Apple 5400 Series Protecting the information on a disk, Making backup copies of your documents

Increasing memory available to run applications

A computer function called virtual memory allows you to open several applications and windows at the same time by creating extra random-access memory (RAM) on your computer’s hard disk. Virtual memory, however, can also result in slightly slower performance. See the “Memory” topic of Macintosh Guide, available in the Guide (h) menu, for more information.

IMPORTANT Your computer comes with virtual memory turned off. You shouldn’t use virtual memory unless you need to keep several applications open at once, and you should turn it off when you no longer need it. You can turn virtual memory on or off by using the Memory control panel in the Control Panels folder in the Apple (K) menu.

Protecting the information on a disk

When you have a valuable document like a birth certificate, you probably make an extra copy of it for safekeeping. Similarly, you should make a copy of the documents you create on your computer. The extra copy is called a backup, and the process of making the copy is called backing up.

Once you have a backup, you’re protected from accidentally losing the information on your hard disk. In the unlikely event that something happens to your hard disk, you can easily get the information back.

Making backup copies of your documents

mYou should regularly make copies of the documents you create.

mYou can back up files stored on your hard disk by copying them to floppy disks.

mYou can back up an entire floppy disk by copying it to another floppy disk of the same capacity or larger, or by copying it to a hard disk.

mIf a file is too large to fit onto a single floppy disk, you need to use a commercial backup program to copy the file onto multiple floppy disks.

mYou can use a commercial backup program to copy new and changed files from a hard disk to another hard disk, to a tape drive, or to a series of floppy disks.

mIf your computer is on a network, you may be able to back up files by copying them to a shared disk on the network.

Using Programs and Backing Up Disks 49