I think I get the Hd requirements that you need 3 GB of free space. I am a little confused on the 128 mb requirement. Do you need 128 MB of ram in the machine or do you need 128 MB of free space. Thanks.
For the RAM... it means when you want to install OSX on a computer the computer must be equipped with at least 128 Megs of RAM. So, for example, if your computer has 64 Megs of RAM it will not cut it for OSX but if it has 256 Megs of RAM then OSX's RAM requirement had been met and dubbed.
RAM is the amount of temporary open area you have to load applications, files and so forth. RAM is fast but strictly temporary. It holds wherever is open or being run on your computer until you close it, then it disappears from RAM. If all the open and running stuff takes up more memory than you have available as RAM, the computer will slow down as it juggles what it wants to keep ready for fast access and what it needs to work on next. Most important: every time you shut down your computer, the RAM is cleared.
The hard drive is the actual storage for files, applications and such when you save or install them. The hard drive is permanent storage so when you close files and stuff the hard drive still has a record of it, but it is slower than RAM. When you open a file or an application, it reads the data from the hard drive and loads it into RAM. When you save a file, it writes what's in that particular area of RAM back to the hard drive. Whenever you shut down your computer, whatever was written to the hard drive stays there*.
Think of RAM as short-term memory and the hard drive as long-term memory.
Sorry if this is rudimentary to you, but I've seen a lot of people do things that other take for granted. For example, someone might delete files off a hard drive because they want to make the machine go faster. They heard that they have too much stuff in memory (meaning RAM) and they though they had too much stuff in storage (meaning the hard drive). If you're running slow and you hear the hard drive spinning up and "thrashing" like crazy, you're probably low on RAM. Try closing a few files and maybe a few applications (though that last part shouldn't be necessary).
Again, sorry to be long-winded and pedantic but understanding the difference can avoid mistakes down the road.
* actually, if you run out of RAM for opening files and such, the computer will set aside a small portion of your hard drive and use it like it's RAM, and it won't show that stuff in the Finder like other part of the hard drive. Doing this makes it act like RAM but it's much slower. just like real RAM, when you shut down the computer, all the stuff in that temporary area will be erased.
I think I get the Hd requirements that you need 3 GB of free space. I am a little confused on the 128 mb requirement. Do you need 128 MB of ram in the machine or do you need 128 MB of free space. Thanks.
In my experience you need at least 512MB RAM in your box to run Mac OS X for any useful work.
In my experience you need at least 512MB RAM in your box to run Mac OS X for any useful work.
Not true, I run 384 on my Cube. The OS runs more than fine, and right now I'm running Safari, iChat, iCal, iTunes, Mail, and Photoshop. Photoshop doesn't scream, but it's better when nothing else is running. I run FCP too, rendering sucks, but it's the best I've got till my 12" gets here.
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RAM is the amount of temporary open area you have to load applications, files and so forth. RAM is fast but strictly temporary. It holds wherever is open or being run on your computer until you close it, then it disappears from RAM. If all the open and running stuff takes up more memory than you have available as RAM, the computer will slow down as it juggles what it wants to keep ready for fast access and what it needs to work on next. Most important: every time you shut down your computer, the RAM is cleared.
The hard drive is the actual storage for files, applications and such when you save or install them. The hard drive is permanent storage so when you close files and stuff the hard drive still has a record of it, but it is slower than RAM. When you open a file or an application, it reads the data from the hard drive and loads it into RAM. When you save a file, it writes what's in that particular area of RAM back to the hard drive. Whenever you shut down your computer, whatever was written to the hard drive stays there*.
Think of RAM as short-term memory and the hard drive as long-term memory.
Sorry if this is rudimentary to you, but I've seen a lot of people do things that other take for granted. For example, someone might delete files off a hard drive because they want to make the machine go faster. They heard that they have too much stuff in memory (meaning RAM) and they though they had too much stuff in storage (meaning the hard drive). If you're running slow and you hear the hard drive spinning up and "thrashing" like crazy, you're probably low on RAM. Try closing a few files and maybe a few applications (though that last part shouldn't be necessary).
Again, sorry to be long-winded and pedantic but understanding the difference can avoid mistakes down the road.
* actually, if you run out of RAM for opening files and such, the computer will set aside a small portion of your hard drive and use it like it's RAM, and it won't show that stuff in the Finder like other part of the hard drive. Doing this makes it act like RAM but it's much slower. just like real RAM, when you shut down the computer, all the stuff in that temporary area will be erased.
Originally posted by quagmire
I think I get the Hd requirements that you need 3 GB of free space. I am a little confused on the 128 mb requirement. Do you need 128 MB of ram in the machine or do you need 128 MB of free space. Thanks.
In my experience you need at least 512MB RAM in your box to run Mac OS X for any useful work.
Originally posted by BNOYHTUAWB
In my experience you need at least 512MB RAM in your box to run Mac OS X for any useful work.
Not true, I run 384 on my Cube. The OS runs more than fine, and right now I'm running Safari, iChat, iCal, iTunes, Mail, and Photoshop. Photoshop doesn't scream, but it's better when nothing else is running. I run FCP too, rendering sucks, but it's the best I've got till my 12" gets here.