Apple 6360 Protecting the information on a disk, Increasing memory available to run applications

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. Also see the document titled “About Virtual Memory” in the Documents folder on your desktop.

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. (Virtual memory may keep some applications from running at their best speed.) You can turn virtual memory on or off by using the Memory control panel in the Control Panels folder in the Apple (K) menu.

Note: If you turn on both virtual memory and RAM disk in the Memory control panel, don’t set both of them at or near their maximum values. Doing so can result in unpredictable or reduced performance by your computer. (RAM disk uses random-access memory, or RAM, as if it were a hard disk.)

Protecting the information on a disk

When you have a valuable paper document like a birth certificate, you probably make an extra copy of it for safekeeping. Similarly, you should make copies 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.

Using Application Programs and Backing Up Disks 61