TOPIC
My MessagePad 2100 was sold to me as having 8 megabytes of DRAM memory. However, when I open the Memory Slip in Extras, it shows as only having 4 megabytes of internal memory installed. Where did my other 4 megabytes of memory go?
DISCUSSION The Memory Info slip may be viewed by tapping the "i" while the Extras drawer is open. This slip may be used by the user to determine the memory installed on the Newton MessagePad 2000 and 2100 Series computers. The information presented below is an example of a Memory Info slip displayed on a MessagePad 2100 computer. Memory Info: Name Used Free -------------------- Internal 2382k 1141k <- Internal memory available for storage ROM Version 2.1 (717260)-1 System RAM Installed 3984k <- Internal memory used by the Newton OS The Newton OS partitions memory in 3 distinct areas or domains: operating system domain, storage domain and application domain. Therefore using the Memory Slip illustrated above, the sum total of "Internal" memory and "System RAM Installed," plus application memory (application heap and other special functions necessary to run the programs such as recognizers), equals approximately 8 megabytes of memory. More information may be found in the article: Newton: Types of Memory & Memory Errors (11/94) , Article ID: 16645 The following information applies to both the Newton MessagePad 2000 and 2100 Series computers. (Q) Why can't I use the total amount of memory installed, rather than having some of the memory used by the Newton OS? (A) As on a Mac OS or Windows OS desktop computer, a portion of the DRAM installed will be used by the computer after the operating system finishes the process of making the computer ready for use. The process of moving operating system resources into DRAM ensures that resources are available to applications when requested, and allows the highest performance possible by having information ready and available for use. (Q) Can I increase the internal memory on the MessagePad? (A) While there are no internal memory expansion opportunities, the Newton MessagePad 2000 and 2100 Series computers offer two PC Card bays, allowing two PC Flash Memory Cards to be mounted at the same time, allowing for significant expansion opportunities. (Q) If I purchase a PC Flash Memory Card, will some of the memory be used by the Newton OS there too? (A) PC Flash Memory Cards are used as storage domains. Even though a portion may be set aside for administrative functions, the majority of the card's recordable area is used to store information. (Q) What is the largest size PC Flash Memory Card I can use on a MessagePad? (A) Apple officially supports PC Flash Memory Cards of sizes up to 4 megabytes. While there is theoretically no limit to the size of flash cards usable by the Newton OS, as storage cards become larger, they become more demanding of the "host" computer. The Newton OS compresses memory to improve efficiency of resources. Storage memory is compressed and decompressed as data is needed. This compression and decompression takes more time to perform in larger memory areas. One of the most obvious characteristics of larger memory cards is the time it takes to search the contents of the card. The use of large cards therefore may result in diminished performance of the computer during use. Note: The Newton OS allows dynamic loading and unloading of data residenton PC Flash Memory Cards. This plugging and unplugging of the PC Card is a technique commonly known as hot-swapping. This practice may be used with the MessagePad to ensure the highest system performance possible by inserting and mounting memory cards only when needed. |
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| Document Information | |
| Product Area: | Newton |
| Category: | Apple MessagePad |
| Sub Category: | Apple MessagePad 2100 |
| Keywords: | knmp |
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