of Poser, which I dont use any more, I consolided all thier Runtimes into one and, with that file in the same hard drive, I access via the Carrara Browser, as with the Carrara Runtime.

I don't have any Poser apps on my computer--just the Poser Runtime file.

Any new stuff I download I add directly into the Carrara Runtime.

Two big recources which I RARELY USE now as I prefer to model my own stuff-----
Brian

Quote - !00MB?----ten times at least bigger than the biggest I ever work with normally!

Really? I only have (usually) 2 Daz figures maybe 3 and a scene (room, furniture, etc...).

Do you use the save internally all things?? This way Poser content can be larger them 100Mb very easy, because some textures are very large.
By the velocity, if you save all internal it will take sometime...but try to defrag your drive too, this way all will be more easy to read and save files.

100MB is actually rather small compared to some of my files.  I usually use "Save Internally" since i am not concerned with save time or file size.  I only try for speed and low size if it is something I plan to sell.  I have two Poser runtimes.  The first is my old Poser 7 Runtime, and the second is the Poser 8 one.  I have them both set up in Carrara.  The poser 7 one has all of my older content, and the Poser 8 one is where new stuff gets put.   A defrag might help.   But Windows 7 does a pretty good job of reducing fragmentation on its own.  I would look for other applications or TSRs that stay running in the background and do a lot of things that increase HD activity.  I have had some files that can take over 5 minutes to load, depending on what is in them.

Another thing to remeber ALWAYS: remove unsused shaders and objects! If you dont do that all objects loaded in the instance windows will be saved with the others...even those that you deleted from the scene...

I always use the "Remove unused shaders and objects".  I have them set up as hotkeys for easy access.
I also have PerfectDisk running in the background keeping my discs defragged.
I'll try moving my Poser runtimes to the same disc as Carrara and see if saving externally speeds anything up.
Thanks for the suggestions!

Most of my C7 scenes are 30-50 MB. These always take at least a full minute to open, 2-3 minutes to save. This is with the runtimes on the same disc.

It's all of those ultra high resolution texture map files that get ya.  I always save internally in case I have an issue finding the correct files...   Well I better go work on my current project.  Maybe I can figure out how to properly do UV mapping this time...

I can't find any documentation discussing the differences between "save internally" ,"save using local settings" and "save externally".
Can anyone explain this to me?
Thanks!

Save Internally means the program saves all associated texture maps in the file itself.  Save externally means it will save them externally in separate files.  Local settings mean basically to save them using the default method as set in the preferences menus.

I save all my files "local settings" and the Carrara file saves the paths to the various runtime files. I haven't compared the file sizes or loading speeds of the different methods, but I have moved my runtimes, and that leaves a MESS! as Carrara asks for the new location of every texture.