Were did my memory go!!

marklesagemarklesage
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
My hard drive (10 gb) is nearly full. The finder (Panther) displays an ever changing amount of memory for my hard drive. I don't know how much I actually have left. Sometime it says 500 mb, sometimes 0 mb (when apps won't start up)! Restarting the computer (sometimes relaunching the Finder) restores HD memory. I'm assuming the computer is using HD memory for virtual RAM. Is that correct? Can this be turned off like you could in OS 9 or earlier?



I have an iMac 400 mhz (indigo, circa 2000). I would like to install a bigger hard drive. Any recomendations on brand (Maxtor, WD, etc.)? What is the size limit and specs needed for my iMac model?



Thanks



Mark

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 1
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Just so there's less confusion in the future:



    Disk drives and memory are two different things. They're both measured in bytes, but gold and gasoline are both measures in ounces.



    Your disk space is indeed being used by virtual memory. It is recommended that when it starts dipping below 1GB free on a regular basis, that you consider adding more drive space. Restarting to free it isn't really required, you can recover the vast majority of it by logging out and back in... or even just quitting apps and restarting them.



    And no, you can't turn it off like in older Mac OSs... trust me, you wouldn't want to. You wouldn't be able to do squat.



    As for recommendations on drives, I'm afraid I can't help you. Last time I looked into that was eighteen months ago, and I ended up going with external FireWire drives.
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