On 1/19/03 Andrew Kershaw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >I have 48MB in the 5300ce and 40MB in the 5300cs. OS 8.6 is supposed >to require 32MB, but it can run in less. Sure, that doesn't give me >a whole lot of space left for apps, but it's enough to do what I do >on the 5300. When I'm seriously pressed for space, I _might_ turn on >RAM Doubler 9's paging feature.
Drew, as my post mentioned, you can run 9.1 in 16MB of real ram, though we bump into . . . VM! >Dan K wrote: >>If you have OS 9.1 available, why not try that? > >;-) [rant mode on] > >I'm not sure you were talk to me, but as for why I don't run OS 9... >OS 9 without VM is a pooch and a RAM hog. And let me be straight - I >HATE Virtual Memory with a PASSION. It thrashes the hard drive and >quickly fragments the damn thing, causing the whole system to slow up >while the drive head accesses random points on the hard drive to read >paged memory back in or write portions of memory back to the disk... >Sheesh. VM is really only fast (and I use that word loosely) when >used immediately after a disk optimization. Are you saying you don't have a partition set aside for VM _only_? Hmm, maybe I'm the only one who does this, and maybe that's why I'm near enough the only 'Booker around here who keeps saying 9.1 is the best thing since sliced bread. I always partition drives into at least 3 or 4 volumes, an OS volume, a smallish scratch disk (for VM mostly), and more vols for apps and docs. By moving all VM related activities out of user space, I needn't worry at all about disk fragmentation. It helps greatly to have a modern HD as well. If one were basing one's opinion of VM on PBs still equipped with original drives I'd have to agree that VM sucked. Along with more ram, a more modern drive speeds up _any_ PB immensely. >Honestly, I've never understood why anyone in their right mind would >run VM on a PowerBook. I know many of you do just this, but I just >can't stand it. <snipped ranting> >hated it. When I upgraded to 96MB and turned off VM, it was amazing. >Night and Day, really. Now, with 192MB, the Wallstreet is sometimes >a little pinched, but runs fantastically. > >Let's face it, NOTHING beats real RAM. A fast HD would come darn close though! No doubt we all agree, _real_ ram is the best thing since whatever, but OP Victoria's using a 5300 which is not exactly able to use very much near 192MBs of real ram. <more ranting snipped> >If you really absolutely have to use VM, I'd first suggest getting a >flash card or ATA storage card for the PC card slot (not that its >faster, but at least you aren't thrashing your disk). I wonder, does >anyone know what sort of impact that this would have on your battery >time? I'm curious about the power requirements of such a setup.... OK, my turn to <rant>. A PC card storage device is DOG-slooooow compared to the internal HD in the same PowerBook. I still think this PC card-as-ram thing is misguided. Thrashing your disk? That's why the dang thing's in there! Your complaint is based on? power usage, noise, wear-n-tear on the drive, . . . ? </rant> One observation: I don't use PBs away from external power for extended periods. Drew, you apparently rely on internal battery power much more than I, so your disgust for a spinning HD's power consumption is understandable. : >) I'd also be curious to know if PC cards are more frugal with power than the HD, though I would expect they are. The bottom line is we all use our 'Books in different ways, so what works great for me may not be the hot ticket for others. Ideally we look for and try different options and go with the approach that works best for our particular situation. >>I'm running 9.1 on my PPC 540Cs (pretty much the same as a 5300) with >>40MBs ram and it runs fast and stable. I've got VM set to around 64MBs >>and 9.1 uses about 15MBs or so. > >Dan, you said you got OS 9 on a PowerPC upgraded 540c? Damn! I >thought that the max was 8.6 for these machines, and even then you >had to do some fancy footwork to get it installed. For my academic >and intellectual curiosity, how did you manage that? <http://members.aol.com/dankephoto/ppc_upgrade/> Basically the same hack as with 8.5/6, I guess everyone just gave up on OS 9 when 9.0 didn't work too well. Dan K -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
