CHAPTER Six

Memory Allocation-- -

How Much RAM and How Much ROM?

RamKeeper gives you the ability to have both a RAM Disk to quickly store and retrieve data, and a ROM Disk for more permanent storage. You’ll need to decide how much of the total available memory you want to use as volatile RAM and how much as a non-volatile ROM Disk.

Why not use all available memory as a ROM Disk?

Since the ROM Disk remains intact when you turn off your computer, it might seem logical to allocate all available memory as a ROM Disk. However, as mentioned earlier, many applications need RAM for desktop space, so you'll need to Leave some of the RAM available for use by the system.

Is a RAM Disk now obsolete?

Almost but not quite. Because you can set the size of the RAM Disk to 512K and 800K, there are some cases in which a RAM Disk is very useful. Such a case is copying disks.

If you’ve ever tried to copy a 5.25 disk or a 3.5 disk to a RAM Disk file or a hard disk, you have probably gotten the message:

“The two disks are different sizes, so

the contents of “YOUR DISK” will be placed in a

folder on "RAM#".

This creates a folder that you may or may not want but more importantly, it copies the files in segments instead of all at once.

Chapter Six - Memory Allocation

37